During our call, our team shared the grim reality these girls face: “One of our girls mother is in charge of taking the girls from their homes if they are to undergo the FGM. If they go to your home and see an older girl that has yet to have this done, they can take the daughter by force and the father cannot say anything per tribal culture. FGM is illegal per Kenya law but the tribe is still actively seeking out girls to practice it on.”
In the bustling city of Nakuru, three-year-old Rosie found herself alone on the unforgiving streets after being orphaned. A compassionate police officer noticed her vulnerability and ensured her safety at the local police station. Despite exhaustive efforts to trace her family, none were found, leading authorities to place her in an orphanage…
I hope your summer is off to a good start! I am behind on sending April's Family News due to being a bit busy in May…. I got married to best man in the whole world – Matthew Manry. Our wedding day was wonderful. We are so grateful to all of our family and friends who came to celebrate with us. Our marriage has been prayed for by many and we are overjoyed as we walk into this new season of our lives together.
“The Bible says when you feed a hungry, when you quench a thirst, when you clothed a naked, when you shelter a shelterless, God will never leave you.” – Ann, Kenya Safe Home Manager
I am excited to share we have moved our Restoration Home to a new location that better meets the needs of the girls in this season. Pictured above are the girls and the home manager, Ann (far left), standing in front of the new home. This home is close to their school, has the right amount of space they currently need, and features a large gardening area where they will be able to grow their own food (pictured below). This garden will not only help lower the food budget for the ministry, it’ll also serve as a great opportunity to teach the girls new life skills.
I’m very excited to share a significant update for our January Family News. Our girls in Kenya were able to experience something that is quite a big deal, and a major step forward in their healing journey— reunification with their families. For many of the girls, it is the first time in over 10 years they have seen a family member.
With the start of a new year, I want to start something new and aim to send a monthly update to our amazing community. I am so grateful for each of you and the various ways you continue to be engaged in Just1— whether through regularly reading our emails, donating, praying, or interacting with us on our socials. Every form of connection and engagement means the world to us and is felt by our small team! Some updates may be shorter than others, but my aim is to keep you updated in a more personal way, as well as share current needs and prayer requests.
With reports of human trafficking on the rise, it begs the question: why? The simplest answer: because there is rising demand, demand for the sale of people. But to understand the full picture, we need to take a closer look at the culture that produces abusers and prepares people to be victimized. Here are just four of the ways mass media feeds the cycle of trafficking.
Would you drop your kids off at a crowded, public place — say, a music festival or shopping center — and trust that everyone they meet will treat them with consideration and kindness? No way! Well, if you’re letting them use the latest social media apps without a second thought, that’s pretty much what you’re doing.
No matter how safe app developers say their products are, there’s always a chance your child will come across someone online who has bad intentions. Don’t get blindsided by misinformation. Learn the honest truth about three of the most popular social media apps and follow the steps to shore up your online defense.
What’s a powerful predictor of health outcomes later in life? Childhood trauma. That’s according to Katie McLaughlin, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Harvard University. “Not only mental health outcomes like depression and anxiety,” she says in a recent press release, “but also physical health outcomes like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.” Our girls at the Safe House in Kenya know about childhood adversity all too well…