Takes of Hope Out of the Poverty of Human Trafficking in Developing Countries World Wide
The evening of October 2, 2014, Duneland Community Church is hosting an event with an international keynote speaker and abolitionist. Free The Girls Co-Founder and Global Director, Dave Terpstra, will be presenting “Freedom Stories,” a narrative of his experiences working on the front-lines of poverty-driven sex trafficking in Sub Saharan Africa. The evening’s events will start at 6:00 p.m. in the community room of Duneland Community Church located at 1552 Pioneer Trail in Chesterton.
Terpstra is passionate about using enterprise as a solution to poverty and as a vehicle for a better future for women who are survivors of sex trafficking. He has over a decade of experience working at various NGOs and not-for-profit organizations in the United States. It was those experiences, in fact, that prompted him to enlist the help of his friend, Kimba Langas, and start a new social enterprise in 2010 called Free The Girls. Shortly after, Terpstra and his family moved to Mozambique to live and work near the front-lines of poverty driven sex-trafficking in Africa.
Today, Free The Girls is an international nonprofit organization based in Denver, Colorado, that provides job opportunities to 58 survivors of sex trafficking in three developing countries: Mozambique, Uganda, and El Salvador. The organization works with existing aftercare programs to help survivors set up micro enterprises selling bras in the second hand clothing markets. Most of the women in their program were sold into prostitution as children, typically between the ages of 8-10 years old. Because their lives were stolen from them, they missed out on going to school and getting an education. The women can return to school and work, because selling bras allows them to work as much or as little as their school schedule permits. Bras provide an opportunity for the women to work exclusively with other women, an important factor for women who have a history of being abused and used by men. Some of the women in the Free The Girls program are earning as much as three to five times the minimum wage in their community by selling bras.
Where do the bras come from? People and organizations in Western countries, particularly the United States and Canada, donate bras. Executive Director Langas has a unique approach to encouraging women to donate their gently used bras. "Let’s face it, ladies: the back of your underwear drawer is most likely a graveyard of bras you don’t wear anymore or that never fit right in the first place. Donating those bras can help provide a survivor of sex trafficking with a job and a chance to rebuild her life.”
Free The Girls inventory operations are run out of Duneland Community Church in Chesterton. The church’s pastor, Greg Arthur, sits on the board of directors for Free The Girls. Less than a year into his term on the board, Arthur said, “We offered to take on inventory operations as a church ministry. It was a natural fit for us; we are committed to fighting human trafficking and helping victims discover their wholeness.”
According to Free The Girls Inventory Manager, Pam Gumns, every month approximately 10,000 donated bras are received in boxes and packages from all over North America, delivered to Free The Girls at the church’s local address. The church membership and Chesterton community make up a strong volunteer base that comes together once a month to sort these donations and pack the bras in uniform sized boxes so they can be shipped overseas to Free The Girls various program locations.
As the Co-Founder and Global Director of the organization, Terpstra works day-to-day with survivors in Mozambique as well as overseeing partnerships with a number of international aftercare providers who are bringing Free The Girls’ job creation program to survivors worldwide. His presentation on October 2 will highlight stories of hope and restoration of the women in Free The Girls programs.
“Freedom Stories” is open to the public and will include a buffet-style dinner. Guests are asked to bring a dessert to share. Seating is limited, so please RSVP by September 29 toPam@freethegirls.org or by calling the Church office at 219-929-5313.
Learn more about Free The Girls online at freethegirls.org.