Making Dreams Possible...from poverty to university.

Girls whose lives would otherwise be wasting away are being revived with the hope and promise of a better future. The partnership between Amilia's Light and Destiny Women is rewriting the future for these girls through the 10,000 Lights Women’s Business Centre.  The Business Centre is a salon, boutique, and crafts shop where the girls have each been assigned responsibilities in order to grow their business skills, their confidence, and to provide a safe work context.

Twenty-year-old Annet is the youngest of the girls working in the center; her warm smile welcomes and draws the customers in to our brand new 10,000 Lights Women’s Business Centre. Prior to joining 10,000 Lights Women’s Business Centre, Annet worked in a small business where the male business owner did not treat her with respect and dignity.   Knowing her worth and value as a result of the Destiny Women rehabilitation process, she quickly left the job and with her little savings started a small soap making business at home. 

Annet was born into a family of four.  When Annet’s father died, she and her twin brother were moved from home to live with her grandmother.  It is her grandmother’s home that she remembers fondly when asked about her childhood. "We used to live in a big house and my grandmother used to take care of very many people," she remembers.  When asked about life before rehabilitation, Annet closes her eyes briefly and sighs; "I used to live in a home started by a certain organization that took care of talented children." She continues, "I was taken there when I was about 10 years old because I was a good dancer. I stayed there and they paid my school fees.  As children, we would entertain people and get some money which would be used to buy food for the home. I started off going there to have fun; when they saw that I was good and doing what they liked, they took me into the home and started paying fees for me." When asked about how her family perceived the new arrangement, she replied, "The organization took me as an orphan.  My mother did not know about it, but my grandmother knew and was okay with the idea because they were paying my school fees and as an orphan I needed the fees."  Annet goes on to explain that most of the people that ran the organization did not really care for the children.  "They were not educated and so they didn’t value our education; in fact most of them were former drug addicts and had not properly been rehabilitated.  The home was basically for street children and orphans.  As a child I was not aware that I could be in danger, but now I look back and know that it was not a safe place for us.  We at some point shared a bedroom with boys that were in the same home."

When asked about her first exposure to sex trafficking, Annet explains, "Near my grandmother’s house there were garages and so many men worked in the area.  There were also many prostitutes.  My grandmother had talked to me a lot about the dangers of having sex with men to get money, so when I was in these situations I knew what the men wanted from me.  She first told me when I started to sneak out of the house at night to go dancing with my friends."  Annet sadly explains that most of the girls that were her childhood friends ended up with early, unplanned pregnancies.  "I keep asking God why He chose me, why am I different?  I think God knew me and had good plans for me.  It’s God who protects us," Annet says

Annet later met Miriam Enyaga, the founder of Destiny Women who counseled her and invited her to join Destiny Women.  Annet, desiring motherly support and good counsel, joined Destiny Women and appreciates the opportunity to be with and learn from other girls that have been exposed to situations like hers.  "Destiny Women brings us back together as a family.  It helps us stay connected and understand each other.  Miriam is like a mother to us, she looks out for all the girls and brings us back together and makes us all keep moving."

On how being part of the 10,000 Lights Women’s Business Centre is helping her, Annet says, "The project has taught me to handle different people and understand business."  

Annet, who started university this year, is studying for a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration and says she is grateful for the opportunity to go to university and work to help support herself.  She admits that she could otherwise fall into the temptation of having sex with men to get money, as many students sometimes do.  "I have to take care of myself because at home there is no one to take care of me since my mother also has health complications.  But things are going so well, there’s a way in which working (at the10kWBC) has made me so responsible and confident, and the course I am studying is in line with the work that I do.  Working here has given me an opportunity to understand business and deal with both negative and positive people." 

Annet also says she has been able to contribute to meeting the needs at home.  Being the first child in her family to make it to university, she says, "I feel so proud and blessed, in spite of the fact that I lost my dad at a tender age." 

