Former freelance comedian selling T-shirts to help trafficking victims in Cambodia

CAROLYN KABERLINE/SPECIAL TO THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL-Jesse Hill, of Perry, displays one of the ROLF-riffic T-shirts he's designed. Proceeds from the sale of the shirts will help victims of the Cambodian sex trade.

By Carolyn Kaberline

Posted: September 22, 2012

SPECIAL TO THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL 

PERRY — Perry resident Jesse Hill hopes to bring a change in the lives of those in Cambodia and other parts of the world who have been victims of human trafficking by selling T-shirts inscribed with “ROFL-riffic,” a word he made up that means an “adjective describing a verb as both hilarious and epic in nature.”
Hill, a former freelance comedian who now is majoring in youth ministry at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Mo., first became aware of the horrors of human trafficking in Cambodia, United States and other countries last year at a Christian camp.
“I’ve volunteered at a Christian camp in Horton, Kansas, every summer,” he said. “A session there said that human trafficking was starting to surpass the illegal drug trade. ... Today, sex sells; in fact, Cambodia’s capital is called the sex capital of the world.”
Because $5 can feed a person in Cambodia for a month, Hill said, it’s easy to see why human trafficking is so lucrative. Although people typically hear of women and girls involved in the sex trade, Hill said men and especially young boys also are victims.

At the same camp, Hill learned about Rapha House, a nonprofit Christian organization dedicated to ending trafficking and sexual exploitation of children, and met Zeb Barron, a musician from Tennessee who has worked with the Christian rock group Audio Adrenalin. Barron and his wife started the group Freedom’s Promise to help human trafficking victims in Cambodia and the United States.
“Groups like this help people by building shelters and rehab centers,” he said.
Inspired by the work of Rapha House and Freedom’s Promise, Hill decided he also wanted to join in the cause. Because he likes to design clothes, he decided to design and sell T-shirts.
One of the first obstacles he faced in starting his company was to come up with a name. Hill reached back into his earlier work as a freelance comedian and comic artist specializing in impersonations and improv routines for a teenage audience for ideas.
Like many comedians, he always hoped to leave his audiences ROFL — rolling on the floor laughing.
“I came up with the term ROLF-riffic,” he said. “I want it to be like the phrase ‘Do the Dew.’ The whole thing is to provide for happy people.”
Currently, Hill’s nonprofit company is listed on Facebook but still in the development stage. While he’s beginning to get pre-orders for his T-shirts, he eventually hopes to offer shirts, pants and “even kilts for the more eccentric.”
Hill’s goal is to sell enough T-shirts and other clothing to send an individual, who would be paid, to Cambodia to help those involved in human trafficking.
“This isn’t just about selling,” he said, explaining he’s trying to get his company on a firm foundation by connecting with those who have more resources. “I want people to know what’s happening and what can be done to stop it.”
While Hill knows many new ventures fail, he believes “if only one person gets help, it’s a win for me — that one person can help someone else and teach others.”
“It is our duty to love people, to show honor, to show commitment toward people and to thumb our nose at evil,” he said. “We all have something to do. It’s our duty to live life as much as possible for the betterment of people.”