July 2011 | Love146.org

27
Jul

Police Posted by Desirea Rodgers

There are times when local police can be part of the problem and not part of the solution. The leader of one of our projects in Cambodia decided to target a local corrupt police chief. This leader spent two years building relationship with the chief of police and tried to educate him on the effects of trafficking. In the beginning the chief was not at all interested in working closely with this project but after two years, the chief of police is now training people in the community about trafficking, he is a member of the Child Protection Network and has asked us to conduct workshop training in surrounding areas throughout the province.

This Love146 prevention project lives in an area of Cambodia next to the border of Thailand. Borders are notorious for trafficking, especially this one. This prevention project uses a holistic approach to meet the situation and needs of the people, especially children within the community through:

1. Supporting children in education through education classes (for children who are not able to attend public school), supplemental classes, high school dormitory, school materials, transportation, English classes, student clubs and study tours.

2. Raising awareness in the community through conducting workshop training on child rights, human trafficking, safety migration with parents, children, local authorities and public teachers.

3. Increasing income within the poorest families through providing training on raising animals and businesses plus providing micro finance loans.

4. Running the Children Protection Network (CPN) to provide prevention, protection and intervention in the community. CPN plays a role as a community watchdog. CPN is an organization made up of children, parents, pastors, village leaders, community leaders, public school teachers and police.

5. Building relationship with children’s families through home visits to educate and encourage parents on how to support children. In some cases, to intervene in the family when issues arise.

(child in photo is not a victim/survivor of sexual exploitation. He is in one of our

prevention projects).

Love146's work is simply impossible without support.

Your Partnership in Prevention sustains the operation of the Love146 prevention programs in Asia and the U.S.

22
Jul

To all the Love146 girls (and guys)... Posted by Marilyn de Guehery

A few weeks ago, I was able to visit some of our field projects in Asia. The trip culminated in a wedding that took place in the Love146 Round Home. The bride was a survivor of sex trafficking who moved forward from the home (was reintegrated) last year. The bridesmaids were survivors from the Round Home-- all dressed flawlessly in the pinkest of pinks (including hot pink eye shadow, of course!). One of the most cherished moments of the day was watching the girls become giddy over catching the bouquet... a scramble of laughter and energy that was pure joy to be a part of.

After the wedding, we got an unexpected privilege to sit in the safe home with the girls for a few minutes.

To my left fellow visitors sat with one of the new mothers in the home, cradling and cooing at the baby. Across the room sat a group of girls, talking amongst themselves, casting us an occasional reserved gaze. Dr. Gundelina Velazco, our Director of Aftercare, went and sat with them. To my right gathered a group of girls still buzzing, perhaps at having guests in the home, and certainly with a degree of post-nuptial glee. As I entered they quickly squeezed an open spot for me on the sofa with them.

I asked the girls what their favorite part of the day was, one girl responded that it was the couple’s first dance. They asked me if I was married; I told them no. They asked where I was from, I told them briefly about Florida, and Connecticut, the places I’ve lived. One girl boldly said, “You know, I got to meet Paramore.” I then got a run down on exactly who’d met Haley Williams. I naturally expressed my jealousy.

Then another girl asked, “How many Love146 girls are there in America?”

I was caught off guard, “What do you mean?”

“How many Round Homes in America?”

Oh, right. I get that question quite a bit...

“Well, there’s just one Round Home for now, so you’re the only Round Home girls in the world.” They swapped grins at their unique status.

“But... I guess there are lots of Love146 girls actually.... Girls who believe in freedom and love... who have difficult days, and who can borrow hope and joy from you all. You in the Round Home give encouragement and healing to so many people, including me. Dr. Velazco sends us stories from the Round Home, and I get to share those stories with other people. The love and hope you all share is enough for many many Love146 girls all over the world. So there are lots of Love146 girls.”

There was a pause marked by puzzled smiles.

“But how many?”

“Um...” My mind rolled back through our Facebook and Twitter fans, financial partners, blog readers, and Task Force members.

“At least... twenty thousand?”

Giggling and shrieks ensued.

So this blog’s dedicated to ALL of the thousands of Love146 girls (and guys) out there-- we’re in this movement of Love together.

20
Jul

English Club Inductions Posted by Desirea Rodgers

Three of the girls in our Round Home, Majel, Maribel, & Chile, are now students at a nearby highschool. They're star students; always praised by teachers.

We recently got an update from Dr. Velazco, our Director of Aftercare (who the girls call "Mommy"). Like a proud mother, she was sharing about a joyous event last Thursday: English Club inductions! Maribel (pictured below) is now the Vice President of the English Club.

She sang a favorite inspirational song at the induction ceremony and her sisters from the Round Home were sworn into the English Club beside her….

While a key component to successful aftercare for survivors of child sexual exploitation is education and livelihood, the real joy in seeing events like this is simply the restoration of childhood, being a teenager again, of being vice president of the english club. It's the kind of stuff we want to celebrate by hanging photos on our fridge.

So today, consider this Love146 blog post "the front of our fridge": a place to brag about the girls, and a place to celebrate their achievements.

Love146's work is simply impossible without support.

Your Partnership in Aftercare sustains the operation of the Love146 Round Home, a safehome that provides holistic aftercare to survivors of child sexual exploitation.

13
Jul

New Video! Posted by Desirea Rodgers

I live in the North East of the U.S. which basically means that I trust no one. The North East is wonderful, I moved from the West Coast eleven years ago to call this home. I truly love it, but there are two bad habits I've picked up from living here,

1. I tend to not be the most giving driver in the world and

2. I have a really difficult time trusting people.

The first issue is up and down (just ask my husband), the second issue comes up at moments like these when I sit down to write you. See, I'm super excited about this new program Love146 is launching today and I'm super excited about the new video that goes along with it, I also think about you (our partners, supporters, co-abolitionists, encouragers, field workers, Task Force members etc. etc.) almost everyday. I think about the children I know and that you will never know; I think about how you've literally changed their lives through your partnership. There are children that are not being raped today because of you. There are children that now know what Love really looks like. There are children that will never know what rape or trafficking feels like, all because of you. But (and this is where my problem makes a grand entrance) when I sit down to write to you, I feel that my words will not be trusted (because who trusts organizations anymore right?). Because of my own mistrust, I am tempted to just write a nice intro. to our new video instead of actually writing about what I see and know to be true. But I can't, it's not a gimmick or marketing trick, I believe that slavery will end when we start partnering, networking and working together and I am so grateful for those of you who do this already (with us or another organization).

Today, we're launching a new program, simply called "Partners" I think this video probably does a better job of explaining it than my ramblings.

If you would like to know more about Partners, you can visit our webpage here.

Thank you,

Desirea
(a recovering bad driver and mistruster)