One of the ministries that we were able to visit last week
was one of the outreach projects that they have in a village about an hour from
where we live. The outreach is called Our People Project and at this particular
project they reach out into the village that is known for prostitution and
selling their children into prostitution. What happens is that men pay for
little girls to come do what is called, “wedding dances,” at parties,
festivals, or wedding then the girls are normally paid for prostitution after
they dance. Girls are affected by this their entire life. We were told the
girls start dancing as young as six or seven and they have seen cases where
girls are pregnant by the age of twelve. This is normally the main source of
income for families in the village so the fact that GEMS is going in trying to
give other opportunity has caused some opposition from parts of the community.
One of the reasons why this continues to be a problem in
this village is the lack of education. People do not have the means to get out.
They have no education so they are stuck in this situation with nowhere else to
go. So GEMS is working to help give the children an education. They also help
with meals and offer an opportunity to learn how to become a tailor. So by
offering different opportunities they are offering also a possibility for a
different future for these kids.
As a team we went in to just interact with the kids. We sang
songs with them and told a Bible story. It was so fun to see the kids really
just be kids. To see all the little girls smiling and having so much fun was
amazing to see. God is really doing a work in that village and I could
definitely see His heart and love in that place.
