Our Journey

Michelle Mildwater and Anne Brandt Christensen co-founded HopeNow, an NGO in 2007. This organization focuses on human trafficking and adopts a victim-centered approach to empower individuals. Since 2003, HopeNow has worked extensively with trafficked people, gaining extensive expertise in combating human trafficking and exploitation.

Initially, HopeNow focused on African women, particularly from Nigeria and other West African countries, as they were the most trafficked individuals in Denmark. They were forced into prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation on the streets. From 2007 onwards, HopeNow partnered closely with the Women Center within the Danish Red Cross Asylum Department. This center provided accommodation for trafficked women who sought asylum. The prolonged stay of these women in the asylum system facilitated the establishment of trust between the Women Center and HopeNow staff, enabling them to hear the women's stories. These narratives provided HopeNow with a thorough understanding of the complexities of human trafficking, especially within the African network. This knowledge became the foundation for developing effective and empowering strategies and practices.

Michelle Mildwater worked as a consultant for the Red Cross Asylum department from 2007-2008, where she identified trafficked women as a distinct group within the asylum system. In 2008, she joined the Danish Center against Human Trafficking as a consultant, staying until 2011. That year, HopeNow became an official partner under the Danish Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, receiving government funding and a contract to conduct outreach in various settings, such as streets, prisons, and asylum centers, to locate and support trafficking victims.

2014-2018, HopeNow developed and ran two projects in Kenya in close partnership with the Kenyan NGO HAART. HAART works within the human trafficking area as well. The projects were in cooperation with CISU and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Together with HAART HopeNow, awareness programs were developed in schools, villages and slum areas in Kenya to prevent Kenyan men and women from being exploited and trafficked to Europe.

Also, between 2015-2018 HopeNow received governmental funding from the Ministry of Gender Equality to run a project to examine and focus on possible victims of trafficking within the areas of escort and private sex work. HopeNow identified 69 women trafficked into a hidden place previously regarded as the sole domain of independent sex workers.

HopeNow, a dynamic NGO, remains available and ready to provide support and empower victims of human trafficking. Our dedicated team works tirelessly around the clock to offer counseling, develop new strategies, and analyze emerging trends in this field. As a partner under the Danish Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, we receive government funding to carry out outreach efforts and identify victims. We collaborate closely with the Center against Human Trafficking, Ami Ami, and Reden International, who are also partners in the Danish Action Plan. Over the years, HopeNow has screened over 12,000 individuals and supported more than 3,000 victims. With two paid employees and a team of committed volunteers from diverse backgrounds, we bring a wealth of social, cultural, and linguistic expertise to our work. Michelle Mildwater continues to serve as the running director, while Anne Brandt Christensen, former board foreman from 2007-2016, now serves on our advisory board.