Children exposed to this lifestyle have a greater chance of thinking its normal. Some will follow their mother’s footsteps as a sex slave. Others will learn from the exploiters. Even if they take a different trajectory, they will likely face abuse and neglect during their time in the brothels. And, especially for young girls, there is a greater risk that they will be coerced into the business by their mother’s pimp.

This is why India Partners is working with their partners on the ground to make sure that mothers, even if they feel like they cannot escape the sex trade, have a choice about how their children grow up.

This Christmas, one of the items included in India Partners Gift Catalog is “Days of Safety.” While safety for a child is truly invaluable, a small gift from someone like you can make it a reality.

Donna Glass of India Partners explains that they get to know some of the women in the red light districts and let them know there is another option for their child—one that includes education and a healthy, safe environment.

A girl named Asha

Right now, there are many children who are trapped because of the lifestyle their mother is living in order to provide for them. Because they work at night, mothers and their children sleep during the day, and so the children do not get to go to school. But what happens when the mother is working at night?

Glass shares the story of one little girl named Asha who is still stuck in the red light district.

“In the evenings, she’ll hear someone knocking on the door and once that evening time hits, she gets kicked out of the home and is forced to wait on the streets while her mother works… She sees men coming into her mom’s room every single night. She says she wants to just shout and run away, but she can’t. She has no place to go.”

Asha is also at risk of following her mother’s footsteps. Already she has been a victim of sexual abuse. Glass says one time when Asha fell in the street, a couple of men came to help her up, but they began to touch her inappropriately.

“She cries when she recalls this memory and she says she just hated it!” Glass says.

But with help from people like you, children like Asha can grow up in an environment where she is loved and valued and encouraged to pursue a better, more sustainable future. She can find healing and discover her self-worth.

Days of Safety

“Fifty dollars will provide a week of safety where the child can be in a place that she’ll receive food, medical care, education, counseling as needed, and most importantly, a safe place to sleep every night,” Glass says.

With the “Days of Safety,” the children get to experience an alternative life where they see that human life is valued and that there is hope for the future.

India Partners is also involved in outreach to the women, too. They recognize that women are often tricked or coerced into the trade where they will continue to be the victim over and over again.

“It seems like when you’re living in a brothel area that this becomes a normal way of life. And that doesn’t mean a person likes it. I think many of the women who are there feel trapped. And so we also work with them, providing counseling and also coordinating with other agencies in Mumbai who provide safe homes for women.”

In these homes, women who choose to leave will have access to resources like literacy training. It is an effort to help them regain their self-worth.

Glass says when they provide children with “Days of Safety” and hopefully remove the children from the red light districts permanently, the goal is never to separate the mother and child. The goal is that both would be rescued and eventually be reunited.

If you’d like to provide a child with “Days of Safety,” click here.

“Most people ask me, first of all, I have nothing to offer, I’m not a counselor, I’m not a pastor, I’m not an evangelist, I’m not a Sunday school teacher, so what is it that I could bring to an India Partners team?,” says Kaytie Fiedler of India Partners.

But the skills you need are much simpler. If you can smile, show love, provide prayer, and of course, blow up a balloon, Fielder says you’re perfect for the job. As for understanding a new culture, India Partners won’t leave you hanging.

“What we do is provide the training and the cultural information, all the support you need getting ready to go in country so that when you show up, you do have a really good sense of how you’re going to be used on a team.”

(Photo courtesy of India Partners)

Each team meets and discusses how best to put their gifts to use. From worship leader to organizing kid’s crafts, there’s a spot for everyone, and it varies based on the team.

Each trip takes about 14 to 16 days, and features two main mission fields.

First, “we work with an organization that deals primarily with anti human trafficking efforts” in Mumbai.

“These really precious, precious people are going out into highly volatile areas every day, reaching out to a population that is very hard to reach and sharing God’s love with them,” explains Fiedler.

Next is the more rural villages.

“We’ll go on and work with one of these rural ministries and we’ll work with children, we’ll go out to villages and work in their churches that they have planted in these very remote villages, we’ll encourage the local Christian community.”

Fiedler says that even as teams try to impact those in the cities and the villages, many times the life-changing experiences work both ways.

