14-year-old “Lily” was exploited throughout her childhood in nightclubs and by both her mother and by a local gang in Ce...

14-year-old “Lily” was exploited throughout her childhood in nightclubs and by both her mother and by a local gang in Ce...

14-year-old “Lily” was exploited throughout her childhood in nightclubs and by both her mother and by a local gang in Central America.  Three years later, during an operation referred to as Operation Barbarosa, the O.U.R. Ops Team supported local law enforcement as they rescued ten survivors, and Lily was one of them. The O.U.R. Aftercare Team was on site to help the girls feel safe through the process of being freed. Lily was 17 at the time and entered into an aftercare home for support. After aging out of the home at 18 years old, she moved into a place of her own. O.U.R. stays in contact with local social workers and in-country aftercare staff that we contract with to stay up to date on different survivors’ needs. Recently, the O.U.R. Aftercare Team joined the in-country team to meet with Lily and learn about her new business. We watched as Lily’s interest sparked and her passion fully ignited, the moment we asked about her business. Lily explained that she currently has a restaurant business, but made note that it was not operating under the ideal conditions, and she had to make do with what she had. She further explained, she had to cook on fire which slowed her ability to serve her customers. Lily also added that she did not have a fridge of her own, which forced her to use her neighbor’s fridge to store her food. After hearing Lily’s story, O.U.R. was eager to help support her and give her the necessary means for her business to thrive. O.U.R. provided a fridge for her food, along with a stove big enough to cook multiple dishes at once, and a wooden table for her customers to eat at. A few weeks later, our aftercare team received a phone call from Lily. With such a happy demeanor and excitement in her voice, she told our team on the phone how much money she had made that day at her restaurant business and how pleased she was for her success. She soon after began to invest the money that she made back into her business and even was able to start a chicken coop to raise and sell chickens as a part of her business. Lily’s story is a true testament of hope, and O.U.R. is grateful to be a part of it.

14-year-old “Lily” was exploited throughout her childhood in nightclubs and by both her mother and by a local gang in Ce... was originally published here https://www.instagram.com/p/CM5BqywAFhy