Samaritana

Today after our Technohub outreach/bible study, Jon says he wants to go check out a place called Samaritana. So we hop in a cab and away we went. When we get to our destination it comes to our attention that the cab driver didn't turn off his fare meter from the previous passenger and now we've been charged double what we should be paying. Jon graciously paid for the fare as we all mumbled a little something under our breath as we got out. That cab driver drove away with not only some of our money, but also with some of our pride.  

We walk for about 5 minutes in this nice sub-division then we stop in front of this big house with a stained glass window in the front and on it is a woman in a dress and she appears to be dancing. We ring the doorbell and the director Jonathan comes to the gate to let us in. He tells us to go upstairs and wait for him in his office.  As we're waiting I see a booklet that explains what and who Samaritana is and does.

Samaritana Transformation Ministries is a non-profit non-denominational organization that outreaches to the women of the Philippines who have been caught in prostitution or sex trafficking. By offering these women community, friendship and accompaniment, these women are also slowly freed up to be who they truly are, as people loved just for who they are, regardless of their backgrounds, and valued for who they can yet become as they begin to trust in themselves and others and as they renew and pursue their dreams and aspirations.

In the booklet there is also a story of a woman who was gang raped when she was 14 years old. Later she went to the streets and not only sold herself but sold other people as well to paying customers. She dealt with the torment of having to endure the insults from her community and she did that for years because it was the only way she could provide for her seven children. It goes on to talk about how now because of Samaritana and the Christ like love that she has been shown, she has left the sex trade behind and is on a new journey, a journey towards healing.

As Jonathan (the director) walked in the room, we quickly chatted and gave brief backgrounds about ourselves and talked about some upcoming events. Then Jon asked if we could see/buy some Christmas cards. Jonathan took us downstairs and introduced us to a lady who showed us all the cards. There were Christmas cards, birthday cards, thank you cards, fathers day cards, any card you could really think of. I turn it over and it says "This card was handcrafted for you by women who have escaped prostitution in the Philippines." Each and every single card was made by someone; someone like the girl who was raped when she was only fourteen, someone like the girl who escaped from a brothel or someone who only does what she does because it puts food in the mouths of her children.
Underneath the story it says "This card was made for you by" and whoever makes it signs it and if you go to the website www.sanctuaryspring.com you can learn more about the person who made the card and her story.

Better than any Hallmark card

The hard part is hearing all the stories that these women share. It angers you to a point that you want to do something but you just don't know what. I'm glad that there are organizations like Samaritana that exist to help these women but the fact that Samaritana does exist is just a reminder of the world that we live in.