Nicaragua
During our 4 1/2 year stay in Nicaragua, we were able to implement a program that not only rescued exploited women from the streets, but also ensured that the chains that bind entire families would be broken. There is a 90% chance that the children of the women working in the red-light districts will end up trapped in that life. Therefore, we developed a 90-day discipleship program in an effort to break the cycle. Upon graduation, women who completed our program were given the training and supplies to start a small home-based business.
In regions of extreme poverty throughout Latin America, many women fall prey to sexual exploitation. For years, we had been searching for a program to deal with this type of poverty-driven prostitution. We finally found one which proved to be very successful here. We also came to know of many cases where children were being sexually exploited. In these cases, we worked with the entire family; so often they were the ones responsible for exploiting the child due to the pressures of extreme poverty. For the children from these types of homes, our ministry center quickly became a haven for Christ.
The other main component of our work involves rescue operations and investigations. We work with many governments and US agencies, assisting local law enforcement and conducting numerous rescue operations both here and in other countries throughout Latin America. Through experience, we have become very effective in building cases against sex traffickers so that authorities can rescue the children being exploited. To learn more about some of our short-term missions, click on the other countries listed under "Regions we have worked."