ServLife Staff Starting Business in Nepal, Beauty for Ashes, to Employ Victims of Prostitution and Trafficking
In the country of Nepal, it is estimated that 12,000-15,000 women are trafficked out of Nepal each year, and it’s the largest “sending country” for human trafficking in India. In the midst of Kathmandu alone, Nepal’s capital, there are roughly 3,000 women that are working in brothels each day.
ServLife Staff members, Ellen Bender and Jennifer Storm, have been working in Nepal for over 2 years and are responding to these complex issues of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Nepal by starting a gift-items production business, Beauty for Ashes, in Kathmandu and employing some of these women who are victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
The road has been a difficult one, as Ellen and Jenn have been navigating financial and visa uncertainties over the past year, but they have held firm to what they felt God calling them to and now are experiencing the fruit of their perseverance, as the business is now underway in its early stages of development.
“Research says, if you rescue the women and don’t give them something sustainable to do after they have been rescued, they can easily go back to what they were doing,” says Bender. “So, we want to provide sustainable jobs for these women who have come out of prostitution or being trafficked.”
The women will be making gift items, like jewelry and hand bags and these products will be for sale in the ServLife Store in the future. The business will function as a second step for those that need a job and help to holistically aid the women in their healing, as they will be able to make a living without exploiting themselves while at the same time experiencing the truth, love, and hope of the Gospel. Please pray for this effort and that God will work in the lives of the women.
