Shechem Children's Home

Freedom Sunday: Make a Difference for Survivors of Trafficking

aheckman — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 15:53:24 +0000

Freedom Sunday: Make a Difference for Survivors of Trafficking aheckman Thu, 09/08/2022 - 15:53

Freedom Sunday: Make a Difference for Survivors of Trafficking

“My life before I was rescued? I like to fight.”

Those are the words of a young survivor of human trafficking who found himself growing up in an abusive environment. For most of his eleven years, he experienced ongoing pain and trauma. Conflict, harsh language, and online trafficking left their marks, and acting out was a natural form of managing the stress he lived through at home.

Shechem Children’s Home, this boy found a place to begin a journey of healing. Once his rescue was complete, he joined the other children and house parents who call Shechem home, and immediate therapeutic intervention and spiritual and emotional support began to change his view.

In the Philippines, online sexual exploitation of children continues to grow. Unending demand from around the world incentivizes some adults to traffic the children in their homes or extended families. The Church of the Nazarene in the Philippines is meeting the needs of child survivors through the ministry at Shechem. There, therapists, house parents, pastoral staff, and social workers trained in trauma care help children find healing from their pasts and hope for their futures. Children live in the home until suitable and safe long-term placements are secured.

This survivor found new methods and tools to cope with his trauma and anxiety through therapeutic intervention at Shechem. While he still struggles with feelings of grief and anger over what he and his siblings lived through, the staff report that his outlook has improved over time. He also started school and is learning how to read and write.

In the therapy sessions, I learned to calm myself to think well. Inhale and exhale, take a deep breath and look for and feel a soft thing to release my anger,” he shares.

Helping children experience God’s love and care is an equally important aspect of Shechem’s ministry. The staff continually emphasizes that God sees, values, and remembers each child.

I learned to forgive others,” says this survivor. “I know God has changed me.”

Shechem Children’s Home is just one of many church-led ministries focused on caring for survivors of trafficking and preventing trafficking in the first place. Their work is vital, and they cannot do it alone. This year, we invite your congregation to support anti-trafficking ministries and take a stand against human trafficking by observing Freedom Sunday.

Freedom Sunday is a time for your church to learn about the problem of human trafficking, pray for survivors and those currently enslaved, and support anti-trafficking ministries through a Freedom Offering. In addition to supporting Shechem, the Freedom offering will also help fund:

A listening center and outreach ministry providing counseling and job skills training for survivors of human trafficking in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A Nazarene-run emergency shelter in Texas that provides a safe, hope-filled space for survivors of human trafficking.

As in years prior, we have free resources (prayers, lessons, videos, and stories) on our website that you are welcome to utilize in your service or on your social media platforms to promote your Freedom Sunday observance. Visit our website to download and let us know when you are participating.

Thank you for taking a stand this year for survivors of human trafficking through Freedom Sunday.

Freedom Sunday

Anti-Human Trafficking

Anti-Trafficking

Shechem Children's Home

Christmas at Shechem Children's Home: Sharing Hope

aheckman — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 15:37:34 +0000

Christmas at Shechem Children's Home: Sharing Hope aheckman Wed, 01/19/2022 - 15:37

Christmas at Shechem Children's Home: Sharing Hope

JANUARY 19, 2022 · JANET WILKINS FOR CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE ASIA-PACIFIC

Every year, the celebration of Christmas brings hope to many people. Likewise, Shechem Children’s Home has been sharing and giving hope.

Shechem, which is located in Manila, Philippines, provides Christ-centered, family-oriented care, protection, comprehensive assessment, and assists with finding long-term placements for children rescued from online sexual abuse and exploitation. This intensive care in the first months after the rescue helps lead to the children's healing, resiliency, well-being, and hope for their future.

In 2018, Shechem became the first residential center in the Philippines to offer a new level of care for children rescued from this crime—which involves a parent or close relative in more than 70 percent of cases. The staff at Shechem have been able to share the strategy behind the program and its implementation with other shelters and like-minded organizations. There are now several of these assessment centers in the Philippines.

“Being a new member of the Shechem family, it’s my first time to celebrate Christmas here at Shechem,” says LK*, a 17-year-old girl, just weeks after arriving. “It’s hard to be far away from my family, but I’m thankful that we have the staff and house parents, whom we can ask for guidance and serve as the lights into our lives while we are away from our family."

