US sisters help Cyprus human trafficking NGO

Two siblings from the United States have been praised in Cyprus for their efforts to help a local NGO that aims to combat human trafficking.

The girls, Hunter and Sophia Petmecky, are twin sisters aged 12 from Los Angeles. They sought to do some volunteer work and got in touch with the NGO Cyprus Stop Trafficking.

Their links with Cyprus are through their mother who comes from the island and knows the head of the NGO Androulla Christofidou.

The girls contacted her and the organisation agreed that the sisters could take a series of photographs for an annual calendar it publishes in a bid to raise money.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, their aunt Lietta Christofidou said the sisters took a series of nature photos over Easter during a family road trip across the US.

They sent the photos to Cyprus Stop Trafficking, who decided to use them in the calendar.

Taking it a step further, they sought to raise money for printing the calendar by selling fresh lemonade and cookies with their friends.

The NGO said the twins managed to gather $301 but the printers at Irida Graphic Arts were so moved by the gesture that they printed it for free.

Hunter and Sophia came to Cyprus at the end of June to see how their hard work has paid off. On Friday, they met with Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou who congratulated them for their initiative to help trafficking victims.

The sisters also visited Open House, which houses and protects victims.

According to their aunt, they were incredibly moved by the visit where they met with human trafficking victims.

“They saw one 16-year-old who had a child as a result of rape,” and thought it could have easily been them.

Although they were sad to see the harsh reality of human trafficking they were glad to have volunteered for the project.

The Petmecky sisters were also invited to the US embassy in Nicosia, their aunt said.

The calendar is for sale at the NGO and the bookshop La Boite a Lire in Nicosia, Loizoudi in Nicosia and Limassol and Abitare Fabrics for €10, although people are welcome to donate more.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.