Light House, March 2023

Significant interventions are being made in the plains of West Bengal on behalf of girls involved in slavery of every sort. Read our latest updates from Moumita who works both face to face as well as in strategic areas behind the scenes to see freedom and justice for many families.

A huge thank you for your prayers and for your continued support!

Sharon

BEING A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS

Stepping into the brand-new Year 2023, we want to Thank You for equipping us to continue this life-altering fight for Freedom and Justice in this part of India. In our efforts, your financial gifts help us continue this good fight for the poor, oppressed and marginalised. In pursuit of this Freedom Fight, we are equipping local communities, organizations and individuals with the resources and collaborating support they need to join us in the unified effort of breaking the chains of sexual slavery and reclaiming what hell has stolen. We believe that we are one body of Christ with each one of you together helping propel ministry efforts that we are doing on the ground here in India working in liberating and healing the enslaved.

ADVOCACY

We are continuing to build relationships with law enforcement agencies and social welfare agencies here in India to address the gaps and link the poor and marginalised especially the survivors of human trafficking and at-risk women and girls with government welfare schemes and registration. This is a reality because of years of relentless intercessory prayers to build these crucial relationships with the government stakeholders where we stand as witnesses and Christ champions.

SEWING PROJECT

We are empowering victims of human trafficking and women & girls in crisis by equipping them with marketable skills and by showing the compassion of Jesus daily. Your support helps us keep the resources flowing to keep this project going. The girls and women in the sewing classes are now learning to make beautiful saree blankets which we hope to put for sale to bless these girls & women with some pocket money. You can Place Special Orders for these SAREE BLANKETS if you wish to BLESS these women and girls we serve and equip them to ENCOURAGE them by BUYING these beautiful #handmadewithlove Items! Kindly contact the Revival Fires team to get further details on this.

FEBRUARY UPDATE

Millions of people still live in modern-day slavery in India. In Dooars the northern part of Bengal continues to be a key location for Traffickers to lure marginalized communities into bonded labour which is hidden in plain sight in India.

International Justice Mission, a global organization in ending slavery recognized our relentless efforts through the Light House Disha Project in organizing a Campaign on Safe Migration to End Labour Trafficking with the Railway Police Department at New Jalpaiguri Railway Station and Labour Commissionerate Office Siliguri as a Knowledge Partner. These collaborative efforts help us work as fellow co-labourers in bringing down the various high walls like that of the walls of Jericho.

We appreciate all your Prayers for us a team here in India moving in the natural realm to bring down walls of strongholds often finding ourselves in direct combat with the principalities and authorities by the power of the supernatural God and reminded of God’s heart for justice, protecting the vulnerable and freeing the enslaved.

Psalm 82:3-4

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Luke 4:18

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.”

We praise Jesus that in the month of February, our assistance in helping an award-winning Photojournalist Mrs Smita Sharma was acknowledged in her award-winning book ‘We Cry In Silence’ with special mention to our Anti-Slavery Project in India i.e. Light House Disha. 

This book was written with the help of many leading organizations in India working among survivors of human trafficking to raise awareness on the issue of trafficking and why the untold stories of survivors need to be told. A signed copy of the Book was presented to Moumita Khati spearheading our India Anti-Slavery Project in presence of other survivors and at-risk women and girls.

 A small interactive session was also organized to welcome Mrs Smita to our Holy Word Ministries Church sharing about how in 2017 she was assisted by Moumita in covering stories of survivors in Dooars and understanding how human trafficking affects especially the lives of the indigenous young girls in the tea plantation areas. As a team, we prayed over Mrs Smita and her ongoing work.

MARCH UPDATE

This year we want to dream a BIG dream for the daughters of India by raising funds and awareness for the need for a separate Restoration for Girls to serve, identify and restore those rescued at risk or who might have already suffered harm.

Not Every home in India rejoices when a girl is born especially in lower-income and marginalized families. The Girl Child is often the first to drop out of school, often the first to be the primary caregiver to a younger sibling and mostly the first to get sold into sexual slavery and bonded labour. Often the exploitation meted out to Her is normalized as a community conditioning. With YOUR HELP we are changing this narrative here in India with one home, one community, one girl child at a time and God willing with a Brand-New Restoration Centre in the City of Siliguri.

Interactive session & School Bag Distribution in the Red Light AREA Shining the ‘REAL LIGHT’ OF JESUS

This month we continued having crucial conversations with adolescent girls of the workers in one of the red-light areas of Siliguri about their safety, rights, justice, education and most importantly their dreams and ambition to live a life of dignity and opportunity. We continue to shine light in the dark places as this in our effort to see second-generation prostitution end.

We also provided school bags and chocolates to 50 adolescent girls. We blessed and prayed over these precious girls. We had so many girls and some women whom we want to see restored and rescued from sex-trade slavery. Two Adult sex workers at the end of the session came forward to share that they want to get out of the sex trade and would need support to rebuild their lives and the lives of their two children. In the next few months, we will pray, share the gospel and work to help in her restoration journey. Our prayer for these two women is that Like Rahab the prostitute their life too can be transformed in a way that the rest of their life has a lineage to Jesus Christ and that they too will be spared and restored like Rahab.

Awareness session for Border Security Forces: We conducted two Community Awareness Sessions for the Border Security Forces Anti Human Trafficking Unit for Village heads and community leaders. The second session was conducted at a village-level school emphasising community-led activities that are important as a prevention tool in action against human trafficking. We seek your relentless prayer as we need God's angel to also watch over the border villages which are a hotbed to traffick innocent lives. Over the coming months, we will work with BSF police personnel to reach out to more communities in need with Your Support.

RESTORATION TESTIMONIES

‘Abigail’s Hope Restored’

 Many of you have been supporting Abigail (name changed) who stayed with us to heal, equip and get quality care in our Transition restoration centre. After completing her care plan, we helped her prepare for her standard 10th exams from the open university. She passed the examination and now is staying on her own as a financially Independent Adult. She also completed Beauty and Hair care training at our centre last year and now has been placed in a salon earning INR 7000 as a part-time income. She will continue to prepare for her further education. Our social worker continues to follow up with Abigail to mentor her and stand with her in life needs as she journeys into a life of freedom, dignity and independence.

'Glory - a true champion of Christ’

Glory (name changed) is restored and is a champion for other survivors because of each of your relentless support. She is a strong working young woman whose life is forever transformed because of our Collective efforts and the transformational work of the gospel in her life. We are reminded time and again that only with Christ we can see true lasting restoration in the lives of these young women and girls who have gone through unimaginable exploitation. Glory is currently working in the hospitality sector with a monthly salary of 20,000 INR. Glory will be visiting her second home which is Light House transition restoration Centre for a summer break.

We rejoice to have YOUR valuable SUPPORT for our work to rescue and protect innocent beautiful lives here in India, If you wish to continue hearing their powerful stories of restoration hope and freedom and learn more about how YOU can make a difference in the fight against sex trafficking kindly sign up for Revival Fires Ministry updates who have been the biggest ally in our good fight to bring lasting impact through our Anti-Slavery Project.

Moumita ‘Bunu’ Pathak