Passers-by on Lowry Mall this week might notice a small booth near Hitt Street.

A canvas decorated with various colored handprints adorns the area, with “Freedom” spelled across it in large letters. The booth is occupied by Freedom Movement at Mizzou, which is hosting a weeklong event across MU.

Freedom Movement is a presence on campuses across the U.S. dedicated to raising awareness and funding for the prevention of human trafficking, while ideally inspiring college students to join the movement along the way. Founded just this calendar year by a group of Texas A&M students who had just attended the 2012 Passion Conference in Atlanta, Ga., the campaign has already spread to 23 different colleges and universities.

Senior Katie Freehling, a leader in the campaign at MU, said Freedom Movement at Mizzou’s goal for this week is to inform students about the human trafficking that goes on every day. Human trafficking includes various forms of unwilling servitude including sex slavery and forced labor. The campaign emphasizes that these issues are present everywhere, not only in distant, third world countries.

“We’re just trying to raise awareness,” Freehling said.

Freehling also said that there are approximately 27 million people enslaved today.

“All of their human rights are just being exploited,” she said.

Another initiative of the campaign this week is to raise funds for Freedom Movement’s partner Tiny Hands International, an organization that focuses specifically on orphans, street children, women’s rights and victims of sex trafficking.

“Sex trafficking is huge,” Freehling said. “Women are promised a job or education in a new country and then sold into slavery.”

Junior Maria Lemakis, whose interest in participating was sparked after watching Cru’s presentation on speaker Jim Munroe at a MAZE event in February, is also helping the organization to raise awareness for the cause.

“One of my sorority sisters mentioned it to me,” Lemakis said. “She was just really passionate about it.”

Lemakis said the campaign has ties to religious beliefs.

“The background of (Freedom Movement at Mizzou) is actually a Christian movement,” she said.

According to the Freedom Movement website, the group hopes to “awaken a sleepy generation to re-shift it’s focus on freedoms of this world to true freedom, freedom found in Christ.” The organization hopes to free slaves spiritually as well as literally.

After inviting MU’s population to participate in their canvas art on Monday, the organizations will continue with festivities on Lowry Mall throughout the week. On Tuesday students will be encouraged to make bracelets decorated with statistics or facts about human trafficking to help raise awareness in people who don’t attend the event or see the booth. A photo booth requiring a one dollar donation will be set up on Wednesday, where students can take pictures with signs expressing their opinions on human trafficking.

The week will culminate with speaker Paul Yates and a screening of “The Freedom Film” at 7 p.m. Thursday at the United Methodist Church in Columbia.