THE DARK HORSE STORY
Dark Horse Global was founded in 2019, but the beginning of Dark Horse Global finds its roots 18 years prior, in the heart of St. Petersburg, Russia.
Founder and CEO, Kevin Campbell, was on a three-week mission trip working in orphanages across the city and the surrounding areas, when he and his team visited a particularly large orphanage in the city with hundreds of orphans. The orphans ranged in age from newborn to 16 years old, the age at which children age out of the system. After spending time with the orphanage director and learning about the facility she ran and the good work she and her team were doing in support of the children, the team broke into women’s and men’s groups to spend some time with the girls and boys respectively. The women would paint the girls nails, do their hair, play with the younger girls, and do anything that young girls and adolescent teen girls enjoyed doing. The men would head outdoors and spend time playing soccer, baseball and throwing the football with the boys.
This process, from the beginning of the trip, repeated itself at every orphanage the team visited, and the typical response of the children was laughter, gregarious affection, and joy. However, the response at this specific orphanage was vastly different. The team described the children as “zombies”, and all of the children’s eyes looked as though they were “glazed over”. After spending a few hours at the orphanage, the team left, returned to the home of the trip’s coordinators living on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, and shared with them what they had experienced. With a look of surprise on their faces and a ready apology, they said, “We are so sorry! We have been so busy we forgot to tell you about that orphanage. That orphanage director prostitutes out all of the children… That place is a sex factory.” She went on to tell us how the police station next door was complicit and shared in the profits of the thriving business. They detailed how customers would show up at all times of the day and night to choose whatever age and gender child they wanted, how many they wanted, and for how long.
Kevin had no space in his head or heart to place what he had just seen and learned about. At best, he had heard of child prostitution, from a perspective of children choosing to voluntarily sell themselves. In 2001, human trafficking wasn’t talked about. In fact, the United Nations was just beginning to recognize it and canonize a definition and put legislation in place to address the problem on a global scale.
That trip changed the trajectory of Kevin’s life, and he decided to spend the subsequent years working with orphans and vulnerable children around the world, and ultimately transition from his job in executive leadership in operations in the corporate world to running counter human trafficking operations and investigations in the non-profit space.
But the genesis of Dark Horse Global isn’t just Kevin’s story, it’s the story of the other men and women who are a part of the Dark Horse Global team. The team of experts that make up this organization all have their individual stories that have led them to fight the heinous crime of human trafficking. Collectively, each of their individual stories has created the whole story that is the mission of Dark Horse Global: Liberty for the oppressed, justice for the oppressor.
As the Dark Horse Global story continues to be written, we invite you to join us because your part to play is irreplaceable; the hope and freedom of many rests in the hands of us all.
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We harness and leverage desire for change with excellence and skill. Our heart and passion are the fuel. Our operational expertise, investigative methodology, strategic focus, technological superiority, ongoing evaluation and analysis, and a rigorous determination to always be better, are the components that comprise the engine that enables our exceptional performance and subsequent success.