Glimpses

Shapla* was ten years old when she met a woman who promised her domestic work with a family. She traveled to Dhaka, full of anticipation, only to be locked in a hotel for eight consecutive days while men were being brought in to her.  Having already been "spoilt" n the eyes of society, she was trapped in prostitution for ten years before she was given a place in Pobitra, Mennonite Central Committee's training program, where she received weekly wages and an opportunity for a new life.  In April of 2010 she began working for MCC to develop new products.  Shapla's sorrow was tangible when we first met her but now her smile lights up a room.

Badhon’s* mom died when she was 11.  Her father remarried and arranged a marriage for her just before her 12^th birthday.  She was 14 when she gave birth to her daughter.  Her husband left her shortly after her daughter’s birth.  Desperate to provide for her daughter, she turned to prostitution when she was sixteen.  Now twenty one, Badhon has been out of prostitution for a year and a half and the sparkle in her eyes and proud stature reveal her newfound sense of dignity.  Badhon has a job making Sacred Mark soap.  She budgets carefully to send her daughter to school and ensure she has the opportunities Badhon herself never had.

Fresh start

These are just a couple stories coming from MCC’s training program which gives these women a chance at a new life.  Each year twenty women are selected to participate in the program.  Their entry into the program is marked by a new life celebration complete with birthday cake, gifts, and a pledge to live a different life.  They are provided a stipend as they learn to read, write and develop life and work skills needed to succeed in normal life.   Not everyone manages to complete the training program, but for those who do, the transformation is remarkable. Upon completion of approximately eight months of training women are provided employment.  A very similar program started by Serving in Mission provides the same opportunities for women who have been living on the streets of Dhaka.  You can read more about both programs at http://mcc.org/stories/news/mcc-teaches-new-job-skills-former-sex-workers-bangladesh and http://www.sim.org/index.php/project/98336.

 It is estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 women and children are trafficked in Bangladesh each year.  While many will be taken to Pakistan, India or the Middle East, many women are forced into prostitution right in their own country. This statistic doesn’t even include the women who are forced into prostitution through financial desperation, being “ruined” in the eyes of society through rape, or being unprotected following the death of a husband or father.  In Bangladesh, there are an estimated 60,000 -100,000 people in prostitution. Thousands of these are young pre teen and teen girls.  Few, if any, chose this life.

 Futures

 While many of these women have resigned themselves to their fate, thousands more are desperate for new opportunities.  Creating jobs not only gives women a livelihood and dignity, it gives them a chance to discover their God given potential.  It gives us a chance to be Jesus’ hands and feet and serve him humbly.  It provides a demonstration of God’s grace in the midst of injustice, cruelty and evil. 

 

 Let me tell you a bit more about myself.  I grew up in Oregon but since 1989 have lived and worked in South Central Los Angeles, United Kingdom, South Africa, Zambia, and Bangladesh.  My activities have ranged from missionary work with youth in Los Angeles to HIV prevention in South Africa to developing programs for AIDS orphans in Zambia to overseeing various relief and development activities in Bangladesh.  I have a BA from Point Loma Nazarene University and a Masters in Public Health from Oregon State University.  I have now completed a four year term with Mennonite Central Committee during which time I worked with staff to develop the Pobitra Training Program.  I will return to Bangladesh in March 2011 independently to start a business which will develop, produce, and distribute high quality handicrafts. There are already forty women participating in job training who will need work within the next six months.  I will return to Bangladesh in March with the organization Hand and Cloth (please see handandcloth.org).  I am in need of your support to make this a success. 

If you are interested in being part of creating jobs which give women a life of dignity and respect here's where your money could go:

$1000 per month salary needed for Robin to go to Bangladesh as an investor starting a business. This will cover a simple lifestyle as well as flights, health insurance, student loans and may even leave some extra to go back into the business operations budget.

$9 per week subsidizes one woman's salary until her business becomes profitable.

$55  subsidizes a full month of one child's day care expenses and helps break the cycle of poverty by ensuring each young child has a good meal, a head start on education, and stimulating play.  

$100 purchase one sewing machine to help develop a women's cooperative business

$221 purchase one serger to help develop a women's cooperative business

$294 purchase one embroidery machine to help develop a woman's cooperative business

$412 purchase on industrial strength washing mashine to help develop a women's cooperative business

Make a donation by going to handandcloth.org, specify Bangladesh in the note section or send your contribution to 4742 Liberty Road South, #193, Salem, Oregon 97302.  Please make checks payable to Evergreen Church, specify Bangladesh in the memo, and include your address if you want a tax deduction.  

Thank you for your prayers and support!