Shanti* sat down and talked with Asha in her shack, learning her difficult and complicated story. This woman did not grow up in the brothel, as many of the younger workers did. She had been married to an abusive man and found herself with nowhere for her and her three children to go to escape him. Traditionally, she was unable to return to her parents, so one day, frustrated with her situation, she sat down in the line where the brothel workers were being picked up and began supporting herself and her three children in this way.
While she does come to The Skipping Stone’s center to receive training, she has voiced that she is not currently planning on leaving her work in the brothel. While this might seem counterintuitive to someone looking in, Asha’s harsh reality has taught her some lessons that she is not yet willing to rethink. As unappealing as it is, her current work has been the only way that she has been able to support herself and her children since leaving her husband. While the training she is receiving is slowly instilling hope that one day she can support herself through craftsmanship, she is afraid to leave the comfort of the familiar, even if the familiar is not at all comfortable. This shows that at times the ripple effects of kind actions can take a long time, and that patience for God’s eventual redemption is needed in order for some to be restored.
Asha is one of the fortunate who does have a tin partition built up in her house, but this by no means keeps her children safe. She must hide her daughter’s age from the madam of the camp as the young girl approaches puberty, because once she reaches adulthood (defined here by the onset of a girl’s menstrual cycle), she will be forced into prostitution as well. Asha is doing everything she can to keep this from happening.
She is proud of her son, an older teenager who respects his mother while despising her situation. His assertion that he will take care of his mother, no matter what the cost, is heartening in this miserable place.
Shanti shares with this woman that “there is hope for your kids, but there is hope for you too.” It is not too late. Asha now has the resources to begin thinking about leaving her current situation and relying on her new skills to support her children.
For someone who has been through so much, change like this is terrifying, especially when reliable yet unsavory work is already presented. As Shanti encouraged her, “Jesus can give hope to everybody.” The steps to freedom are now in place for this woman, and the small kindnesses, attentions, and opportunities now provided to her through Christ’s love can add up to allow for real hope for her future.
If you want to share a kind action you have witnessed in your own life, please comment below or email us at mattvoss@theskippingstone.com and we will be happy to share your story in this space.
*In this and all subsequent posts pertaining to The Skipping Stone training center, all names are changed for the safety of those involved.