In Uganda, commercial sexual exploitation of women and children is largely practiced by truck drivers along most truck routes, such as those going to the border of Rwanda. Truck rest stops include Ruti in Mbarara, Lukaya, and Ntungamo where most drivers resort to commercial sex with women and female children. (Global Monitoring Report on the status of action against commercial sexual exploitation of children-2007).
HOLD-UG continues to work tirelessly to rescue these young girls and mothers from sex trafficking by truck drivers, employers, and other people who take advantage of their vulnerability. Poverty, social family conflicts, and orphanhood are the major factor that exposes them into sexual slavery. Because of the above reasons, girls drop out of school at an early age, they lack someone to guide them properly in life, and they easily errors in making key life decisions.
They are persuaded into casual employment, where they are maximumly exploited; they are paid peanuts, and at times they do not receive these low wages in time or they are not paid at all. The exploitative conditions of their casual jobs make them frustrated the more, some end up in bars, casinos, slums, early marriages, streets, and prostitution in order to make a living.
Motivated by her painful history of surviving sex trafficking and the burning passion for the girl child, suffering orphans, widows, and women. Esther has dedicated herself to rescuing these girls into the Home of Love and Dreams rescue center under the program of Winning Women Rescue. Through the Winning Women Rescue program, we aim to equip girls and young women in all areas of life. With the main focus of giving our girls vocational skills for work, we strive to teach many different life skills including the joy and willingness to work, relational skills, financial accountability and responsibility, and last but not least biblical understanding of God’s Fatherhood.
Through this program, many lives have been impacted in numerous ways; Girls and women have been trained to be self-sufficient through vocational skills. The girls we minister to come from many different backgrounds. Our main target group is girls rescued from prostitution, and orphans in our immediate area though we are not limited to those alone.
We also reach out to those with HIV and others suffering in need. For years we have equipped young people with real income-generating skills. We strive to teach many different life skills including the joy and willingness to work, relational skills, financial accountability and responsibility, and last but not least biblical understanding of God’s Fatherhood.
We have so far rescued and impacted the lives of 16 girls. They have been given salon, tailoring, hotel management, catering, craft work, and information technology skills. After learning skill courses or training, these girls start earning and are able to survive on their own. They are free to go back to their communities of origin or a place of their choice and start working and meeting their needs.