“We make all of these plans to go and bring our teachings and trainings and bring all kinds of what we think will be really inspiring and new information…. And what happens in return is [we see] the way that people are living and working as Christians in this country is so difficult.”

(Photo courtesy of India Partners)

For many Indian believers, their faith comes at a cost and defies generations of tradition. Being a Christian means pain and a complete reliance on their Father and King.

“When they have nowhere else to turn, they are turning to this God that someone introduced them to that said, ‘If you follow Me, if you put all your trust in Me, I will meet all of your needs, I am a good Shepherd, I will never forsake you, I will always be there as your Provider.’”

They have a trip coming up in November, and they are still looking for participants.

Want to get involved? We’ll connect you right here if you want to apply for a trip or get involved with a donation. But, before you even take that step, remember to pray.

Fiedler says, “I just ask that those of you that are called to intercede, that you’d focus on the leadership for those organizations, that God would continue to supply them with all of their physical, spiritual, and mental provision that they need to continue to be able to do the job.”

It’s no secret that India is center stage for international human trafficking. The US Department of State reported an estimated 20-65 million citizens in forced labor in 2013. Sex trafficking is one particularly prominent form of human trafficking with women and children as the primary targets.

India Partners is one group fighting back. They work in the red light districts of Mumbai.

Donna Glass of India Partners says, “We go in there with a team of very dedicated individuals who have a passion and compassion for helping these women and their children to find a different way to live their lives.”

Trapped

India Partners equips women with the tools they need to provide for their families.

Time and time again women are tricked or forced into sex slavery. It all starts with poverty.

“They are so poor that their families just to survive, they will literally sell their daughters into human trafficking because it’s one less mouth to feed and it provides them some income to help support those who are still left in the home,” Glass says.

Others respond to job postings from out of state only to find themselves being trafficked. They are intimidated out of running away or asking for help. Even state-to-state the language can be a barrier, Glass explains.

“They break their spirits through physical, mental, and emotional abuse. They’ll keep them hidden away until their spirits are completely broken and they feel like there’s no recourse.”

Once their sense of self-worth is gone, Glass says, they give in.

Reaching into the darkness

Working with other agencies in the area, India Partners has created drop-in centers within the red light district. Here, over time, they develop relationships with the women in bondage with the hope to gain their trust, renew their sense of self-worth, and give them a way out.

Along with that, these partners desire to share the love of Christ with them. “We do not go in and just take women out of the red light districts and find a safe home for them because they have not made a choice to leave,” Glass explains.

In cases where women are taken out before they start to understand their true value, the level of re-entry into sex slavery is high.

The message they want to send, Glass says, is this: “Jesus cares about you and he wants us to show his love to you and that is why we are here.”

Photo courtesy of India Partners via Facebook.

Some of the agencies involved in the drop-in centers have homes for the women who want to leave. Here they can get an education and learn a trade so they can take care of themselves.

One woman who escaped and went through this agency is now a nurse. Glass says it’s about giving them dreams beyond the red light district.

India Partners, however, focuses on the children of these women. Even if the mothers aren’t convinced they should leave, they know they don’t want their children growing up in that environment.

Expansion in ministry

Earlier today, India Partners dedicated a flat to be a new girls home.

In the past, the 14 girls India Partners is working with had to live in rented facilities—an uncertain and dangerous situation.

Because of generous donors, India Partners was able to buy apartments in a brand new building. The builder, when hearing their plan, did not treat them poorly but instead rushed to get their rooms done first.

These girls and their host mom will be the first to move in so they can get settled. Glass explains this will help with their privacy so the children can go to school without their classmates knowing their background.

Here are some ways you can pray:

• Pray for stamina and continued compassion of the workers, that they wouldn’t experience burnout. Pray for renewal and strength.
• Pray for the women coming to the drop in center to relearn their self-worth. Pray that they would find meaning, strength, and healing in Jesus. Pray that they would learn to trust those trying to help them.
• Pray for the children in the safe house to grow in faith, and that their mothers would continue to want the best for them.

You can provide a child with a day, week, or month of safety. Click here for more information.

