Real rescue is more than escape.

It’s more than freedom from exploitation. It’s freedom to live.

To have a career, a family, an education.

Freedom to pursue dreams.

In South Asia, many rural farming families and slum residents habitually live life balanced on the thin line between poverty and starvation. There are no safety nets, little access to government welfare programs and no savings accounts to fall back on. So when something goes wrong in life, desperation is waiting just around the corner.

That’s why our teams in South Asia have been working with partners to develop creative solutions to help rescued kids stay free.

To highlight how economic solutions can change lives, we’ll tell the story of two South Asian survivors. Each of them faced desperate, often tragic circumstances that drove them into exploitation. Watch how each courageous survivor moves from a life of abuse and the tyranny of desperation to a life of freedom—following an individualised journey they play an active role in planning.

Now that they are free from abuse and the tyranny of desperation, these girls are free to live life to the fullest.

Imara

Imara was running out of options. 

Jobs were scarce in her village; it was becoming a struggle just to survive. Desperate to make a living however they could, Imara’s parents were forced to relocate as seasonal labourers. The 15-year-old was left home alone, hungry and unsure when her parents would return. 

That’s when the men started approaching her. Without her parents around to protect her, Imara was pressured into having sex to provide for herself.

When our field workers offered Imara freedom from her life of isolated exploitation, she bravely made the choice to join our Residential Care program. She came into our care shy and standoffish, conditioned by abusers who saw her as nothing more than a product for them to use. 

As she progressed through the EMPOWER trauma resilience training program, she began to open up. 

After celebrating a birthday at the shelter, she started to take an active interest in the world around her. In realising that she was more than an object to be used, Imara began to understand that she was capable of more. Freedom from selling herself to survive gave her the freedom to integrate herself into society in a meaningful way.

While at our shelter, Imara wanted to learn more about biology from a medical perspective. The intelligent girl was fascinated by the miraculous, intricate design of the human body.

Fortunately, one of our local partners runs a medical clinic in the area and offers job training to survivors. Imara enrolled in extensive training in the facility, which includes classroom studies, hands-on practicals, and writing tests, culminating in a government exam held at one of their centres. We sponsored and encouraged Imara throughout the whole process until she finally earned her government-issued certificate!

That certificate will allow her to apply for work anywhere in the country, but she didn’t have to go far. Imara was offered a job as a lab technician at our partner facility, which will not only allow her to get her foot in the door of the medical profession but also provide a stable source of income.

The work is difficult, but Imara’s caseworkers describe her as determined and focused. We are beyond proud of Imara’s diligence and are excited for her to be one of the first graduates from this new initiative.

Sana

Sana’s family faced similar difficulties. As the eldest of her siblings, it was up to her to contribute financially to the family’s needs. Despite helping her father sell food at his vegetable stand, the family wasn’t making enough to get by. So, with no other options, she found herself being sexually exploited for money. She loathed the “work,” but the responsible child saw it as her duty to help sustain her family, so she endured.

When our team on the ground learned of Sana’s plight, they reached out to her father. The man was understandably wary of strangers who offered to take his daughter to a residential home and give her job training for free.

In many parts of the world, offers of this type are literally “too good to be true” and could possibly lead to even more dangerous types of exploitation and abuse.

Our agents patiently built trust with Sana’s father until he realised what an incredible opportunity this could be for Sana. When she came into our care, she was nervous and full of self-doubt. Exploitation is notoriously destructive to a child’s self-worth. As Sana progressed through the EMPOWER program, she finally started to understand how valuable she really is. She began to shed the guilt and shame she’d been carrying as a result of her abuse and started to show an interest in expanding her horizons.

Sana became an avid learner. She learned and became confident in speaking English. She was particularly interested in how drawing blood can reveal so much about what’s happening within the human body.

After joining us, Sana was excited to start her phlebotomy training. The diligent survivor persevered through six months of education before passing her exams. Her work paid off: her hard-earned certificate opens up new work opportunities for her all over the country.

Despite the personal growth she’s experienced, Sana hasn’t forgotten about her struggling family. She’s confident that with her training and new job, she’ll be able to provide for her younger siblings until they can support themselves. Once timid, doubtful and repressed, Sana is full of hope for the future and gratitude for the chance to live free.

If you want to offer freedom from the chains of exploitation to kids like Sana and Imara, please consider filling out the form below. Your gift is more than a dollar amount; it will help fund a new, brighter chapter for a suffering child.