Spring 2024
When Citra’s husband abandoned her to marry another woman, leaving her alone with three young daughters, she was devastated and hopeless. Where she lives in Indonesia, women have very little opportunity to provide for their families and aren’t valued by their culture. Citra had no idea how she was going to feed her children. She wondered every day if they would be able to survive.
Women in Citra’s community who were part of a She Is Safe Group heard about her situation and felt heartbroken for her. They visited her home to pray for her and invite her to join their group. Citra agreed to join and was happy to have a safe, supportive environment during her pain. In her weekly meetings with her group, she learned about caring for the health of herself and her children, how to protect herself and her family from being trafficked, and about God who loves her. Group members also helped her pay the fees for her daughters to attend school, which will give them a foundation for a future of hope and freedom. Citra began to believe in her worth despite being abandoned, and that she could provide for her family through saving and managing money. When God provided Citra a job a month after she joined the group, the women rejoiced with her. Now she can make and save money with the new skills she learned.
In addition to her job, Citra decided to start growing and selling cabbage as another source of income. She applied to take a loan from her She Is Safe Group to start this business, which they granted. Her cabbage business is thriving – and Citra’s life of hopelessness has been transformed. She knows she is a woman of purpose and value, and she can provide for her family.
When Shanti was 15 years old, her relatives sent her to work in the Middle East to earn money for the family. Where she lives in Nepal, there is no opportunity to earn an income, so desperate families frequently send relatives abroad to work and send money home. Shanti was trapped in the Middle East for two years where she was mistreated, exploited and tortured. Shanti was desperate to escape, but her pleas to return to Nepal were met with a demand for $2,000 to release her from her contract. Knowing this was impossible to pay, she was forced to stay through the contract despite being severely mistreated. Once her contract was up, Shanti returned to Nepal to get married, but her situation was so desperate, she had to borrow money at high interest to send her husband to work in Saudi Arabia. Now a mother of two young daughters, Shanti was terrified when her husband landed in jail – and the money lenders came knocking on her door.
She felt her only option was to leave her daughters behind and return to the Middle East to work to pay off her debts. This would have left them extremely vulnerable to being sold into slavery, as their village is targeted by traffickers who find it easy to get girls from there.
She Is Safe’s coworkers in Nepal heard about Shanti’s hopeless situation and stepped in. We provided her a water buffalo that she could sell milk from and earn an income and stay at home with her daughters. Shanti finally has the freedom and skills to provide for her family, keeping her girls safe.
“If She Is Safe hadn’t come into my life, I would have gone abroad as domestic worker again, and I don’t know whether I would have returned alive or not,” she said. “I don’t want my daughters to experience the hell of working abroad.”
Mima’s husband would not let her go to her She Is Safe Group in Myanmar. He got angry whenever she would leave the house. When Mima went to their Christmas party, he screamed at her in front of their two-year-old daughter when she came home. But Mima loved the party and the women she met there who were so kind and supportive. This was especially important to her during the turmoil she experienced daily due to government instability and her community’s rampant poverty in addition to her own loneliness. She kept going to the group despite her husband, because she wanted to feel encouraged and connected. During the group meetings she learned how to communicate with her husband and share her feelings with him. Their arguments decreased, and he began to see the value of the group and its impact on Mima.
Now, he encourages Mima to go to the group, which even began meeting at her house. On the meeting days, Mima’s says, “We should clean up and get some food, because today is the group meeting.” Now Mima not only has the support of her group; she has the support of her husband.
Message from Our Founder
Spring comes with beautiful reminders of new life – and at She Is Safe, we are blessed to see new life emerge as women and girls come into the light of freedom. There they discover and embrace God’s love and purpose for them.
Though they were once living without any hope of a future beyond slavery, these women are now avid learners, gaining the skills to start their own businesses in order to become strong and free. Instead of isolation, they know God is near, and they have the love and support of their She Is Safe sisters.
You are crucial to the freedom and growth vulnerable women and girls need. Your partnership and generosity make it possible for girls born into a life abuse and slavery to experience the light of Christ. It takes so little to change a life, and when we each do what we can, God-given abilities have a chance to emerge.
I am truly grateful for you and ask for your continued prayers and support for those who will otherwise be forgotten.
In His love,
Michele M. Rickett
Founder & CEO
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