She breaks down and starts to cry as she remembers her father.  With a heavy sigh and sadness in her eyes, she continues, "And the things that people said about me and my family.  I think it’s high time I show them that no matter what they said about us, I have to stand up and be strong. At least I feel like I have to be there for my mum, be there for my siblings, and then I'll show those people that despite the fact that they didn’t see any value in us, in me, God has been so gracious to us."

When asked about her dreams and the future, Annet’s countenance shifts and with her warm smile, she says, "I want to have a happy family where I will provide for my kids.  I don’t want the life that I have gone through for my children to pass through it. I want to be an inspirational speaker mostly to the girls that have gone through these situations.  I want to witness a miracle in my family that someone can make it.  I want to run a business selling children’s toys and clothes because when I see children dressed and happy it’s my joy because that is the life I missed."

 Post submitted by Rachel Tumwine, Amilia's Light Liaison - Uganda

Hi! I'm Rachel Tumwine; I am privileged to work with both Destiny's Women and Amilia’s Light as a Liaison.  My role is to help bridge the distance between you, our generous supporters and the world of our girls, who each yearn for and deserve a chance to make the most of their lives.  I enjoy seeing the girls grow to be more responsible and how they now look forward to their futures through the lenses of the hope you give through your generous donations to Amilia’s Light. 

10,000 lights of hope for formerly trafficked girls in Uganda

We're getting ready to celebrate 2 years as an official non-profit, and the start of our first project - The Empowerment Centre.  Rachel Tumwine, our liaison in Uganda, will be a regular contributor to our blog, and will be writing stories from the field.

Hi! I'm Rachel Tumwine; I am privileged to work with both Destiny's Women and Amilia’s Light as a Liaison.  My role is to help bridge the distance between you, our generous supporters and the world of our girls, who each yearn for and deserve a chance to make the most of their lives.  I enjoy seeing the girls grow to be more responsible and how they now look forward to their futures through the lenses of the hope you give through your generous donations to Amilia’s Light. 

10,000 lights of hope for formerly trafficked girls in Uganda

  In March of 2015, Michelle Luhrmann, founder of Amilia’s Light, traveled to Uganda and met some of the girls in the Destiny Women Uganda program.  Miriam Enyaga, Destiny Women’s founder and director, personally counseled girls who had been prostitutes and helped with their rehabilitation. Michelle’s interaction with these girls revealed a common thread in their stories. 

They had left prostitution but didn’t know what to do next.  Other questions arose like:  Where were the girls getting money for their day-to-day needs?  Who was providing for the girls who had children or were expecting children when the fathers weren’t involved? The needs were heartbreaking and Michelle was determined to help. 

Destiny Women already had dreams about rectifying the situation believing that learning business skills was a key part of their transformation.  So with a shared dream of empowering formerly trafficked girls with education and business skills, as well as restored self worth and identity, Destiny Women and Amilia’s Light got to work writing proposals, sharing ideas and seeking donations.  By the end of the year, Amilia’s Light raised $25,000 for the Empowerment Project and Destiny Women commissioned a Task Force Team (EPTF) to identify a location and launch the project.  Three months later, a salon and boutique were opened in a prime business center in the heart of Kampala city and a craft shop opened later in the same year.  

The Empowerment Program:
10,000 Lights Women's Business Centre
(10kWBC)

10KWBC Craft Shop

The girls had a place to come together to earn an honorable living and learn new business skills. They named it the 10,000 Lights Women’s Business Centre. 

A day of Training
Professional Development Trainor was brought in to teach basic business skills, such as entering sales in a ledger, merchandising and customer service. 

Annet, a bright and vivacious young woman, has been eager to learn and grow,  recently told us why she is grateful for the Empowerment Project,  “I want to have a happy family where I will provide for my kids. I don’t want the life that I have gone through for my children.” 

