This month, my team and I are working with Wipe Every Tear and staying at a safe house for former trafficked women.Our ministry is loving on these women and doing life with them. Wipe Every Tear has baught three different houses in the same neighborhood which house almost 40 women! Each of these women were either trafficked into bars (which are pretty much glorified strip clubs/ brothels) or were at risk for being trafficked (meaning they were either selling cigarettes, mints and condoms outside the bars, or thier family members own bars in the Red Light District).Of these women, the oldest if 37 and the youngest is only 13.
In the US, it is commonly thought that women get involved in the sex trade industry by being abducted or forced into it. Here in the Philippines, it is completely different. These young ladies come from poor families who can’t afford to buy food for everyone. In order to feed their younger siblings, these girls do the only thing they can think of to get good money fast: they get jobs as dancers, door greaters or waiters at the bars. Here, the girls work from 6 pm to 5 am presenting their bodies on a stage for men to buy to sit with them, go on dates with them and ultimately, sleep with them. Sadly, through all of the pain that these girls experience, they will only receive about 3 dollars per night.
These ladies are beautiful and just like any other girl I know. They have the capacity to love that I strive to find every day. They loved their families to the point that they sacrificed their lives and wellbeing in order to provide for them! This month, I get to live with them, eat with them and marvel at how strong they truly are. They have been redeemed from their past lives at the bars, but it is an every day battle for them to continue on. Some haven’t seen their families in years, and are longing for the day when they will be reunited. Others struggle with extreme self worth issues. Many of them have said that they don’t feel pretty or worth it just because of the rejection of abuse that they have faced in the past. Pray for these ladies as they continue to fight for a new tomorrow!
Stay tuned for my next post about my experiences in the Red Light District of Angeles City! If you would like to join me in fighting for these girls, please support me by following the link to the left, below my picture! I’m getting close to being fully funded, but I still need your help!
