Giang has never known the love of a father. Her father hit her. Told her to commit suicide. And, repeatedly expressed his wish to kill her. Bombarded with this verbal and physical abuse, she couldn't live with her parents any longer.  She quit school in 10^th grade, found a job, and a new home.  But she was still barely getting by. In August, she and her friend began working at a café in Dan Pek, Vietnam. They met a man who frequented the cafe. Several months later, he offered them a great opportunity to work for his grandmother. They accepted.

But instead, he sold them.  Fortunately, border police intercepted them before they reached China, rescuing Giang and her friend.

In November, they were referred to Hagar. From the start, Giang has been very depressed. But, she has shown us glimmers of hope. Giang is very brave and has a lovely singing voice. She has shown great interest in becoming a stewardess and in learning the English language. Her dream is to secure a good job to support herself.  Giang still has a long road to recovery, but Hagar will continue to provide counseling and vocational training to help her heal from the trauma and abuse she has experienced.

An investigation is underway against the man who attempted to sell her. He is serving time in jail presently.

I've been reminded recently of the extremely challenging work that Hagar social workers and counselors have to face. With limited resources, expertise, and staff, our case workers are sometimes called upon to do the impossible. Our Vietnam team has recently had to deal with runaway clients, a perpetrator who locked his wife in a cage upon coming out of jail, and a client suffering from severe panic attacks.  Then, calls regarding a girl who was raped and other urgent needs.  All of this is in addition to the other cases that need our attention.

I so admire all of caseworkers for their courage and their heart to do 'whatever it takes for as long as it takes' for the difficult cases that we support.

Links:

• Hagar's work in Vietnam
• Hagar Vietnam Video
• Information about the Country of Vietnam

Links:

• Sign Up for the LIVE Call

Phuong's Story

"Life is not always pink."  That's what we say in Vietnam.  Because life isn't always happy and carefree.  I know this is true.  Because I have been there.  I know that life isn't perfect.  But we have to find a way to stand on our own two feet and be open to what life offers us.

When I started attending Hagar's programs in Vietnam, something changed.  I learned that other women have stories too. I listened to them. And I knew I wasn't alone.  I could look at each woman in the shelter and see them as sisters. We are walking this journey together.

Phuong has been employed at Hagar's enterprise partner, Joma Bakery Cafe, for three months and is supporting herself now.

Links:

• About Hagar Vietnam

Recently, Hagar Vietnam clients from backgrounds of abuse and trafficking graduated from their training program.  Here's an excerpt from one woman's speech, at the celebration:

"We all come from different backgrounds and have experienced different pain. All of us have made big efforts to overcome difficulties in our lives. It has been a hard journey for all of us but we are now stronger, we are more confident and we are more aware of our self worth as women. We can now see the light at the end of tunnel.  We now see other people believe in us.  Tonight, we see so many of you believe in us.

"We don’t know how to express our happiness, cheerfulness and gratefulness to the organizations supporting women like us who were unlucky and lacking hope in our lives.....On behalf of all the women here, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to express my gratefulness to Hagar.....

"We would like to send a message to all the women who are or were living in domestic violence or facing human trafficking: Be brave. Help yourselves and your children. Fight against domestic violence and human trafficking. Please remember that you are not alone and that there is hope."

As a supporter of this project, "Give Hope and Healing to Abused and Trafficked Women", we are passing on these thanks to you.  I hope you will find these words as meaningful as I do.

Links:

• Watch a Hagar Vietnam video