When Jamila’s* parents passed away, she turned to prostitution as a desperate act to provide for her younger siblings. After 17 years on the streets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, she was HIV positive, struggling with addiction, and raising two children by herself.
But God did not forget Jamila. He led her to our long-time local partner, who gave her a safe and loving home where she could heal from the past and build hope for the future.
She joined our partner’s year-long rehabilitation program, giving women trapped in prostitution a way of escape through secure housing, meals, medical care, Bible-based counseling, and job skills training.
God helped Jamila overcome her addictions and start meaningful work handcrafting fair trade leather bags. But the greatest gift she received was hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. “I am now a Christian,” she shared. “I started reading the Bible, praying, and attending church.”
“Jamila believed that God was against her and no longer loved her,” added our partner. “But after joining us, she asserts that He is the source of love and has been guarding her all along. She knows she is valued and loved before the eyes of God.”
You can help women like Jamila come out of poverty and exploitation and know the hope found only in Christ.
With a gift of $50, you can share in the cost of safe housing for a woman and her children. A gift of $100 provides job skills training, and $350 gives one woman, like Jamila, a small business start-up kit.
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The hardships women in the developing world face often leave them without hope. Through your generous gifts, Samaritan's Purse is working to restore the hope of women through programs aimed at increasing literacy, providing maternal health care, teaching livelihood skills, and stopping trafficking and prostitution.