“My husband redeemed me as a woman. ADRA redeemed me as a person. And God redeemed my soul,” says Priscilla.
Growing up in a poor home in rural Paraguay, Priscilla was not able to attend school. As a young girl, she dreamed of being an important person, a woman whom people liked and admired.
“I learned at a very young age that men liked my green eyes,” Priscilla explains. “Wanting to feel pretty and accepted, I began to run around with people who had no scruples. They gave me attention and compliments and made me feel important.”
As a teenager, Priscilla was living and working in a house of prostitution just a few miles from the home in which she grew up. She worked there for 17 years.
“Very soon, I realized that this was not the life I had dreamed of,” Priscilla says with a sigh. “This was a life of humiliation and pain. However, I felt trapped. Who would want me after such a life?”
Violence against women and girls takes many forms and is an offense to all of us, affecting the development of our society as a whole. To take a stand and say no is an act of love. It is our social and biblical responsibility to make a difference in the lives of those who are suffering. When you partner with ADRA’s ministry, together we make a difference in the lives of women and girls around the world.
While gender-based violence is devastating to the physical and mental health of women and girls, it also violates their basic fundamental human rights. It costs society in terms of social and medical care services. It leads to decreased productivity. It is insidious in its intergenerational effect, transmitting violence to the next generation. It is an obstacle to community development and peace.
Time went by, and Priscilla had three children, each from a different father. Each man had no interest in his child, offered no help, and did not want to be bothered with her. And then one day, the owners of the brothel threw her out, saying that she was used up and no longer bringing them money.
Desperate, Priscilla did not know what to do. Returning home, she found that her family wanted nothing to do with “a worthless woman.” ADRA found Priscilla and her children and took them in.
ADRA’s programs have included the many issues facing women and girls for most of our ministry. It is estimated that at least one of every three women globally will be beaten, raped, or otherwise abused during her lifetime.
ADRA taught Priscilla how to read and write and helped to feed and shelter the small family. In time, she met a young man who saw her as a beautiful, good woman. He wanted to give Priscilla and her children a home and a good life.
Support ADRA projects around the world. Every ADRA project improves the Lives of Women and Girls.
“Now I have a life that is better than my young girl dreams,” says a smiling Priscilla. “I have peace and hope. Today, I live the life of a servant working as an ADRA coordinator. I fight for the people in the areas I am assigned, especially for the young girls. I don’t want any of them to live the life of misery and shame that I experienced. I never want any of them to feel that they are just an object that has been used and discarded.”