(Photo courtesy of India Partners)

India (MNN) — Think your job is hard? How much harder would it be without any training?

“A lot of times, people get put into positions of authority and leadership without any training at all,” notes Kaytie Fieldler with India Partners, while speaking to MNN from India via Skype.

Fiedler and a small team are currently sharing job training with several ministry cohorts. After meeting with leaders in two different cities, the team is on their way to a third location on the east side of India.

Please pray for protection and safety as the team travels. Pray their upcoming job training sessions will be fruitful.

Teaching the Untrained

For the last few days, Fiedler and her teammates have been job training with leaders who minister in the red-light district and prison system of a major city.

“Their jobs are to go in and form relationships with people that are in really unspeakable conditions,” Fiedler shares. “It’s highly oppressive; the work is really difficult and slow.”

India Partners’ cohorts work all hours of the day in the city’s underbelly, witnessing the horrors of human trafficking, as they bring Jesus to the “least of these.” Fiedler says their “work culture” is similar to that of the U.S.

“If you’re not working yourself to death, then you’re not really working hard enough for the Lord,” she summarizes.

“Our goal here was to help them find balance and show that even Jesus took breaks. Even Jesus took a rest from the people.”

Sunglasses and teamwork teach leaders about compassion in this exercise.
(Photo courtesy of India Partners)

The team’s job training sessions ranged from broad topics such as servant leadership and motivation, to subjects that hit a more personal note. As these workers reach out to suffering prisoners and trafficked women, it’s easy for them to harbor bitterness toward evil people and situations.

Fiedler and her team spoke about forgiveness and releasing bitterness, as well as seeing others with eyes of compassion. After two “solid” days of job training, the team visited their partners’ ministry field.

“That was probably the most impactful part of our time there,” shares Fiedler.

Reaching the Oppressed

According to Legal Service India, four women/girls enter the sex trade every hour; three do so against their will. Approximately 80%of human trafficking victims in India are women and children. Over 35% of India’s sex slaves are under the age of 18.

For Fiedler and her team, these statistics came to life when they visited the red-light district their partners work in.

“It’s really troubling to see; it’s very oppressive,” Fiedler recounts. “[We went] past room after room after room of these ladies…sitting outside, vacant eyes, heavily made-up, and just waiting [for a customer].”

(Image courtesy India Partners)

And yet: God. India Partners’ cohorts recently began renting one of the rooms in this brothel and have transformed it into a “drop-in” center.

“We were able to meet with about 20 women that come there once a week for a Bible study,” shares Fiedler.

“It is one of the most spectacular experiences. We were able to do crafts with them, we brought a message of hope…to bring Jesus, bring love, bring genuine hugs, was really impactful.”

By supporting one of India Partners’ cohorts, you can help women and children trapped in the sex trade realize their Savior’s love. Click here to multiply “silver lining stories” like this.

How can you help protect women and girls from a life where they’re told they’re without value?
(Photo courtesy of Vision Beyond Borders)

Southeast Asia (MNN) — What was the hardest thing you’ve ever forgiven someone for? Some girls in Southeast Asia are choosing to forgive family members for selling them into human trafficking.

Vision Beyond Borders is establishing bonds with women in Southeast Asia to release them from the bonds of prostitution.

VBB recently opened a safe house in conjunction with their salon in a red-light district.

Dyann Romeijn of VBB says, “Within six months of opening the safe house, it’s completely full. And there are five new women already that are ready to come out in the next several weeks. And then there are literally hundreds that are ready to come out but just need to have an opportunity to do that.”

The women not only need the right logistics to get out of prostitution, they need a chance to identify the bonds that keep them there.

So, why do these women stay in the red-light districts? And even before that, why are they there in the first place?

1. Culturally defined value

The women are told from a young age that they are not very valuable, and so it’s not such a stretch for them to support themselves with work that exploits them in the worst way.

Romeijn says, “The women in their culture are not revered anyway. And then if they’re in lower caste systems, it’s even worse.”

This lack of value ascribed to them undergirds other reasons women find themselves working as prostitutes.

