(Photo credit India Partners)
India (MNN) — Imagine coming face-to-face with the daughters of women who’ve been trapped in human trafficking.
What do you see? Vacant eyes? Tattered clothing? Perhaps it’s a face full of shame.
Now, compare that to what India Partners’ Jennifer Heacock experienced recently at the Anandalay safe house: “They were so much fun, and they are so full of joy and Jesus there.
“I’ve been seeing their pictures and hearing their stories for two years. To spend time with them one-on-one and get to know them was just amazing.”
A new life at Anandalay
(Photo courtesy of India Partners)
Anandalay is a ministry of the Sahaara Charitable Society, one of India Partners’ cohorts since 2007. According to India Partners’ Web site, Anandalay is “a home for daughters of trafficked women wherein they receive quality education, wholesome food, and excellent accommodation under the committed care of a houseparent couple.”
Thanks to the support of sponsors, these young women don’t have to face the same fate as their mothers.
Child sponsorship
India Partners’ child sponsorship program connects at-risk kids (in the red-light district and other locations) with food, shelter, clothing, an education, and most importantly: the Truth of Christ.
“They’re just surrounded by the love of Jesus,” Heacock notes. “They go to Sunday School, and Jesus is taught as ‘the One and the Way.’ They get to see Jesus’ love in a tangible, real way, and that changes their life.”
(Photo courtesy of India Partners)
Vulnerable children receive many tangible benefits through sponsorship, but they also get something not quite as apparent: protection.
The children of trafficked women are just as susceptible to abuse as their mothers. In some cases, kids have nowhere else to go but under the bed their mother uses for “work.” Sometimes men abuse young girls as well as the woman they’ve purchased.
In other cases, children are left to fend for themselves on the dangerous streets. They become easy prey for traffickers seeking another sex slave or laborer. Anandalay provides a safe haven and watchful eye.
“Just being able to receive an education in India, that can break the cycle of poverty,” adds Heacock.
“Really, you’re creating a legacy that can be passed on through this one child’s life.”
Ready to make a difference? Click here to sponsor a child through India Partners for only $35/month.
