NewLife
Update
One of the most important ways you are changing the future is through the prevention of abuse and trafficking – getting “upstream” of the problem to address the core vulnerabilities that put women and girls at risk.
In Indonesia, girls face systemic oppression in a culture that consistently devalues them. (Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, with only 11% of the population knowing Christ.) Violence against women remains widespread, with 1 in 3 women and girls aged 15–64 having experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.
Severe economic stress is a common trigger. There is also an intergenerational pattern to this violence. Little boys who witnessed their parents committing or experiencing violence have a higher likelihood of perpetrating violence against their partners later in life.
But that also means the cycle can be stopped. Through She Is Safe Groups this dynamic is changing – as women understand their inherent dignity, step into their God-given worth and gifting, and learn vocational skills to earn a steady income. These factors change their relationship with their husbands, and this, in turn, changes life for their children as well, as they witness their parents’ love and respect for each other.
For Fitri* these are not statistics. This is her daily reality. She’s a young mother in a remote village in Indonesia. In the struggle to survive severe poverty she also had to witness her husband becoming crippled by a drug addiction and prone to violence.
Fitri joined the She Is Safe Group you make possible in her village, and God has been at work through this strong community of support.
Now, their home is peaceful, and Fitri is learning financial literacy, being equipped with vocational and abuse and trafficking prevention training.
It is beautiful to see the transformation taking place in their family, as Fitri becomes who God created her to be, her husband heals, and their daughter grows up in safety. Thank you for making the multi-generational change possible!
Namazzi*, Dembe*, and Atura* are three teenage girls who grew up in the rich culture and harsh poverty of Uganda.
They were desperate for work and became friends when they started working at a bar in a nearby town. But they were often working without pay or food. When a recruiter offered them a good job in a different city, they were thrilled.
He paid for their transportation, but the job in the city was a lie. They were being labor trafficked to become domestic slaves. This is a common type of trafficking that usually leads to abuse and sexual exploitation as well.
This led to a coordinated effort with local authorities across multiple cities and the arrest of 5 suspects involved in human trafficking.
All three teenage girls were recovered and safely returned to their families, after receiving trafficking awareness training and support.
Thank you for being part of this life-saving work! Instead of being trapped in slavery, Namazzi, Dembe, and Atura are safe and free.
Thankfully, you make rescues possible at the bus station nearby!
“Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.” — Joel 2:21, KJV
How do you and I hold onto joy when there is much evil in the world?
Together, we are serving on the frontlines to combat human trafficking, which means we are working in some of the darkest places in the world. That reality can paralyze some people with fear.
But again and again, I have seen how joy abounds when we move from fear into action. We each have a part to play in God’s great redemption story – and when we work and serve and pray together, it changes the trajectory of the future. We get to enter into the good work God is doing.
I pray your joy abounds as you see the multi-generational freedom you are unleashing for families across the globe! Thank you for being His Light in such a tangible way to those who are oppressed. God is doing great things through you!
*She Is Safe uses representative names and photos to protect the dignity and security of those we serve.
“As a mother of 5 daughters, I have always been keenly aware of the responsibility to keep my girls safe. And I deeply want every little girl, every child, to be safe. No little girl should be looking over her shoulder, always on edge because of a present or lurking danger.
She Is Safe has an incredible model of giving at-risk girls a pathway up and out, equipping them to be safe and free. They are not just saving girls one by one but literally changing the future for generations.
It is a cultural shift and a mindset shift, given to one, and then passed on, so generation to generation the cycle of slavery is stopped, and a new norm is created – one where every single girl is safe. That is a future I believe in.”
What makes you passionate about this work? We’d love to hear!
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