2. Betrayal

VBB reports that many times women are sold by friends and family. The women become “property” of a brothel owner until they’ve sold themselves enough times to pay their “debt.”

The women are betrayed by those who they’re supposed to trust most. Their family values the money they make selling the girl into prostitution over the girl herself.

3. Religion

That’s right. Religion is often used as an excuse to abuse and manipulate women in this culture. Many times women are convinced that their involvement in the sex trade is a service to their gods. In fact in some cases, girls are dedicated to a god at a young age.

And on the flip side, some believe themselves to be reincarnated to this life because of sins committed in their past life.

Romeijn explains that sometimes men abuse women in the temples, telling the women that in the temple, being used by them is actually an act with the gods.

4. Income

And many times, it’s as simple as money. Women, especially those abandoned by husbands and left to provide for their children, choose prostitution as a way to provide for themselves and their family.

They don’t know any other way to make money because they lack skills. Other times men or “bosses” offer them a “better” life than the work they’re already doing. That life turns out to be one of prostitution.

Because these women have been tricked and told by society that they are worthless, it takes more than removing them from the situation for them to be healed and on their way to a truly better life.

Romeijn says, “It’s been so engrained in [the women]. [Men have] used it to dominate these women and abuse them.”

So, what does it take to really help?

“It’s a whole new way of thinking for these women; they have to truly be set free by the power of Jesus because they need the truth. They need to see the truth. But until they can actually mentally understand and accept that, [it may be] physically easy but mentally it’s been so engrained in them that it’s very difficult for them to come out.”

VBB workers establish the foundation for this truth to settle on by reaching out to the women at their salon in the red-light district.

The women learn to trust the workers and build relationships with them. This opens doors to sharing the Gospel with the women caught in the sex-trade.

It is by hearing the truth of Jesus that the women realize their true value.

Women who are fortunate enough to live at the safe house are learning skills that will help them support themselves in a healthy way. They also learn more about their Savior.

Romeijn explains that many of the women share about Jesus with their families, even going so far as forgiving them for selling them into sex slavery in the first place.

Photo by Vision Beyond Borders

VBB is working on setting up another salon and another safe house so that the hundreds of women who desire to escape from the sex trade might have an opportunity.

How about you?

• You can help support this funding by clicking here (Memo: Vision For Women).
• There are opportunities for you to go and help with this ministry in-country.

“[If] someone feels called to actually visit and minister to these women, we take teams over there several times a year. There are opportunities for women to actually go and minister to these women,” Romeijn says. There is more information here.

• But maybe you’ve been called to pray instead. “It all begins with prayer,” Romeijn says.

This documentary, along with this prayer guide, will help you know how to pray for women caught in the sex trade. Request a copy of the documentary, download the prayer guide, share it with your church, your Bible study, your friends.

Romeijn urges us to pray “that God would continue to set captives free.”

She also asks you to pray that God would move hearts in Southeast Asia. She says, “It seems like there’s been a great outpouring of His Spirit on these people, and there’s just an openness to the Gospel, a desire to be set free. [Pray for] the women that He’s already set free: many of them come from Hindu and Muslim backgrounds and are actually sharing the Gospel with their families when they come out and expressing forgiveness to maybe even family members who have sold them into bondage.”

Pray that God would bring fruit from the lives of these women whose hearts have turned to Christ.

These projects are part of VBB’s Vision For Women ministry.

(Photo courtesy India Partners)

India (IPS/MNN) — Mumbai’s red-light districts are not a safe place for children. Surrounded by brothels, abuse and drugs, these children grow up in deplorable conditions.

Their mothers are sex workers who are often trafficked against their will. At night, some of these children are drugged and put under the bed while their mothers work in the sex trade.

Women working in the red light districts are treated like less than human. They encounter daily abuse and violence from customers and pimps. Children left to live in this environment are at an extremely high risk for being abused or used in the trade themselves.

Every day, 160 girls and women are trafficked in India against their will. Today, there are at least 5 million children of sex workers in India.

It doesn’t have to be this way. With the help of India Partners, you can keep the doors open to safe houses that rescue a child living in the dangerous red-light districts of Mumbai. $7.08 provides one night of safety.

