Stories of Hope

Moments of joy that keep us going

At a time when the news can seem overwhelming, and things feel uncertain, all of us at IJM would like to share with you something that we have a lot of — hope.

Our survivors have always shown us that in the midst of darkness there is still light. We know that sharing their stories won’t stop a pandemic, but it may give us a little extra motivation to fight for hope and joy even in the most difficult seasons. We hope you’ll find encouragement in a few of our most joyful moments!

Survivors Paving The Way For A Better Future

IJM teams across South Asia have responded to the world’s largest nationwide lockdown with compassion and rapid action, with released bonded labourers leading the response efforts.

Once hidden from the world while they were in bonded labour slavery – today Thaiyamma (featured in the video) and many other survivor leaders are paving the way for a better future for them and their communities. Together, they learned to advocate for the rights of survivors. Women like Thaiyamma were on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19, helping raise awareness of the virus to hundreds of survivors.

Even children were mobilised to take part. “Wash your hands and feet when you come in from outside! Keep yourself clean. Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth.” The sweet girl in the video was explaining how to stop coronavirus from spreading. We love how she is serving her community!

The wisdom of a 7-year-old.

In early 2017, Luke* was seven and received a Make-a-Wish Trip to LEGOLAND and Walt Disney World as a result of a condition that leaves him immunocompromised. In preparation for this trip, Luke’s grandfather gave him US$20 to buy a souvenir. But because Luke is Luke, he said, “I don’t want to spend my money, I want to save it up for something bigger.”

Then, after more than six months of working and saving for an epic LEGO set, Luke surprised his mom with this conversation:

Luke: “Mom, I need to give them my money.”
Mom: “Give who your money?”
Luke: “IJM.”
Mom: “How much do you think you should give?”
Luke: “No, I need to give them all my money.”
Mom: “Are you sure?”
Luke: “Mom, I really need to do this. I need a really big envelope.”

Earlier that Sunday, Luke learned that there were people in the world who lived in slavery, who lived without hope and who needed help. Furthermore, he learned that IJM was helping. So in the mind of this child, he needed a big envelope more than he needed big LEGO. It was just that simple.

“I want to give [my money] to slavery people. Because I don’t want them to be called slavery people. I want them to be called their names.”

In this season where we’re trying to figure out what’s best for our kids and how they’ll understand big scary things like COVID-19 and distancing from friends and grandparents, may Luke’s story give all of us some hope. Hope that our kids are pretty amazing and can give us perspective and joy even in the midst of difficult times.

ADD TO LUKE’S ENVELOPE

Conceived in slavery, born in freedom.

Before Bablu was born, his mom, dad and sister went to work at a wood-cutting facility to try to pay off a debt with their daily wages. But what they thought was a good job quickly turned into a life of abuse. A cruel man, they called “the Beast,” gained complete control over every aspect of their lives.

Their conditions were horrific, and the abuse they suffered was overwhelming. It became clear that their future would be one of slavery if they didn’t find a way out.

Only a few days before Bablu was born, IJM went to investigate the facility alongside local authorities. Despite threats, Bablu’s mom harnessed all of her courage and spoke boldly, telling the authorities everything about the abuse and torment they experienced. Because of her courage and the partnership of people like you, IJM intervened in his family’s life and got to witness not only their rescue, but Bablu being born into freedom!

Enjoy this sweet little clip of an entire family celebrating love, freedom and cake!

From the hospital to the high court.

When IJM first met David in 2002, he was in the hospital, his right hand had just been amputated, and he was chained to the hospital bed. The police had shot and left him for dead, but, when he survived, they brought charges against him for crimes he did not commit. His family was very poor and hiring a lawyer was out of the question. He felt hopeless.

As one of IJM’s first cases in Kenya, our lawyers worked day and night to fight for David. They successfully defended his case and the charges were dropped. The police officers were arrested and charged, but that was not the end of his story.

David says that it was while he was in incarceration that he made up his mind to become a lawyer and defend the poor from injustice. Hear from our brave friend David on how he went on to become an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and one of the founding members of the Global Survivor Network.

“I can say that indeed God is a faithful God. In my hospital bed all those many years ago I would never have imagined I will be an advocate helping my own community fight the injustice they face today.”