Changing the name of a city is child’s play: it is changing the lives of some of its poorest and most vulnerable inhabitants that takes the real effort. Tearfund partner Sahaara Charitable Society (SCS) works closely with the Gateways Ministry International (GMI) group of churches in Bombay to do precisely this; transforming the present and the future for Mumbai’s commercial sex workers.
Over five years charity staff and church volunteers have worked together to bring hope, freedom and everyday miracles into the city’s seemingly impenetrable red light districts. There they have met the vulnerable and the strong, people without power as well as those who use their influence to control and abuse others.
This is no hit and run project. Instead the local church and charity unite to build relationships with those caught up in the sex trade. Over the last five years as many as 60 women and 15 children have benefited from the work. About 10 women have quit the flesh trade and about 6 children have been put into various homes finding fresh hope through the local church.
Love can transform lives, even behind brothel walls. Photo: Peter Caton/Tearfund.
Of course there are people for whom this work is not welcome. The local pimps and brothel owners lose out when the local church and Tearfund partner put the gospel into action like this. Sex workers could find themselves at risk of retribution and physical danger as they try to leave their clutches, yet the project works hard to build relationships with all involved. Pimps and brothel owners are encouraged to allow the women and children to move on and the church and charity work hard to develop relationships with these powerbrokers.
Through prayer, courage and commitment to the hard work of building relationships the members of the GMI churches and Sahaara Charitable Society are changing lives, unlocking the transformative power of the gospel. Our vision to stop the spread of AIDS in the countries where our partners work by 2015 relies on work like this: Christians uniting to serve individuals, one at a time.