The other day I was reading an electronic newsletter from some missionaries, Paul and Mary Triller that are supported by the local church that I attend. I met them a couple years ago and have been following their ministry. They are not specifically focused on youth ministry, but as their organizational goal states “empower and multiply a new generation of leaders to create movements to facilitate the expansion of God’s Kingdom,” they are intent on looking at the younger generation as a place to invest. The following is something they wrote in their last e-newsletter:
“There are about 52 orphanages in Moldova, they house approximately 6800 boys and girls. The most they can look forward to is being released after their 16th birthday with $30.00 and a bus ticket to ‘home’. They are easy prey for human traffickers. They are sold into slavery. They are turned into prostitutes forced to perform sex acts from 30-50 times a day. In this environment they have a life expectancy of about 3 years, yet earn about $300,000.00 for their captors.”
Moldova is a country of about 4.3 million people and the per capita annual income is only about $2500. It is one of Europe’s poorest countries (CIA Factbook)
Operation World states, “Unemployment and alcohol abuse are widespread problems. The depressed economy forces up to 25% of Moldovans to seek work abroad, often at the risk of exploitation – Moldova is the source for the largest numbers of young women lured abroad into human trafficking rings.”
The Moldovan youth to the right was trafficked to Dubai. Her clients were as young as twelve and as old as eighty-three. She was almost nineteen when she was sold and forced to have sex with as many as thirty men a day. At the time this photo was taken, she was living in a shelter for trafficked girls.
lIf you are interested in learning more about the reality of girls and sex trafficking in Moldova, here is a resource from PBS called “Price of Sex” .
Warning: This resource speaks openly and graphically about the abuse that these girls are subjected to.
The Trillers ended their update with the following questions:
- It is time they had another choice?
- It is time somebody did something?
- Is there anybody out there?
I want to say that we at YouthHOPE are very much here and ready to come alongside. However, we can’t do this on our own. We need people to rise up, not just to fight against the trafficking that takes place, but also to bring hope for a better life that includes education, employment and a reconciling relationship with Jesus Christ. If you are interested in providing that hope for young girls in Moldova, please contact us at info@youthHOPE.com and we would love to connect you with opportunities to be a part of transforming the lives of global youth.
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