Summer 2025
Intan* is a young woman who lives in an extremely impoverished community in Indonesia. She was desperate to find work to help support her family, but there were no jobs on her island. She heard that there were many jobs in nearby countries and was excited to consider the possibilities.
This scenario is very common and many vulnerable people are trafficked to Malaysia as undocumented workers with the promise of a job. Thankfully, Intan met a local She Is Safe team member who intervened. Intan learned about the dangers of human trafficking, and she began educating others in her community about it too.
Intan enrolled in She Is Safe’s business training program where she learned the skills she needed to run a small business. One of the core elements of the group is a system of where members can apply for a loan to start an ethical business that gives them dignity. These loans protect members from predatory lenders who trap vulnerable families in insurmountable debt.
Through the group, Intan received a small loan to start her business and after successfully completing the training, she went on to start a second group to serve more women in her area. Both groups are instrumental in transforming lives! And the members have paid back the loans they received to start their businesses within a year. This is the power of your compassion – women like Intan are equipped to build a new life and then replicate that by equipping more women in their community.
Intan recently married a man who had worked in Malaysia. Instead of him returning there to an exploitative job, he and Intan are running their own businesses. Intan has a small grocery store, and her husband runs a barbershop in their village.
Intan has also been the driving force behind English language classes in her area, equipping many local girls to become English teachers rather than being vulnerable to being trafficked overseas. Intan and her husband are strong examples of how economic independence protects people from being trafficked. Thank you for making transformation like this possible!
*She is Safe uses representative names and photos to protect the safety and dignity of those we serve.
Indonesia Update: “Thank you so much for being part of She Is Safe! We started working in Indonesia 22 years ago with one local leader who had a dream to reach the vulnerable and unreached in Sumatra. Now, you are helping equip 694 women and 173 teens through 85 She Is Safe Groups and more than 84,400 children throughout Indonesia! These programs are equipping vulnerable women and children with the skills and tools to create a stable income, learn how to be safe from trafficking and exploitation, and take steps in their faith. The women and children love their groups, and God is doing a powerful work in their lives, their families, and their communities.” — She Is Safe Country Director, Indonesia
Reem* grew up under an oppressive father. She was desperate to escape, and marriage seemed to be her only option. She and her husband fled their home during a war to start a new life in a neighboring country. Though the setting changed, she remained under oppression—from a violent husband who was unfaithful and left Reem to provide for their two children on her own.
One day, Reem heard about a free sewing course offered by She Is Safe. With quiet courage, she enrolled—taking her first step towards a new life.
The sewing class became a sanctuary for Reem and changed the trajectory of her future. For the first time in a long time, she felt hopeful. When the course ended, she was gifted a sewing machine — a tangible path towards independence.
Reem launched a sewing and tailoring business from her home. Friends and family admired her craftsmanship and started placing orders. Now she has a steady source of income, which means she can provide for her children and protect them and herself from exploitation. Her ability to run a business and bring in income also helps her advocate for herself and helps safeguard her from domestic violence.
Your partnership also makes She Is Safe Groups possible in her area. Reem joined a group where she continues to learn and is an example of determination and resilience in her community. She has reclaimed her future, her dignity, and her dreams.
Today, Reem has a strong community of women supporting her and a stable, safe source of income that will equip her to protect herself and her children. Thank you for your compassion which makes it possible for moms like Reem to be safe and create freedom for themselves and their children.
*She is Safe uses representative names and photos to protect the safety and dignity of those we serve.
Middle East/North Africa Regional Update
She Is Safe has worked in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) for more than 20 years. During the refugee crisis, we began working alongside a handful of dedicated women to keep vulnerable girls from being forced into child marriages. We started with a vocational sewing program that gave them a way to provide for themselves. Now, because of your compassion, this work has grown. 550+ women and girls in She Is Safe Groups and 723+ women and girls in vocational schools have been equipped with the skills they need to be safe and build a strong future! This is the exponential, multi-generational change that happens when you step in to help the people who need it most.
Jiya* lives in India. She got married at 19 and soon had two children and a home to take care of. While she had dreams of going to college, now she felt very isolated.
Thankfully, partners like you made it possible to start a She Is Safe Group in her community. In that group, Jshe learned leadership and personal finance skills to protect herself from predatory lenders who are active in this area. Now, instead of living in isolation, Jiya is part of a strong circle of friends and she’s a leader in her community.
Slowly, the community is changing. Women and girls no longer wake up in fear every morning vulnerable to traffickers and unsure how they will repay loan-sharks. Jiya has continued to step into her full potential and started a decor business that now employs 100 women in her area! She is giving each person in her company a new sense of dignity and purpose and a path to freedom.
This She Is Safe Group, and the life-changing skills taught through it, is only possible because of the faithful support of partners like you in the SIS community – thank you for your heart for vulnerable women and girls.
*She is Safe uses representative names and photos to protect the safety and dignity of those we serve.
YOUR COMPASSION IS MULTIPLYING
Thank you so much for being part of the She Is Safe community! I recently returned from a ministry trip and was so encouraged by the work you make possible in Indonesia. There is nothing quite like sitting on a dirt floor in a grass-roofed hut face-to-face, listening to stories of the courageous women and girls we serve.
It was a stark reminder of the importance of your partnership: so many girls are suffering from abuse and slavery under extreme poverty.
It was also a beautiful reminder of the intrinsic worth and value of every single person as an image bearer of God.
That’s what I love most about our work: this life-change replicates. You and I have the miraculous opportunity to help not just one girl, but her friends, family, community, and future generations. One of the most important things your partnership does is help shift the cultural belief that women and girls have no value except to be sold. Staying trapped in that mindset leaves many girls in a lifetime of abuse and exploitation. But you know that with God, all things are possible, and from this abundance thousands of lives are being changed as women and girls discover a whole new identity in Christ!
In this newsletter, we’re excited to share stories of women who have gone on to multiply the life-change they are experiencing through She Is Safe.
I am so grateful you are part of the She Is Safe community of prayer warriors, advocates, parents, and friends who are standing up for the most vulnerable. You are part of a community that is changing the world, both now and for eternity. We are so grateful to do this work alongside you.
For forgotten girls,
Michele M. Rickett
Founder & CEO
P.S. As John Maxwell says, “Success is about personal achievement, but significance is about what you do for others.” Thank you for choosing to build a life of significance.
India/Nepal Update: Your partnership in this region has built a strong foundation, and yet the need is great! We are continuing to expand our programs to serve more vulnerable communities. We started with a single She Is Safe Group at this border. Now, you are helping rescue girls at the border from being trafficked at 4 border stations and 312 Transformation Groups are equipping women and girls holistically with the skills they need to build lives of freedom and faith for a strong future.
IN COMMUNITIES KNOWN FOR SELLING GIRLS
$35 gives a girl one month of intervention.
As a RescueOne monthly partner, you can rescue her from sexual slavery, restore her afterward or prevent her from being sold in the first place.
Your monthly gift can offer
- safe haven in a restoration home
- vocational training for a new life of freedom
- income-generating alternatives for families that might
otherwise sell their girls
When families begin to see what a gift girls are, they shift their thinking toward God’s view of these image-bearers.
