By Clare Effiong | Founder, Esther's Aid and Country Director, Rwanda
Happiest of New Years! One of the great blessings at this time of year is the chance to connect with you, my friends, supporters and family. Thank you so much to our donors from GlobalGiving for your contributions toward empowering our young Survivors of sex trafficking! We want you to know that we’ve had a happy, busy year at Esther’s Aid in Rwanda.
What is a day like for me? In the morning the alarm goes off at 6:00AM and I jump out of bed, pray and try to eat breakfast while reviewing files and putting together the tasks of the day. I grab my bag, cell phone and rush off to different meetings all morning, afternoon, and maybe a dinner meeting or prayer meeting. Finally, I am home at 9:00 or 10:00PM and fall into bed exhausted.
So, what happens the next day? The alarm goes off and I’m at it again. To avoid being consumed by the pressures of our lives, we all need to develop strategies and spiritual habits that will help us fulfill our purposes. We are all in it together. We must help ourselves and each other.
WHAT MAKES OUR STUDENTS GREAT?
God uses individuals and organizations such as GlobalGiving to partner with us to support our students and other works of Esther’s Aid. Famous chefs and experts in related fields across the globe visit our Culinary Arts Program to volunteer their time and resources to train and add value to the culinary skills we offer. Our students are humble, hardworking and very engaged. This is especially true of our young Survivors of sex trafficking. It is a combination that makes a huge difference and that’s what makes them great!
Here are some highlights about what our Survivors have been doing!
Students completed Internships with hotels and related industries on November 30, 2018. 40% of 120 students secured jobs during their Internships. Alumni won a variety of awards honoring their work. Why? They showcased and brought forth the spirit of excellence we infused in them during their training period at Esther’s Aid. In partnership with African Evangelistic Enterprise, we brought 150 at-risk young women into our 3 months Skills Training Program. This year, a total of 762 youths have been trained at different levels of education, empowerment, employability and livelihood. The Village of Peace Campus Construction is on-going. When completed it will provide a foundation for short term housing, medical care, counseling and training for this Program.
So in this new year when we can focus on our personal gifts by sharing them lovingly with others, please remember our young Survivors of sex trafficking and donate to Esther's Aid through GlobalGiving. May God continue to bestow many blessings on you and your family in 2019!
Warmly,
Clare Effiong
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