Participants:
Series Code: HIM
Program Code: HIM000213S
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00:02 Child Impact International
00:04 is an organization that gives hope 00:06 and fosters permanent, 00:07 positive change in the lives 00:09 of disadvantaged children 00:10 and their communities. 00:13 Countries include Zambia, 00:15 India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. 00:20 Child Impact's investment 00:22 in the lives of more than 3,500 children 00:24 continues to yield infinite returns. 00:27 Outreach spans from child rescue operations 00:30 to providing an education 00:31 and a home for deaf and blind children and orphans. 00:35 Above all, Child Impact's sponsors 00:38 give hope to the ones who need it the most. 00:48 A couple of years ago, 00:49 Jean Boonstra associate speaker 00:51 of Voice of Prophecy visited India 00:54 with Child Impact International. 00:58 During her trip to India, Jean met some amazing people 01:01 who are the driving force behind Child Impact's mission 01:04 to reach out to those in need. 01:06 She met with Anita, who was in charge 01:08 of Child Impact's Operation Child Rescue program in India. 01:12 Operation Child Rescue is a program that rescues 01:16 and rehabilitates girls who are trafficked 01:18 and sold as prostitutes in the sex industry. 01:21 Jean got to talk to Anita. 01:23 And she shared with her the challenges 01:25 and the dangers that she and her team face 01:27 in rescuing these girls. 01:29 So, Anita, after you go in, you and your team, 01:32 and you actually go in 01:33 on these rides yourself personally, 01:36 these girls you work with them for a little while, 01:38 then what's the next step? 01:40 How do they transition from that life back 01:44 to somewhat a regular life? 01:47 Once we finish the rescues, we take them 01:50 to the police station for a little bit, 01:54 where their stories are taken, 01:55 their photos are taken, and then we have to take them 01:59 to a government shelter according to the law. 02:02 The first place after their rescue 02:04 has to be the government shelter. 02:06 And these are basically sets of buildings with staff. 02:12 But they're not specific to trafficked victims. 02:15 So you can have abandoned girls there, 02:17 you can have a pregnant mother there, you know, 02:21 premarital, you can have 02:24 someone who has lost their family, 02:27 you can have somebody who's lost, 02:29 got off a train at the wrong stop. 02:31 So just a mixed group of people inside that place 02:35 and these girls are taken to that place. 02:37 Usually, we do the rescues quite late at night. 02:41 So... For that surprise factor. 02:42 Yes. Yeah. 02:44 And so between about 2 or 3am, we end up in this place. 02:48 So the girls as, you know, 02:50 that there are about three gates 02:53 before you get inside the place. 02:55 It's almost like a jail. 02:57 It looks like that at some... 02:58 Sounds intimidating. It is. 03:00 And then, once there, 03:03 the girl's case has to come up for hearing. 03:06 And we have to find out their backgrounds. 03:09 Okay. 03:10 Many times, because it's a government-run shelter, 03:13 the traffickers can end up coming right there. 03:16 Really? 03:17 Yeah, they pose as an aunt, a mother, a sister, a brother, 03:21 the only relative in that place. 03:24 And because they have so many cases 03:27 and so many people turning up, they don't check credentials. 03:33 And so they can come turn up with, you know, 03:35 a false document. 03:37 And we have had many such ones, and they can release the girl, 03:41 or they get to see the girl intimidate her more, 03:44 or promise to get them out of that place 03:46 because by then the girls really want to 03:47 get out of the place. 03:49 They don't speak the local language, 03:50 the food is not something that they like. 03:53 Government-issued food, essentially. 03:54 Yeah. Yes. 03:56 And then, many times they have told us 03:57 there are lice in the food 03:59 or lice in the coffee, you know? 04:00 Oh, my! 04:01 Yeah, and the others are really mean to them 04:03 because they find out that 04:05 they have been involved in sex, commercial sex, 04:08 and they label them the stigma of being in that place. 04:13 You know, you just want to get out there, 04:14 desperate to get out. 04:16 Many times these girls have tried to cut their wrists. 04:19 And we get a call to say, 04:20 "Please come and take the girls, 04:22 you rescued out of this place 04:23 because they disturbing everybody else." 04:25 And you go there, and they say, 04:27 "We just want to go out of this place. 