This week I was blessed to have the opportunity to help out with an organization called “Wipe Every Tear” who is dedicated to breaking the chains of sex trafficking and poverty. I met the most amazing man named Kenny Sacht aka “coach”, founder of Wipe Every Tear.
Kenny was a history teacher and basketball coach back in the states at a Christian school. When Kenny started praying that God would break his heart for the injustices in the world, God brought Him to the Philippines and opened his eyes to the dark world of sex trafficking.
Kenny quit his job and started up “Wipe Every Tear”. This week I was personally able to see the effects of Kenny’s obedience the Lord. I got to talk to amazing young women who had been rescued from a life of prostitution.
Wipe Every Tear is dedicated to getting the girls off the streets and providing a safe place for them to live (hope house) and through sponsorships/donations get them back into school – thus ending the cycle of poverty.
I had some heart breaking experiences as I walked the streets of Manila late at night, seeing poverty first hand. Little boys and girls sleeping on cardboard, some begging and others high off “glue” – a substance that rids them of their hunger pains. Poverty is not hard to find nor are the girls who are being prostituted.
I sat down beside one girl and started chatting with her. I could see that she was exhausted and I asked her what time she could go home. She replied, “When I make 1000 pesos…I have 3 kids”. I got to talk to her for a little bit longer, asking her more about her kids and I was able to talk to her a little bit about Jesus and prayed with her. She thanked me and then excused herself as she got up and walked over to a car nearby that had slowed down.
Another night I met a 15-year-old girl whose aunt was prostituting her at the bar she worked at, once a week to “ease her into it”.
There’s nothing more horrible than when I’m sitting down with a girl, talking, laughing, getting to know her favorites songs or movies and then having to watch her get up and walk away 3 or 4 times during the conversation because she has a customer. What do you do? You can’t do anything. It’s a blessing that the owner or pimp is even allowing you to talk to the girls.
But that’s where ‘Wipe Every Tear’ comes in! Because of the relationships and trust formed not only with the girls but also the bar owners or pimps they’ve been able to save some of those girls out of that lifestyle. Out of the two nights that I got to go out with “wipe every tear” they had two girls calling them the next day asking for help.
If you could set a girl free, would you?? Because you can. Wipe Every Tear has been saving up to buy a new house so they can house more girls and get them into school.
This video explains a little bit more so please watch it! But basically they need 1000 people to donate 73 dollars by February 15th. The deadline is coming up but we know that God is big and God is good. Please, be a part of this plan. Team up with another family or friend to donate the $73 if you have to.
When I got to talk to some of the girls who had been rescued and when I heard their stories my heart literally broke. But… it also rejoiced because now they’re safe, they’re in school and most importantly… they found Jesus. The way their faces lit up when talking about Him was something I’ve never seen before. And now they are dedicated to helping the girls that are still out there, hurting and being abused. They’re determined to fight for them and show them who Jesus is and just how powerful He is. Will you do the same?
