Victim Turned Rescuer
Adanach grew up in a small, walled in city in Ethiopia. Her mother had a goat, and grew enough to feed the family on in the large lot the house stood on. A few trees graced the property, and she has happy memories of going up into the mountains to visit her grandparents. But national leadership changed, and their people group was targeted for violence. Many lined up for visas to go to other countries for work, Adanech amongst them.
Thus she found herself in Djibouti, applying at an agency with many other women. They were given cleaning positions. And off she went to work. It started well, but soon she began hearing stories from the other women she knew. Slowly, one by one, they were either raped by their masters, or fled when he tried to corner them. Adanech was working for a widow, so she felt safe, but one day, shortly before she should get her pay, the lady began to beat her and accused her of theft. She hadn't stolen anything, but she was thrown in prison without getting the salary she had worked hard for.
Adanach was a strong Christian, so she took her personal situation with Grace. But the condition of the other women in prison shocked her. Many were there without any hope of getting out, and each had a story of injustice. She shared Jesus with them. As she prayed some were healed, others were delivered. She also began to pray for Justice, and a small cell church formed. Eventually, Adanach not only was released, she was able to connect with people who had power to bring Justice to the women in prison. As a result doors were unlocked and the local system was improved.
Yet, still, over and over she heard the same stories of women coming in for work. Finally she went to the agency and challenged them. They wouldn't hear of it and turned her out.
So she tried to help women to consider going home. Not everyone was there because of political turmoil. Some just wanted a better life. But those who had not been abused didn't believe her, and those who already had were desperate. She began to help them through their pregnancies, and help them care for their children.
But this was no solution. She decided to explore other countries in the region and see if the problem was only local. To her grief she found it was much worse in the Saudi Peninsula and Syria. Again, she went to agencies and tried to challenge them to not lie to women and offer them work like this. But they mocked her.
In the end she was forced to flee, because she was becoming a threat to their income. Moving on to a large city in the region, she found a church, and began talking with a Cross Cultural Connections Team. As they brainstormed, they came up with an idea. Adanech started a safe house for women from Ethiopia and Eritrea. And Cross Cultural Connections offered training and work to the women. Our team bought what the women made the week they made it, giving them cash up front to pay for living expenses. Soon they were able to move into apartments together, keeping the safe house free for new comers. When you buy items at Authentic Justice, some of them are made by these women.