04:28 The brothel was better." 04:30 You know, so harsh, so harsh. Sounds horrible. 04:33 How many days or how much time 04:35 are they're in this place, generally? 04:37 Well, it can be anything 04:38 between two months to two years. 04:40 Wow! 04:42 Are they cared for their physical needs? 04:45 I mean... Oh, yes. 04:46 I mean, I hate to be very... 04:49 I hate to talk about it. 04:50 But the life they were living in the brothel, 04:53 they had a lot of physical injuries, I assume. 04:55 Yes. 04:57 Obviously, emotional, mental 04:58 are those things addressed at all in the government home? 05:03 The government does provide a shelter so there is food. 05:07 There is a sense of... 05:09 They have water and clothes and people talk to them, 05:14 but the abuse sometimes is in different ways. 05:16 There's a lot of sexual abuse 05:18 that happens within those shelters, 05:20 especially to the younger children. 05:22 We did a rescue of boys who had been trafficked 05:26 from Bihar to Bangalore for labor, 05:29 and some of these boys were aged 9 to 12. 05:33 And when we visited them about a week later, 05:36 a couple of them said they didn't like 05:38 what older boys were doing to them, 05:40 which is implying sexual abuse inside a government shelter 05:44 that is meant to be a protective place. 05:48 It sounds like it's taking them 05:50 from a bad situation and putting them 05:54 in a so-so situation 05:56 and in that specific case, a worse situation. 05:58 It's true. 06:00 So it doesn't sound like it's an answer. 06:02 But you also don't have a choice. 06:04 Yes. 06:05 So, Anita, you are a Christian, 06:10 what difference would it make to be able to take these girls 06:13 and put them in a Christian facility 06:15 where they were nurtured and cared for specifically? 06:20 Now, Jean, you're talking about 06:21 a vision that I have for these girls, 06:25 every girl who's rescued. 06:27 You know, the sense of hopelessness 06:28 inside that place 06:30 when we walk into those brothels 06:31 or when we go into those places 06:34 where they're being forced to hide 06:36 or to overwork. 06:39 There is just a deep sense of despair 06:42 and a darkness that is so obvious to us. 06:45 And when we get them out of that place, 06:48 what we want to give them to replace 06:50 that is the sense of hope that God cares about them 06:54 that there is a future that He can build 06:56 and that He can restore 06:58 and that no matter what has happened to them, 07:01 they are still made in the image of God 07:03 and nobody can destroy that. 07:05 And nothing can mar that. 07:09 But you see, they've never been told that 07:12 they've been so abused inside that place 07:15 that they couldn't care about themselves. 07:18 So we in our home, we'll have that opportunity 07:22 right from the start to just love on them, 07:26 to be able to give them that sense of hope 07:30 that they need not fear anymore, 07:31 they're not in a place 07:34 that anyone's going to abuse them. 07:36 In fact, they're going to receive the opposite 07:38 that there will be a sense of freedom 07:40 within that place where they can make choices. 07:44 And those choices will be guided 07:47 by good counseling and that they will have options 07:51 whether they learn a new trade or whether they go back 07:53 to visit family, it will all be under careful observation 07:59 and supervision to ensure that 08:01 the best happens for these girls. 08:04 I think part of the story that you tell that 08:07 really breaks my heart is when you share 08:10 how these girls, once they're rescued, 08:12 some of them, 08:14 a certain percentage of them do go back 08:16 to that way of life because of the shame 08:18 because they don't feel an option. 08:22 Have you seen the difference 08:25 that Christ makes for the girls? 08:27 Is that the difference that keeps them 08:29 from going back to their lifestyle? 08:32 I think it is the main difference, Jean. 08:35 I mean, to be able to pray with the girls, 08:37 and we do pray with the girls. 08:39 You know, that I told you we get some private time 08:42 either at the police station 08:43 or at the brothel before we take them 08:46 to the government shelter. 08:47 We almost always talk to them about God and pray with them. 08:51 Because that's the only private time 08:53 we'll get before we are under supervised visits 08:57 in the government shelter. 