Annet, 10KWBC's greeter and sales person

10KWBC Task Force
(EPTF)

The Empowerment Project Task Force team meets weekly to monitor and evaluate the project while also playing key roles as mentors.  Through regular meetings, and individual and group counseling, the girls are reminded that they are valued and that each one of them has the potential for greatness.  A bright light of hope is replacing the uncertainty of not having the opportunity to  work or get training, in order to care for themselves and their families.  Dignified work at 10,000 Lights WBC reminds them daily to reach their highest potential in every aspect of life. 

Starting a business and training center for girls that are recovering from unstable backgrounds has not been a smooth ride.  Some girls who were thought to be ready for the Empowerment Program turned out to be ungrateful for the opportunity and opted not to work with the 10,000 Lights WBC. Destiny Women has kept these girls in the bigger fold and encourages them in group contexts outside the Empowerment Project.  Even some of the participants have had difficulty envisioning the benefit of the Empowerment Project and needed a lot of encouragement to invest their hard work in order to reap harvest.  Turning a profit has taken much longer than anticipated. 

Teddy, and Rev. Phil Bauman
October 2016 visit with Destiny Women.
Teddy recently learned basic haircutting skills 

But fruit is starting to be seen, the 10,000 Lights Women’s Business Centre earned enough money to pay the three shops’ rent for the first time in eight months.  It is anticipated that this business will be fully sustainable within three years of inception!

The future is bright.  With the training and work experience from 10,000 Lights WBC the girls will be able to start and run their own businesses and pass on the skills through mentorship. Their children will be well provided for and have access to good education because their mothers are better equipped to care for them.

Thank you for the job!
Empowerment Program Boutique 

Being thankful for how God works

Sometimes we need to look back in order to be thankful. Often, I just get too busy and forget to thank the people in our lives - the people we work with, the people that volunteer and donate, the people we come up against ( ok, maybe that's a different blog...) the people we love and cherish, and for me, my God, who provides all those things.

Thanksgiving gives me the opportunity to take a moment, look back, and reflect.  This year I’m especially thankful for how God works, weaving things together and putting people in my path just when needed. It's always amazing to me.

I had not seen Carolyn Howard in many years, not since her daughter Sarah and Amilia were preschoolers dressing their baby dolls and cooking on their Little Tykes Kitchen ranges.  Last December, the Howards came to Light the Night.  To say the least, I was near tears with happiness to reconnect with them.  They were moved by our cause, and last May, Sarah asked to intern with us. She and Catherine Conroy were a great help!

At Sarah’s graduation party in June, I connected with Kathy and Mike Wipperfeld, neighbors that I also had not seen in many years.  We chatted and updated each other on our families. I gave them highlights about Amilia’s Light and the need for volunteers, especially in marketing. Well, Kathy just happens to have a background in marketing communications.  Kathy hadn’t realized all that we were doing to empower survivors of human trafficking.  On the spot she stepped up to help us with branding!   

Over the summer, we were getting ready to host our first golf tournament.  Suzanne Siino, one of our volunteers, just happened to have organized over a dozen of them.  She stepped up to help get TEE IT UP For Amilia’s Light off the ground!

T-shirts were needed for the golf tournament and Kathy suggested we redesign the logo. o

Well, wouldn’t you know, Suzanne’s brother just happens to be a graphic designer. He volunteered to design a new logo that symbolizes our mission to shine light through a prism into the darkness of human trafficking. What a subtle, yet powerful way to convey our message.

In the process of rebranding, it just happened that our old website was no longer supported. It forced us to start from scratch, rethinking our image and refocusing our message. Now we are blessed to have an amazing new website.

The Empowerment Program - 10,000 Lights Women's Business Centre
Miriam Enyaga, Co-founder Destiny Women
  Teddy - now employed at the program.

So, this year, I’m most thankful for how God works.  I’m thankful, too, for my family and friends, for the work that I’m privileged to do and the volunteers and board members that help make it happen, and for the young women who we are helping. Every day, even on the tough days, I wake knowing that we are empowering survivors of human trafficking, one girl at a time.