“Shay”* was promised a better life and better education outside of the rural area she had grown up in. Her parents trusted a family-friend who vowed this would expand opportunities for their precious daughter.
*Name changed for privacy
At just 13-years-old, she was trafficked to an unfamiliar country with a different national language so she could not communicate with anyone to get help. She was trafficked as a domestic servant and sexually exploited. When she was identified by a community member and rescued, she was already pregnant.
Arriving at Courage House, Shay was barely able to communicate and was visibly traumatized. During her stay at Courage House, she received the resources she needed to feel safe and begin her healing. She received medical care throughout her pregnancy and delivered a healthy baby, Shalom.
Shay and Shalom returned back to Burundi and were reunited with their family, after our social workers worked with both the governments of Burundi and Tanzania. What if it was your daughter? Can you imagine the relief and the joy to see her beautiful face again? To be reunited after many, many months of agony, not knowing if Shay was safe or even alive, is truly a miracle!
Unfortunately, this story of “promises for a better life” is one we hear time and time again—another twisted way traffickers exploit vulnerable children. But, through your donations, the trajectory of Shay’s life was redirected!