A life saved from sexual abuse - We are making a difference together!
Just a few months on from our Women of Hope events held in El Salvador in March, we are increasingly humbled by the fruit we continue to see yielding through our women's program. It is incredible to stand back and witness the impact that we are making together on girls and women's lives!
We are building on what we have achieved so far this year:
- Our amazing facilitator training day in March saw a group of forty strong female leaders equipped with education and resources to begin working in their respective communities to address gender-based violence and prevention.
- Our first-ever 'Arise and Shine' conference for adolescent girls saw 130 young girls and leaders gather in attendance at our inaugural conference. For many girls, the conference gave them an opportunity to see their lives and future from a different perspective. The message to the younger generation was empowering and well-received. The feedback we have received from the participants has been wonderful.
All our events have brought women and girls together from various communities and churches in San Salvador and united them with the vision to see women of all ages in El Salvador live a life free from violence.
A life saved from sexual abuse - We are making a difference together!
Rosia's story of courage...
Early this year, Rosia* was enrolled in our 'Girls of Hope!' program for girls aged 11-13.
Rosia’s Mum enrolled her after hearing about our violence prevention program for young girls through her local church.
From the beginning, Rosia enjoyed attending the program, actively participating in the activities and discussions and spending time with other girls her age who lived in her community.
Rosia didn’t miss a week of the program and often remarked to her program facilitator that the themes covered were things she had never heard talked about before.
During the fourth session, the facilitator led the group through the topic of 'body safety'. This was the session that would impact Rosia’s life the most. That week, as her facilitator provided information on how the body gives out 'clues' to signal danger and threat, Rosia realised that she was all too familiar with the signs mentioned. She realised how afraid she was of what was done to her in secret. Most importantly, it confirmed to her that what she was experiencing in her life was wrong.
Throughout the session, as the topic of sexual abuse was brought to light, she gained the strength to face what was happening to her in her own home.
At home, Rosia, a young and tender child, reflected on what she had learned from the group discussion and material. That day she found strength and courage, and in her own voice, she told her mother what was happening to her.
Her mother, upon learning of the abuse from her young daughter, responded. She confronted Rosia’s perpetrator, her stepfather, and took action to remove him from their lives permanently.
Rosia'a facilitator and our team of leaders in the community have had the opportunity to continue to provide vital support and care to this family.
*name changed to protect privacy
Thanks to your partnership, our projects are changing lives!
Your support is enabling us to give girls and women a voice. By strengthening support networks, we are increasing their capacity to prevent and take action against gender-based violence.
We are encouraged by the strong response to our Women of Hope program in El Salvador.
Since March, our facilitators have successfully run groups with a total of almost 200 adolescent girls. In the next couple of weeks, we will see our 20th group graduate from our gender-based violence prevention program this year!
We are ecstatic about these results and will continue laying the foundations for significant growth this year. We are expectant about what our programs can do in the lives of many more children who desperately need a message of hope for their future.
Over the next few months, we are focusing on strengthening our partnerships with referral agencies and provide training to our program facilitators to deliver trauma-informed care to our participants.
We would value your prayers and support as we continue to step out towards achieving this- the need is unbelievably great!
Thank you for your partnership in this vital work- we could not do it without you!
Vania Labios xx
