Every employee who joins Freedom Firm has a genuine desire to serve and make a difference. Leading them effectively means guiding this enthusiasm so it will produce a tenacity that keeps them going when circumstances seem impossible. The obstacles are often overwhelming: the government at times refuse Freedom Firm social workers access to remand homes even though our staff were the ones responsible for rescuing the girls, rescued girls sometimes turn hostile towards Freedom Firm in court and government home supervisors at whim release girls (girls who were painstaking rescued after weeks and sometimes months of careful strategizing) back into the hands of the traffickers. These are just a few of the crushing blows Freedom Firm staff experience every day. Yet these discouragements are nothing compared to what each rescued girl endures.

I continue to marvel that these young girls can survive the traumas they live through in the brothels! The betrayal, the rapes, forced abortions, beatings, confinement and extreme deprivation. The same human spirit of determination to live, to thrive, is there – raw and essential. They inspire us to keep going, as we battle against the odds to carve out a safe place in hostile soil for them to flourish.

As the social workers spend weeks counselling and teaching them life skills, a steely determination to live a new life, starts to emerge. After initial days of apparent indifference to reliable advice, they begin to realize their days of slavery are over and they were made for something else.

We are encouraged by all that we have accomplished over the years and lean into the challenges, knowing we persevere for the sake of each and every girl.

It is my pleasure and that of all the staff at Freedom Firm to thank everyone for their generous support and commit once again, “to not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”.

Catherine Raja