Remember when we told you in December that we, together with our friends at YWAM Zomba, Malawi, would soon start a safe house for women/girls exposed to human trafficking and prostitution? Now it’s here!
In January 2025, we started setting up the house with the help of several volunteers and at the end of the month the first six women moved in. A lot has happened since then. Here’s a brief insight. Because the following deals with people in a vulnerable situation, we choose not to mention their names or show their faces out of respect.
Our Vision:
“A society in Malawi where every young woman
and girl lives free from exploitation,
empowered to pursue her dreams
and contribute positively to her community.”
AN “OLD” VISION
We have long had a dream of having a so-called Safehouse for women and children exposed to human trafficking or prostitution. In Malawi, it is not allowed to get married as a minor, but the reality is that girls as young as 13 are married off – often with abuse and assault as a result. They then risk being rejected by both the husband and their own family, ending up/being forced into prostitution with no way out.
Beauty for Ashes offers a safe place to live, professional help and advice and education that helps to plan for the future.
WHY BEAUTY FOR ASHES?
The house and the vision are named after the verse in Isaiah 61:3 about proclaiming a year of favor to the Lord and giving beauty for ashes to the mourners of Zion. The focus is on God’s grace and mercy and restoration in the house – which interestingly enough begins in a year of favor.
EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE HOUSE
Six young women live in the house. They receive both professional help to process the traumatic experiences they have gone through and practical training in various crafts, such as cooking, sewing and hairdressing. The short-term plan is that the current six women will receive help and tools to be able to support themselves and their children in the future. After that, six new women can move in and receive help.
PLANS FOR A WORKSHOP-SHOP
We would like to establish a dedicated workshop where current and former residents of the house can be taught various crafts. Here, volunteers and teams from outside can be involved to provide various courses. The workshop can also function as a shop for the local area with a kitchen, a hairdresser with a make-up department and a tailor/clothing designer. The trained women can both help train others and earn money from their work.
WISHES FOR THE FUTURE
Growing their own crops: Malawi still suffers from high inflation, and obtaining food is a challenge, especially in the south. Becoming self-sufficient in the most basic foods requires time, hands, and seeds, thye have the land for it.
A car for house: In order to help the women to a stable life, we also have, to a certain extent, to help their families. Several of the women have children who now live with their grandparents, and transportation back and forth between the families is a challenge.
SUPPORT
What can you specifically help with?
If you have taken a liking to the Beauty for Ashes project and are considering how you can support it, here are some suggestions:
- Prayer! First and foremost, we believe that Beauty for Ashes is God’s vision, and none of the work happens without prayer. Send us an email at ywam@ywam.dk to be updated on prayer topics for both the house and the team behind it.
- Financial. We are still looking for more people who will support us financially on a monthly basis. It costs approximately DKK 14,000 per month to provide rent, food, water and a safe life for the women. If you feel that God has placed it on your heart, you can click on the buttons below to give a monthly amount or a gift.
- Hands. Do you have your heart set on taking a year or two out of your calendar and becoming a volunteer at Beauty for Ashes? Practical hands are needed both in the workshop and in the house. Send us an email at ywam@ywam.dk to find out more.
Your gift is tax-deductible.
When you help one girl, you change generations.
Stand with us to rewrite her story.
