The MWP Report: 19 June 2008 Edition – www.makewaypartners.org
Going to the most vulnerable & least protected to end human trafficking - through prevention.
Along the way, many people have asked, “Why Sudan?” There are true and simple answers such as, “It is the place where God has led us.” and, “We note that out of the several locations in which we have endeavored, it is the place where He has blessed beyond our wildest imaginations.” That being said, it seems important to also make clear for our faith partners the process through which He has led us to get to Sudan.
When Milton and I found the precious African children being trafficked into the Iberian Peninsula (where we served as missionaries), we were faced with two daunting realities:
1. It took us two years of constant fighting to get the children released. During that period, all of the children, except one, remained in the abuse.
2. The fact is that the overwhelming majority of children who endure sexual slavery often return to the trade. This happens primarily for two reasons:
A. They suffer from severe emotional, physical and/or spiritual scars from which, even with the best of care, few seem to recover.
B. They are often sent home to the same environment that left them vulnerable to trafficking in the first place. Nothing has changed for them in that environment and thus, the cycle is repeated.
Much research, prayer and discernment led us to the firm conviction that our call, and the call of Make Way Partners, was to go to the root of the problem and do all that we could to prevent this injustice from happening in the first place. Another solid conviction was that we wanted to find those at greatest risk – the most vulnerable with the fewest resources available to them. These are usually the last to ever receive help or attention, we wanted to make them first!
Studies proved to us that war zones, civil unrest, dire poverty and extremely isolated regions (without proper tra n sport or governmental infrastructures) contained the most vulnerable and highest risk: widows and orphans. Further studies also revealed that because of the ‘great risk', ‘high cost', ‘extreme discomfort' and the general difficult nature of simply getting in and out of these regions, few and sometimes no one offered consistent help to these widows and orphans.
War-orphans and widows in developing countries have the highest rate of trafficking in the world.
Thus, our calling became even clearer:
Passionate to share the
Hope of the Gospel
with the least of these,
Make Way Partners uses two criteria
to select places of ministry:
1. Where women & children are at highest risk of human trafficking, forced prostitution and other forms of modern-day slavery.
2. Where little to no other help is available because it is considered either "too" dangerous, "too" expensive or "too" remote for most people to go.
Following that model, Sudan was a clear decision.
In visiting Sudan, I could not find one single family in our region that had not been affected by slave raids. Most had lost multiple family members to slavery. Some entire families had been taken. I also learned that there was no one offering protection to the most vulnerable: widows and orphans.
Through your help, God has now blessed us with the only orphanage available for the Darfur refugee orphans where we receive both Christians and Animist from the South and Muslims from Darfur equally in the name of Jesus. It is a ground breaking model that the Lord is blessing to heal His children.
Our first orphanage is for girls only. Boys face the same dangers. Please view the following YouTube link showing the need for our second orphanage (for boys) now under way! http://youtube.com/watch?v=S0FZGUp1Bm4
Joyful to be your fellow servant,
k
Kimberly L. Smith
President
*To sign up to receive our weekly "MWP Report" click here