| Contact Information Email : info@freeforlifeministries.com Phone : 615-969-9052 Address : PO Box 158715 Nashville, Tennessee 37215-8715 USA |
| NEW PROJECTS |
| We are pleased to use this page to share projects around the world that we feel are worthwhile, and will help those on the front lines be successful in the fight against modern-day slavery. This is a formidable battle against those who are very organized and well funded. We need to also be organized and funded in order to be able to compete on this level. We believe that if we can get each safe house involved in a sustainable enterprise that will help them become self-sufficient, then they will never have to worry about depending on others for their survival and we can move forward to work with other organizations in need. Please let us know if you have an interest in getting involved or learning more about any of these projects. We can put you in contact with those who are spearheading each project, and you can even visit the project of your interest. We will continually update this page as more information or new projects become available. |
| THE HOTEL (Pension) Romania Iana Matei, founder of the shelter Reaching Out in Romania, is in the process of building a hotel in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. This will be a non-profit venture, 27 rooms, in a popular tourist region of Transylvania. The vision is that this project will not only raise money for the operations at the safe house, but will also address the root causes of human trafficking in this region by helping to combat poverty and unemployment. The hotel will provide jobs for young women in the region, along with using local farmers and craftsmen from the region. Opening date is yet to be determined as she has raised enough money to finish the "shell" of the restaurant but will need to raise the funds for the final phase of the project. |
| This photo shows the ground floor of the hotel project in Romania (taken Summer 07'). We are hoping for a completion date of Fall '09. |
| FREE FOR LIFE HOSTEL Tanzania |
| This project has not been built yet, although the land has been purchased. This is a project that will combine a restaurant, a conference center, and a safe house for victims of human trafficking in SubSaharan Africa. The conference facility will be used for training survivors so they can learn a trade, for training at-risk young people to prevent them from being lured by traffickers, private leasing of the facility to help fund the safe house, and HIV training and prevention. Pastor Ernest Nguvila in Mbeya, Tanzania already runs the "Grace Hand Project" to help rescue and restore victims of human trafficking in the region. This will allow bed space for victims to go through the restoration process in order to receive counseling, job skills training, and mirco-loans for new enterprise. The restaurant there will provide food for the survivors, along with selling food commercially in order to help support the safe house financially. There will be hotel beds (approx 25) that will be separate from the safe house, and these will be used both for a commercial venture and to house those attending sessions at the conference center. We have not set a date to 'break ground' on this project as we are finalizing design plans and hoping to raise some funds to get the project off the ground. |
| BORDER MONITORING PROGRAM Nepal The Peace Rehabilitation Center is so highly regarded that they are allowed to set up at border crossings and stop individuals as they cross the border. After interviewing those traveling with young women, they will report anything suspicious to the border police. This program has seen unprecedented success, stopping approximately 300 young women a year from being taken out of the country under suspicious circumstances for each border monitoring station that is operating. This program has also led to the arrest of over 20 individuals for suspected trafficking activities. We desperately need to expand this border monitoring program! There are approximately 12,000 young Nepali girls trafficked out of Nepal, and almost all of them are trafficked for sexual exploitation - specifically forced prostitution. In fact the government there estimates that there are 200,000 young Nepali girls being held prisoner in brothels in India at this time. Please prayerfully consider donating to this worthwhile cause, or starting a fundraiser with the goal of helping expand this amazing program. With a cost of slightly over $30,000 a year, that comes down to $100 as the cost for saving a young woman from ever being trafficked and ever having to endure this trauma. You can see a video on the border monitoring program HERE. |