"Here at Shechem, I have felt I am loved, something I have never experienced outside (before)", LK continues. "I am grateful to Shechem because here, I never felt ashamed or being judged. I am thankful that I am here, where even at the start of December, we can feel the Christmas season.”

As hope begins to filter into the children, they begin to dream and share about their futures.

“My dream is to become a social worker like Kuya Jayson, to help my neighbors who are needy like me,” says an 11-year-old resident of Shechem.

Several dream of helping others.

“I dream to finish my studies and become a social worker to help the children like me, and I wish to come back and work at Shechem home,” says a 15-year-old resident of Shechem. “I hope to be with my family again. I hope to build a house for my family so that my siblings have a home.”

Hope is an important piece of the puzzle for the children who are receiving care at Shechem.

To learn more about the Shechem Children's Home, click here.

*Names changed or omitted for protection

Anti-Human Trafficking

Shechem Children's Home

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An Update from Shechem Children's Home

Grace Tia — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 04:16:08 +0000

An Update from Shechem Children's Home Grace Tia Fri, 07/23/2021 - 04:16

An Update from Shechem Children's Home

The Shechem Children’s Home is a short-term assessment center for survivors of online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC). This is a form of human trafficking where images or videos of children performing sexual acts are sold over the internet. It is a growing problem globally and in the Philippines, where Shechem is located. Because the vast majority of perpetrators are direct relatives of the children, it can take time after rescue to locate safe, long-term housing options. Shechem steps into the gap and provides a safe place for healing to begin.

During the most recent quarter, the Shechem Children’s Home hosted 16 children, including 14 girls and 2 boys. At Shechem, children receive Christ-centered and trauma-informed care. Keep reading for some recent updates from the Home.

Like children around the world, the pandemic has had an impact on daily life for the children living at Shechem. Classes are still being held online, but through the encouragement and guidance of their tutor, social workers, and live-in house parents, the children are staying motivated. Older children are now regularly coaching younger students, which has been enjoyable for both groups. The children look forward to the day when they are allowed more face-to-face time with teachers and tutors.

Trying new activities helps fill the time. Most recently, four of the older children learned to make pizza and pandesal—soft, yeasted rolls. Two older girls shared that they enjoy trying new recipes in part because they like to be busy, which they explained helps them to not dwell so much on their difficult pasts. The younger children have been taking care of the plants around the house, including a small garden.

For physical development, online Zumba and jiu-jitsu trainings have kept children active. Four of the newly-arrived children were initially very hesitant to participate and had a hard time engaging, spending the sessions just observing the others. As they grew more accustomed to life at the Home, they joined the training and began to enjoy it.

Arts and crafts projects, along with studying musical instruments like guitar, are giving children outlets for their emotions. All of the children at the home have complex and long-term trauma as a result of being trafficked. Therapeutic intervention is making a difference, helping children cope with their pasts and find hope for the future.

Mariel*, 15, struggled emotionally after being removed from her family after rescue. Because a high percentage of OSEC cases are perpetrated by family members—41 percent facilitated by biological parents and 42 percent by other relatives—separation from immediately family is an important safety precaution undertaken by law enforcement agencies in cases like these.

To help Mariel process her feelings, her therapist suggested a technique called the empathy chair, where Mariel could “talk” with her mother. In doing so, Mariel also became more comfortable sharing her feelings with those that she trusted. “So now I realize I can change, and I know what I would do if I am dysregulated,” Mariel says.

Long-term placement can look different depending on the child’s circumstance. Some of the children are reunited with safe family members who have received training and resources from a social worker. Children who have no safe options at home are placed with a trained foster family or at a long-term shelter.

Over the past three months, three older children, including a 17-year-old mother and her four-month-old baby, found long-term placement with an organization that will offer empowerment, education, and economic lessons. Those who stay at this home are old enough to consider independent living, and the organization will help them gain the skills they need to do so in a safe, secure way.

Through play, art, therapy, medical care, education, and more, children who have been harmed are learning at Shechem that they are safe, they are loved by God and by others, and that they matter. While it doesn’t erase difficult memories or trauma, the ministry of Shechem is giving children important tools to process and cope, helping them find hope for their futures.

~~~

Learn more about the ministry of Shechem Children’s Home: ncm.org/shechem

*Name is changed for protection.

Shechem Children's Home

Anti-Human Trafficking

Shechem Children's Home

Freedom Sunday: Make a Difference for Survivors of Trafficking

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Christmas at Shechem Children's Home: Sharing Hope

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