IMPACTING
the VULNERABLE
By Tom Overton,
H ope 61 Global Director
Justine was excited! She lives
just outside of Kampala, Uganda,
and was stuck in extreme pov-
erty, with few options for the fu-
ture. Last year, a man came to
her neighborhood and offered
her a well-paying job in Oman.
This felt like a dream come true
for Justine as she finally had a
good opportunity for a better life.
In her excitement, she told her
pastor, Fred, about this job offer
and asked him to pray for her as
she prepared to go to Oman.
On the day that Justine
picked up her passport, her
pastor, attended a H ope 61 hu-
man trafficking prevention train-
ing at a local church. He learned
that a good job offer in a foreign country is one of the scams that human traffickers use
to lure their victims into trafficking. Fred immediately thought of Justine and wondered
if her situation could be linked to human trafficking.
After the training, Fred explained to Justine what he had learned, and together, they
investigated the job offer. They found no information about the organization and real-
ized that this was not a legitimate offer. Justine was on the brink of becoming a victim
of human trafficking. Pastor Fred and Justine thank God for the H ope 61 training that
was held in their community. They know that Justine is safe today because of God’s
protection through the training.
Today, Justine is thriving and thanking God that she is safe. She
has learned to sew and now makes beautiful dresses and sells them
in the local market. She continues to tell everyone she meets about
Jesus and invites new people to attend church with her in the vil-
lage. Her smile lights up the room, and she is a living testimony to
the power the local church has to prevent human trafficking!
photo: Justine, 2019
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