Instead, the band started its successful Blood:Water foundation (bloodwatermission.org) with hope that Africans would have clean blood free from H.I.V. and clean water free of bacteria and parasites. Most recently, the band’s main focus has been on the 1,000 Wells Project, which helps provide the water that Africans need to build healthier communities. Only $1 provides a year’s worth of clean water for an African, and now, there’s been more than 300 wells constructed to date.

“We have great partners on the ground that work closely with the villages in need of a well,” Mason shares. “To be there and watch a well have an impact on the life and health in a village is one of the greatest thrills of my life. We try to get to Africa once a year, and we’ve found it’s important for us to be reminded of the urgency and the joy.”

The Fight of Her Life

Natalie Grant is the first one to admit “it was so out of my comfort zone to become a total activist type.” But when an episode of “Law and Order” spurred her to action, there was no turning back. And before she knew it, she was on a plane to India.

“When I learned that the most innocent among us—little children as young as 5 or 6—are being forced to prostitute themselves 20-30 times a day, I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing.”

Now, through the efforts of Grant’s organization The Home Foundation (thehomefoundation.net), significant progress is being made in the fight against human trafficking. “Recently, we have helped complete two orphanages—one in Mumbai and one in Bangladesh,” Grant says. “We’ve also helped finish curriculum that will train churches and workers in America on how to fight this global problem. And this summer we will be sending our first three college interns to work with Bombay Teen Challenge in India. It’s a 10-week internship where they will learn what it means to be on the frontlines of this fight.”

Eventually, Grant hopes that 25 college students will join her in dedicating their lives to the cause because “we will change the world that much faster.” But in the meantime, she’s continuing to educate anyone who’ll listen about an epidemic that’s even growing more prevalent in the United States.

“Thousands and thousands of underage girls were given fraudulent papers and granted access into this country last year, forced into prostitution,” Grant shares. “One mile from my front door in Nashville, a brothel was uncovered that had 12 girls under the age of 15. Now, local coalitions are being set up all across America where victims will have advocacy groups they can contact and shelters they can take refuge in.”

There’s a Girl in a Room…