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​Stories

This is Salmoni

11/27/2020

 
When I was a young girl, my family and I lived in the village and I attended school and enjoyed playing with my friends. When I was 10 years old my father became ill and unable to work, we could no longer afford to pay rent. This left us helpless and hopeless and forced us to move into the brickyard. I began to work making bricks with my parents, the burden of this was so very heavy. Waking up before dawn, half asleep, working in the early morning to try to avoid the burning sun. Then trying to sleep at night was also difficult because of pain and sickness. I felt we were being punished by poverty, slaves. 

Life in the brickyards is hard and painful. When brickyard owners don’t pay enough wages after working so hard, people are hungry and angry and many fights happen between workers. Even when we went to get water for drinking and cooking, often we were blocked and threatened. The homes are not clean and do not have washrooms for families. 

Before life in the brickyards, I loved to play with friends and study in school, but now school was impossible because I was compelled to work such hard and painful work, as it is with so many girls in the same situation.
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​At the beginning of 2014, I told my parents that I no longer wanted to work making bricks, that since I was their only daughter, they must think about my future. They agreed. Then, in June of that year, my mother noticed breast pain and on the way to the hospital she and my father had an accident on their motorcycle. My father was injured so badly he was not able to work and the test my mother received showed that she had a tumor and needed surgery. For a while, we didn’t take her condition seriously, though she was on medication. And my father could not work the same as he did before. We wanted to be free so we worked so hard. 

My mother’s condition worsened, she was in so much pain and getting worse by the day. The doctors said she had breast cancer and needed surgery but working as slaves, we could not afford the treatment. In 2017 my father borrowed money from the brickyard owner for my mother's surgery, and we prayed every day for her healing. Her surgery was a success! Eventually my mother was able to start work again and my father could help bring us clay.

In May 2020, Brother Suleman with All People Free came to visit us and we told him about our circumstances. He made a way for us to leave the brickyard and live in Anna’s house. Now I have started studying again at Anna’s House and I’m learning to sew. Soon we will begin learning to sew Bible covers, ladies purses, and clutches. We feel that God has seen our pain and heard our prayers for freedom.

​Giving the Gift of Liberation from Bonded Labor
​

In our work, we encounter many young women like Salmoni, who are facing the worst of the hardships that bonded laborers are subjected to. Many of them are under threat of being trafficked, sold for organ harvesting, being beaten, and being starved. The physical and emotional toll is overwhelming. This is why we have launched Anna’s House, a safe home of restoration for these women and their families. 
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​Anna’s House Provides Relief from Bonded Labor
​

Our first home is called "Anna's House." Anna means “Grace” - empowerment to change; to move forward. Our goal is to help women at risk find grace and empowerment through emotional and physical support, as well as trade skill training to help them move into the future with everything they need to thrive.

The goal of Anna's House is restoration for the whole family unit. During their stay at Anna’s House, we provide families with shelter, food, clothing, and training so they can become self-supporting. After their stay with us, we help relocate them to their own homes and establish them in a job. We continue to support these families with regular check-ins from our staff after they leave Anna’s House.
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​How to Give the Gift of Liberation:

  • Provide a year of medical insurance to someone in Anna's House for just $25
  • Provide legal assistance to a victim of human rights violations for $50
  • Sponsor a family's month of stay at Anna's House for $250
  • Help liberate a family from the brickyard for $500
Give the Gift of Liberation


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  • Our Mission
  • PROGRAMS
    • Brickyard Schools
    • Trade Schools
    • Human Rights
    • Restoration Homes
    • Sustainable Solutions
  • STORIES
  • About
    • FAQ >
      • WHAT IS MODERN DAY SLAVERY?
      • WHEN WAS SLAVERY ABOLISHED?
      • WHAT IS INDENTURED SERVITUDE?
      • WHAT IS CHILD LABOR?
      • WHAT IS CHILD TRAFFICKING?
      • WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?
    • Contact
    • OUR FINANCES
  • Get Involved
    • Start Here
    • Get the Factbook
  • GIVE