Stories
Slavery is not a thing of the past. In fact, more than 40 million people are estimated as being enslaved in the world today. Here at World Hope International (WHI), we are doing everything we can to combat human trafficking and modern slavery. The following stories remind us that behind the numbers, there are real faces and real people ¾ real people who need real help, right now.
Cora's Story
Everyone deserves a childhood. Yet, twelve is the average age of entry into prostitution or sexual exploitation for the 2.4 million women and children forced into slavery every year. Cora's story is an example of the horror and struggle millions of children around the world face every day.
Like too many children in Sierra Leone, Cora lost her parents at a young age and was sent to live with her aunt in a rural village. At 11 years old, Cora was married off to an older man in the village in exchange for just a few dollars. Although Cora remained in her aunt’s home, Cora’s “husband” began coming over to have sex with her at scheduled times each week. By the age of 12, Cora was pregnant.
When it came time for Cora to deliver her baby, she was refused a trip to the hospital and left lying in pain. After three days, Cora gave birth to a still born baby. Because her body was still not yet mature enough to give birth, the labor also left Cora paralyzed from the waist down with a huge hole in her birth canal, known as a fistula.
For six months Cora was left isolated and without proper care until she was finally sent to live with other relatives in the capital city. Once there, Cora was immediately transferred to a local women’s clinic, who declared Cora’s problem to be one of worst cases of fistula they had ever seen. Cora received immediate surgery to repair the fistula, but she still could not walk, and her arms would not stretch out. Soon after her recovery from the surgery Cora was sent home to be with her family, who continued to neglect her needs. She remained paralyzed and hopeless, until the World Hope International (WHI) staff stepped in to help.
Cora entered WHI’s Recovery Center for victims of trafficking and exploitation with little expectation to walk or use her arms again. WHI staff, however, set out to do all they could to reverse her condition. They worked tirelessly stretching and exercising Cora’s limbs and within one-month Cora was using her arms again. The heavens must have heard the housemothers crying out their joy! One who could not walk was healed thanks to care and support that WHI staff showed to a young girl who had been abused, neglected, and abandoned by the world around her.
Cora's story represents the reality for millions of other enslaved children. Just as Jesus left the 99 sheep in the hills to seek out the one lost ewe (Luke 15:4), WHI’s Sierra Leone staff sought out Cora to bring her the hope she thought was lost forever.
Mariatu and Augusta's Story
Mariatu and Augusta came from exceptionally impoverished families and backgrounds. At 9 and 11 years old, the girls were prime targets for traffickers looking to lure innocent children into sex or labor trafficking. The girls entered into a safe house for the disadvantaged and, soon after, a physically disabled began paying frequent visits to the girls' rooms late at night. After a few months the man convinced the girls to run away with him to a place he promised would bring better care and opportunities. Desperate for a better life, the girls obliged.
Upon leaving the facility the girls were immediately kidnapped, locked in a house, and left alone, vulnerable and terrified. The following day they were forcefully smuggled into a van and driven to the Sierra Leone - Liberia border. Responding to a call that the children were missing from the safe house, police caught the man at the border, arrested him, and referred the case to WHI.
Mariatu and Augusta were admitted into WHI's Recovery Center — Sierra Leone's only high-trauma aftercare facility for survivors of trafficking and rape — where they received six months of extensive physical and psychological counseling and care along with balanced nutrition, education and vocational training.
Mariatu and Augusta are both now reintegrated with their families. Both families have been extensively trained by WHI staff on how to prevent their children from being trafficked again. The girls have returned to school and the families have begun a WHI-sponsored income-generating activity, designed to provide a small source of steady income to the family to help adequately care for and support the girls. The families will be monitored for a minimum of one year — both by trained community watchdogs and WHI staff — to ensure Mariatu and Augusta remain happy, healthy and safe.
Upon arresting the man, police and WHI discovered Mariatu and Augusta were not his only victims. He had been smuggling children across the border for years -- children who were never seen or heard from again. Today, WHI continues to work with police to prosecute the perpetrator and bring full justice to Mariatu and Augusta.
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