I just wanted to personally say thank you for participating in the Bayside Serve Day at Courage House! I am so excited to announce that because of your participation we accomplished so much more than I dared to imagine. The garden and orchard were cleaned out of growth choking weeds and the irrigation system fixed so they can get the water they so desperately need. The pond area was cleaned out so the girls can jump in to swim and now fish without breaking their rods. The creek was rid of the aggravating black berry bushes to provide a place of peace and sanctuary for our girls and Labrador Retrievers, Ezra, Nehemiah and Willie. A foot bridge was constructed so that walks around the 52 acres can be realized. The camp ground was cleared out and the girls used it the very next evening for a weenie roast and smores cookout. As they sat around the fire, they spoke their gratitudes out loud to each other – an evening tradition at Courage House but never done before at the camp sight. A fire break was made around the property so we are protected in case of an emergency and the Bayside Cottage sign was displayed for all to see.
This may have been your first opportunity to hear about Courage Worldwide, Inc. and the work we do right here in the Sacramento region to rescue young girls who have been commercially exploited and trafficked for sex. It still saddens, shocks and makes me incredibility angry to know we live in a world – a country – a city and state where children as young as 6, 7 and 8 years old are sold for sex. Most of these vulnerable children do not have homes or the families to protect and nurture them, so we build them homes and call them family.
We have the 52 acre ranch you worked on but we also have a home in Tanzania Africa. Our homes are called Courage House because it takes an enormous amount of courage for our young girls to face their pain and trauma of sexual exploitation.
Our vision is to engage a million people to build a thousand homes in a hundred countries in ten years so hundreds of thousands of these vulnerable child victims can find healing as well as their true identity and destiny. Because of you and events like Serve Day, we can bring more girls home to Courage House.
As well as thank you, I also wanted to ask for your prayers. We have been working for three (3) years to obtain the permits and license to build the Bayside Cottage – our first cottage – on the property you worked on. The county has indicated that we are in the final stretch of this journey but we are waiting on water reports and neighbor’s permission for easements. Can you please pray that we obtain these quickly? We have turned away forty (40) girls this year who wanted to come home to Courage House because we don’t have the beds. As soon as we have those permits, we can break ground on the Bayside cottage and bring six (6) more girls home! Thank you so much.
Also, like Serve Day we try to give individuals in our community tangible ways to partner with us to rescue and restore more girls. On June 21st, at Granite Bay High School we will have a Courage Run to raise funds to do just that. Would you invite your family and friends to come and participate? You can get more information as well as register at CourageRun.org.
Thank you for your consideration and again for your participation.
Sincerely,
Jenny Williamson, Founder/CEO
Courage Worldwide, Inc.