Vera

Before Vera was born, when her mother was a girl, a trusted family "friend" promised her a good job that would allow her to help support her parents. Like many families in this region of Southern Asia, generational poverty from a lack of education and opportunity had become a cycle.

But this young girl wanted more for her parents. Filled with hope and a desire to help her family, she accepted. 

What awaited her was not a job; instead, she was trafficked, cruelly enslaved, and forced to endure the horrific reality of being sold in a brothel day after day.

That is where Vera was born. In the windowless room of a brothel, in a place of darkness and exploitation.

Determined to protect her baby from the nightmare she was living, this young mother reached out to a social worker to send Vera away. Vera's mother was connected to an organization that promised to keep baby Vera safe. 

Despite remaining in captivity and being separated from her daughter, Vera's mother found comfort in knowing her daughter would be safe.

But shortly after, Vera's mother fell ill and passed away. Vera had lost a mother she never knew, a mother who made a sacrifice so Vera could have a future. 

Vera remained at the organization, growing up in relative safety. However, her life was shaken once more when the organization unexpectedly shut down, leaving her future uncertain once again.

Yet, God wasn’t finished with Vera’s story.

By His grace, Vera was eventually brought to us, where her life began to change for the better. Vera is now part of our vocational training program, learning tailoring and gaining the skills she needs to support herself as she enters adulthood.

But Vera’s transformation is more than just learning a trade. She has blossomed into a vibrant young woman who loves to sing, draw, dance, and help in the kitchen. She has eagerly begun our language course and radiates joy and hope for the future.

Vera’s life will be dramatically different from her mother’s.

Her mother's life was defined by her love for her family and her desire to make things better for them. What she couldn't do for her own parents, she did for her daughter. 

Her name was Leah, and though her life was full of suffering, Leah broke a cycle. God used her sacrifice to give her little girl a future. Now, Vera is a young woman unafraid of exploitation, and one day, she, too, will have the opportunity to pass this freedom on to her own child.

Your gift today can help to provide skills training and other necessities so that we might see God continue to miraculously save and change lives and futures just like He did with Vera.