08:59 But if you had a home, 09:01 we can pray with them every day, 09:02 we can pray with them and counsel them, 09:04 and tell them about a God who loves them, 09:07 and help them to come to terms with that. 09:09 I mean, many of them ask us, 09:11 "Why do you want to do this for us?" 09:13 You know, "Why would you be here?" 09:15 Because I always tell them, "I'm a mother, myself. 09:18 And I have two daughters, I know what it feels like 09:21 to be inside this place, 09:23 wondering what's going to happen next." 09:26 And they always say, "Why do you take this risk?" 09:28 And I tell them, it's because God has called 09:32 some of us to these things 09:33 and because it's the God who took a risk for us. 09:36 I mean, that He came for us that 09:38 we might have a life that is free. 09:41 And, you know, they are so open 09:44 to listening to the gospel, to knowing, 09:47 but the most important thing, 09:49 Jean, is for them to see the gospel in action. 09:52 And that's what we manage to do there. 09:55 Okay. 09:56 But what drives you each and every day to continue, 10:00 to put your own personal life in danger? 10:02 You're on the front lines doing this, 10:04 and I imagine your husband worries. 10:07 What keeps you going to do this? 10:11 I think this the call that God had on my life 10:14 and which I realized about 10 years ago 10:17 when I went out on my first rescue mission, 10:21 just the thought of these girls out there and that... 10:26 You know, something might happen to them, 10:28 that they may never hear about a God who loves them. 10:32 Being an Indian woman, myself, a mother of daughters, 10:37 just wanting to do the best that we can for these girls. 10:42 It's funny, I never was a brave 10:44 or courageous person growing up. 10:45 In fact, I was very timid... 10:47 I can't believe it. Very timid, very shy. 10:49 Yeah. 10:51 I hated standing up in front of anything. 10:53 And I still am very afraid before we go on a rescue. 10:57 Everybody knows that I have my private time. 11:00 But when we finish the prayer 11:02 before the raiding team is out of the door, 11:06 I know that God has gone before us, 11:08 and He's already there. 11:10 I mean, there are times, Jean, that we've searched 11:13 the building for the girls, 11:15 and we just don't know where they've hidden them. 11:18 And somehow God shows us 11:20 where that hidden place is, you know, 11:22 whether it's a hole in the wall that has been sealed up, 11:27 and we have to break through that 11:28 or whether it's a hotel reception desk, 11:32 and you open the drawer and it's a staircase... 11:34 Really? Wow. 11:36 Into a seller where the girls have been pushed. 11:38 It is God because, you know, none of us have had 11:42 any kind of investigative training. 11:44 And when God shows up there, we know that we keep going on. 11:49 He's going before you. Yes. 11:50 And you're trusting in Him. Yes. 11:53 Well, I have a hard time 11:54 imagining you as a timid young girl. 11:57 You're a great inspiration to myself 11:59 and many who have met you, I know you are. 12:03 Well, I just praise God that you 12:05 and Operation Child Rescue are doing, 12:07 what you're doing, Anita, that you are facing 12:09 these problems, 12:11 that you're there dealing with it. 12:14 You know, it's really hard for those of us 12:16 who don't see it with our own eyes 12:19 to really comprehend the level of danger, 12:24 the horrors that these children go through. 12:27 But I just thank you for what you're doing 12:29 for the ministry that you have. 12:32 Anita, it's always a pleasure visiting with you. 12:34 Thank you. Thank you, Jean. 12:42 Current estimates tell us that more than 1.2 million children 12:45 are caught up in human trafficking 12:47 in India alone. 12:48 The numbers are truly staggering. 12:51 But thanks to people like Anita 12:52 and programs like Operation Child Rescue, 12:55 these young girls and boys 12:57 can be rescued and rehabilitated. 12:59 You can play a vital role in helping 13:01 Child Impact International in its rescue efforts. 13:04 Voice of Prophecy has partnered 13:06 with Child Impact to build a rehabilitation home 13:09 in Bangalore, India to provide a safe place 13:12 where young girls can be given hope, 13:14 healing, and to learn new skills 13:16 all in a Christian environment. 13:18 Please pray for Anita and her team in India. 13:21 And if you would like to help or get more information 13:23 on Operation Child Rescue, 13:25 please contact Child Impact International. |
Revised 2020-08-14