July 2011 Update

Jenny was 13 years old when her mother passed away. Heartbroken and alone, she turned to the only person she had left in the world: "Aunty," a family friend.

One day a man told Aunty that Jenny was beautiful. At first Jenny blushed at the compliment, but soon everything began to go wrong. Aunty told Jenny she must have sex with the man, and threatened her life if she refused or tried to escape. Jenny was consumed with fear, and before she knew it, Aunty was demanding that she have sex with men on a daily basis. Her teenage years became a living nightmare.

At 18, Jenny fell pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. However, one morning, not too long after the birth, Jenny awoke to find her daughter missing. Aunty SOLD this precious baby girl to traffickers.

Over the next few years Jenny was also SOLD over and over again, forced to work in brothels in different countries, and treated like she was a worthless possession. She was eventually 'caught' as an illegal immigrant at the Greek border, recognized as a victim of trafficking, and brought to safety at the A21 shelter. Today, Jenny is receiving the love and care she needs, as she is one of several girls that have been rescued in this past month.

BECAUSE Jenny has experienced nothing but injustice for the past 10 years, we will continue to fight for her and for girls like her. Jenny has now begun her journey of healing and restoration, and we are committed to helping her one step at a time.

Jenny is just one of the girls who has experienced true restoration over this past month, and her story is a testimony of what can be done when we focus on rescuing one girl at a time. We are passionate to see the lives of these girls' changed, and the following statement made by Christine Caine really encompasses this journey of restoration in a recent CNN article. She said, "I really believe there is a life beyond everyone's past, and there is a hope and a future. And if you commit to the process of restoration, you can overcome the obstacles and hurdles and the pain and the suffering and be made whole." We are determined to see many more girls experience true freedom and have futures filled with hope.

One of the opportunities we have in the Ukraine this month is to reach out to more girls like Jenny before they fall into the trap of human trafficking. Our team will be working with over 800 Ukrainian orphans, warning them of the dangers of human trafficking, and giving them advice and tools to avoid it. You can be a part of these efforts, as $10 USD helps us bring prevention education to 15 children at risk in Ukraine. To make a $10 donation, please text "A21" to: 85944 (USA mobile phones only), or visit our donation page.

This is a crucial opportunity, as there are currently over 100,000 orphans across Ukraine. When these children turn 18, they are turned away from the orphanages, without the skills or resources they need to look after themselves on the streets. Statistics show that only 10% of these orphans will 'make it.' The other 90% will become drug and alcohol addicts, with the majority of young men falling into a life of crime and spending time in Ukraine's prisons, and the majority of young women being trafficked across Europe into forced prostitution.

In order to reach these vulnerable children, our team will travel from camp to camp, speaking to 40-70 orphans at a time. Our goal is to reach as many children as possible in the next few months through education and prevention, so that we can not only prevent trafficking from occurring, but to also give them hope for the future.

To read some of the stories from our Ukrainian outreaches, along with other exciting news from around the globe, please visit our Facebook page and join the conversation.

Thank you so much for your continued support of this cause. We truly believe that in order for human trafficking to be ended, it is going to take everyONE of us playing our part. Together, we can "Unlock Freedom" for those who are enslaved, and make a difference in the lives of others