Summer 2024
Zoya* narrowly escaped being trafficked when her parents were approached with a proposition: a couple was looking to purchase a girl to be their daughter. Traffickers frequently use tactics like these to prey upon desperate families. They trick girls and their parents and then sell those girls into slavery.
Families like hers who live in tea picker communities in India are on the fringe subsisting on little or no pay – without hope of any options other than putting their daughters to work in the fields. Their managers may also be their landlords who frequently refuse to pay them, essentially making them slaves. Young girls like Zoya are vulnerable to being sexually assaulted while they are working.
Zoya began working in a tea plantation at 15 years old, so instead of going to school, she would wake up early and work 15-hour days harvesting tea leaves. “If we did not work, we did not eat,” Zoya said. After working long days in dangerous conditions and brutal heat, she would return home and try to educate herself.
With your help, we’ve been able to offer Zoya an opportunity. She now works as a paid intern in the She Is Safe-sponsored Girls Home. She is in 12th grade and able to save money for herself. She has a safe and loving environment where she can grow and thrive. Zoya is able to attend school and is supported in her education. She is discovering her unique talents and abilities, as well as her value in God’s eyes. Her path to slavery has been prevented, and for the first time, she envisions a lifetime of freedom.
Life as a refugee has been devastating for 11-year-old Lamia*. After fleeing her home country of Syria, Lamia now lives with her mother, stepfather, and siblings in a tent, unprotected from the elements. She is at extremely high risk of being trafficked as a child bride to a much older man, since her family sees her as a burden who is not worth equipping for a different kind of future. Her stepfather beats her regularly, and she had no friends or support system until She Is Safe coworkers came into her life.
At the SIS-sponsored community center, Lamia is deeply loved and cared for by the staff, who tell her that God loves her as well. They teach her life skills and support her education. She has learned to care for her environment, make friends, and is helping her mother at home.
This nurture has restored Lamia, bringing her heart back to life after experiencing such cruelty. She now knows her opinions can make a difference for good, and she has friends who agree and support her. She knows delaying marriage will be the best thing for her future, and she is advocating for herself. Her mother has noticed a deep change in her. Lamia has become confident in God, believing he can change her life in every way.
- For all regional conflicts to be resolved justly and peacefully. We work in many areas of significant instability and armed conflict.
- Protection, provision, resilience, and hope for our partner ministries and participants in daily instability.
- The success of our programs, all of which help keep girls safe from trafficking.
- Each girl to flourish, grow in confidence and in awareness of her inherent dignity and worth, and to discover her identity and value.
In South Sudan, women struggle to survive in the midst of constant violence and chaos. Their pain is compounded when trying to care for their children in such a dangerous environment without resources.
Hannah* was married young, and she has a house full of children to feed. With so few resources and such demand in the midst of scarcity, she is at high risk of exploitation. She felt hopeless because of all the hardship in her life until she joined a She Is Safe Group. In this group Hannah experienced the support of other mothers in her community and gladly embraced the love of God. She learned how to protect herself and her children from being trafficked. She also learned how to start her own business. She took out a loan from her group to build her business, and she is now the owner of a successful streetside pharmacy. Her business has been lucrative, and now she can provide for all of her children, which will go a long way in keeping them safe.
Hannah is passionate about sharing her story with other women to inspire them. She has also sponsored other women to help them get on their feet so they could join her She Is Safe Group. Through Hannah and other women like her, God’s Kingdom is growing from one person to another, expanding the church in South Sudan.
Message from Our Founder
When She Is Safe was founded, we were called to bring the good news of Christ to unreached people groups that devalue, oppress and sell women and girls. The communities where they are treated as commodities are places where they are not seen as valued by God as his image bearers. Over 21 years, we have seen how a woman or girl’s place in a culture is elevated once the light of Christ is brought to families.
Among outcast people groups throughout the developing world, women and girls are the most vulnerable to being trafficked. This is one reason why we focus on marginalized women and girls in answer to God’s call to minister to the “least of these” in Matthew 25:40. Your faithful support is an answer to this call in the mission of prevention, rescue and restoration, bringing new life now and forever. Girls who were living in darkness are now embracing futures of freedom because of you – your heart for the vulnerable and your belief that they are worthy of our sacrifices. We are grateful for your investment in the hardest places for girls.
With sincere thanks,
Michele M. Rickett
Founder & CEO
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Thousands of employers match donations of employees to nonprofits like She Is Safe. Every dollar can be doubled to free and equip girls from suffering abuse and human trafficking. With this match, girls will gain twice as many steps toward a whole new life.
To see if your employer will match your donation, visit www.sheissafe.org/matching-gifts.
