Sister Joan Krimm

Cincinnati, OH

"And we thought slavery was over."

Every once in a while, someone will ask: When do Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur retire? The answer is: We don’t. We just take on a new ministry.

That’s certainly the case with our older Sisters who live in our convent and Health Center in Cincinnati. A number are working to help women, children and families caught in the web of human trafficking.

“Human trafficking is slavery –
where children and adults are exploited for commercial purposes. ”

Victims are trapped in lives of misery – often beaten, starved, and forced to work as prostitutes or to take grueling jobs as migrant, domestic, restaurant, or factory workers with little or no pay. Trafficking is real, and it happens in our own backyards.

Sister Joan Krimm works with the FBI and leaders of a Cincinnati anti-human-trafficking coalition. She goes to schools and talks to teachers and students about trafficking and sexual slavery. While she speaks, other Sisters who live in our Health Center pitch in by labeling bars of soap that will be placed in area hotels. The labels have the toll free number for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, which fields more than 1.000 calls a month.

Update: Sister Joan has retired this ministry and she is currently attending her ministry of prayer with her community at Mount Notre Dame.