(Photo courtesy India Partners)

In these safe houses, the children are given house parents, a private tutor, enrolled in private school, and given a loving environment where they can thrive. If their mother is still living, they are granted supervised visits.

The children also receive full room and board, clothing, medical care, counseling, full-time education, and the love of Jesus. If their mothers choose to leave the sex trade, they are kept in a safe environment where they are no longer forced to work in that “industry.”

Save these children from being trapped in the brothels, where they experience abuse, drug addiction, and trauma. Instead, help give them hope for the future. Click here if you want to make an eternal difference.

(Image courtesy VBB)

SE Asia (MNN) — It’s one thing to know that 27 million people around the world are victims of human trafficking. It’s another to actually do something about it.

“It’s not the UN’s, it’s not the government’s responsibility; it’s our responsibility because we know that people are created in the image of God, and this is NOT His purpose or plan for their lives,” says Patrick Klein with Vision Beyond Borders.

“We as Christians should be moved with compassion and say, ‘We need to do all we can to rescue these women.'”

Klein is leading a short-term team in Southeast Asia right now. They’re building a safe-house to protect girls who are courageous enough to leave the trade.

“We’ll have 11 or 12 starting out, and our goal is eventually to have 50 women in that home,” Klein shares.

Along with building the safe house, “We’re going to have discipleship in the morning…and then in the afternoon, we will be teaching them [rescued women] how to make handcrafts, how to sew.”

This way, women can support themselves in a God-honoring way.

The safe house and training are the latest developments in an ongoing partnership between VBB and an in-country ministry partner. This partner is a woman who’s been ministering in the brothels for 15 years, establishing friendships and earning the trust of trafficked women.

“She’s sharing the Gospel with them the whole time, and once they trust her and they’ve come to Christ, they want out,” Klein explains. “It’s a dangerous work, but at the same time, it’s really exciting because you see God radically change these girls’ lives.

“When they worship, their hands are raised, their tears are just running down their faces. They’re just so grateful for what Jesus has done in their lives.”

Why go?
Klein says people interested in supporting VBB often ask him whether they should go or give.

While giving is an immense help and is truly needed, “People should go; if they can go, they should go because I believe it’s life changing,” the ministry leader says.

Some men in India believe that if they have AIDS
or venereal disease and have sex with a virgin,
they will be healed. They will pay up to $500 to have
sex with a virgin girl as young as 7 years of age.
(Image, caption courtesy VBB)

Although VBB’s trips are short-term, they leave an everlasting impact on those involved.

The team members “come back changed, and they say, ‘You know what? I want to do all I can to help these women in the red-light districts,'” shares Klein.

Relationships forged between women in the trade and women on the trip lead to Gospel opportunities.

Klein shares the story of one team member, a rape victim, who connected with one of the red-light district workers in a unique way. VBB’s partner says she had never seen a smile on the worker’s face.

But the VBB team member ministered to this worker as she styled the woman’s hair, and by the end, something had changed.

As the worker got up to leave, “this lady from the States hugged this girl good-bye and said ‘I love you’ and kissed her on the cheek,” Klein recalls.

“As the girl was leaving, the girl turned around and waved, and she smiled for the first time.”

Your Turn
VBB regularly takes teams to minister in SE Asia’s red-light districts. Find a list of upcoming trips here.

“We can always use people who teach the women skills. Also, we need women that could come over and actually teach them in the beauty salon,” Klein notes.

“Lord, please help us get the Gospel to more people, and that the Gospel will permeate these red-light districts everywhere around the world,” prays Klein.

(Image courtesy VBB)

Please pray that more women will escape human trafficking and find salvation through Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord to open the eyes of brothel owners and traffickers who use these vulnerable women and girls.

Pray also for the men who abuse them to be transformed.

Says Klein, “They’ll go into these buildings…and they’ll window shop. They’ll walk in and look at the girls and see which ones…that they want to use.”

Learn more about VBB’s Vision for Women program here.

(Image courtesy opensourceway via Flickr)

India (MNN) — The back-and-forth diplomatic battle between India and the U.S. continues.

Upset by the recent arrest and alleged mistreatment of a diplomat, India is demanding a remedy from U.S. leaders and removing U.S. diplomat privileges. American response is divided; Secretary of State John Kerry expresses “regret” over the incident while U.S. Attorney Preet Bhara defends charges against the Indian diplomat in this letter obtained by Fox News.

There’s concern of a ripple-effect, possibly impacting U.S. entry into India. Kaytie Fiedler with India Partners says the likelihood of this preventing their mission trip in February is minimal.

“We always have our team’s safety in mind first, and I always tell people our best advisor and our best bodyguard is always God,” she states. “He has protected all of us, every time we’ve gone.”

From February 14, 2014 to March1, India Partners is taking a team to minister in Mumbai’s red-light district. They’ll be working alongside the ministry’s in-country partners, Sahaara Charitable Society, counseling and sharing Christ’s love with trafficked women.

Women in one of Mumbai’s red-light districts.
(Image courtesy sandrinecohen22 via Flickr)

“It will be an opportunity of a lifetime,” Fiedler notes. “You will have the opportunity to go into the heart of the red-light area. You will sit down and meet with some of these ladies that are still working.

“We have Bible study with them; we pray with them and encourage them.”

People who aren’t involved in lay ministry or counseling shouldn’t think they can’t participate, adds Fiedler. Before entering the red-light district, team members will undergo training in counseling and learn best practices for connecting with the women.

“God can use all of us when we lay ourselves out there and do things we feel that He’s tugging at our heart to do,” says Fiedler.

“No matter where God’s put you in your work life, He will use you to minister to people on the other side of the world.”

It’s not too late to sign up for this trip, click here for more information.

As the Lord brings together the people He’s called for this trip, please cover them in prayer. Pray for India Partners staff as they work out trip logistics. Pray for Sahaara Charitable Society workers as they prepare to host the team.

Most importantly, ask the Lord to prepare the hearts of women and children stuck in Mumbai’s sex slavery. Pray that they will be receptive to the Gospel.

“India needs evangelism; they need the Word of God,” notes Fiedler. “It’s going to take people and time and energy to do that, so pray that God will continue to use His people in India to spread the Word and the Good News.”

SE Asia (MNN) ― Ministry in a Southeast Asia red-light district is expanding.

Vision Beyond Borders is battling sex trafficking in Nepal and India through safe houses and salon ministries. One of their contacts recently expanded her ministry to include a medical camp.

This VBB partner gave medical care to women and brothel owners, and shared the Gospel. Many women are now coming back for follow-up care and prayer. In addition, VBB’s cohort got a chance to share Christ with two eunuchs she spent several months praying for.

Pray this new branch of ministry will bring many out of trafficking and to the Lord.

Red light district

Pray that as they turn to Him, these captives will find true freedom.

Plans are moving forward for kids in the red-light district, too. Funding is needed for a children’s hostel, which will provide safe haven and an education. Pray for committed people to come and represent Christ to these young ones.

For two decades, VBB has fought sex trafficking in Southeast Asia, and they continue making gains for the Kingdom of God in this region.

Learn more about VBB’s Vision For Women ministry and how you can come alongside their efforts.

Vision Beyond Borders is battling sex trafficking in Nepal and India through safe houses and salon ministries. One of their contacts recently expanded her ministry to include a medical camp.

This VBB partner gave medical care to women and brothel owners, and shared the Gospel. Many women are now coming back for follow-up care and prayer. In addition, VBB's cohort got a chance to share Christ with two eunuchs she spent several months praying for.

Pray this new branch of ministry will bring many out of trafficking and to the Lord.

Along with operating the medical camp, VBB's contact was able to meet with and encourage some of rescued women living in transitional homes. Another group of women she ministers to have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior; they're also making decisions to leave the sex trade.

Pray that as they turn to Him, these captives will find true freedom.

Plans are moving forward for kids in the red-light district, too. Funding is needed for a children's hostel, which will provide safe haven and an education. Pray for committed people to come and represent Christ to these young ones.

For two decades, VBB has fought sex trafficking in Southeast Asia, and they continue making gains for the Kingdom of God in this region.

Learn more about VBB's Vision For Women ministry and how you can come alongside their efforts.