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SA Informer Newsletter

Hello and welcome to the July issue of the SA Informer Newsletter! This has been a busy month full of preparation and training for our upcoming trips in August. While our team from Stuttgart has departed, our Greek team arrived right on their heels! Here's what a member of our Stuttgart team had to say about her time spent with us:

"As I flew from Minnesota to Vancouver my stomach was uneasy. I was gripped with stirring thoughts: what would the girls look like? What nationalities would be in the room? What would they think when they saw me? I'm just a girl who has lived a blessed "normal" life, what can I offer to the girls that they would respect me or think anything positive about me? (I guess I was a little too self focused, haha!)

When I walked into that room, the girls were in the middle of their afternoon studies and I sighed a big sigh of relief. If felt like walking into a high school classroom! It was wonderful that they all spoke the same language. My heart melted away from fear as I looked for ways to connect at the heart level.

I have not been in the brothels in Germany but I go back with confidence that it is the heart of the person I need to see and connect with. Yes, I realize that I struggle with acceptance, beauty, wanting that deep love, issues of the past; and though my pain is nowhere near what the women have experienced, God helps the connection. Doing the Formation of Servants helps keep me humble.

I'm excited to meet the women in Germany and go on this journey with them. Girls are girls are girls no matter where we are and I am thankful for this experience to teach me that on the outside we may look or live differently but our hearts are very similar. We are all created by the same God with the same deepest desires."

In June we sent out our Summer Roundup Newsletter and have received some very generous responses!

Thank you all for your support over the years. Read on to find out what's happening at the SA Foundation this summer!

Click the links to the left to quickly read up on your favourite topics.

Nepal

While the mainstream media has moved on, Nepal continues to rebuild after the devastating earthquakes that hit Kathmandu in May and June.

We have been blessed as our friends and participants in Nepal were physically unharmed, but across Nepal half a million houses have been destroyed, and a quarter million are damaged. Some neighbourhoods must be nearly unrecognizable. Every day people wake up and face the destruction once again.

However, there is good news! We have obtained a new home for our participants and program, but we must furnish this home! We are in need of office machines and supplies (photocopier, computers, etc) and basic household supplies.

If you would like to make a donation for our participants in Nepal, please click here.

Prayer Blog

Recently we created a Prayer Blog for our supporters to connect with us in a tangible way.

Our prayer blog is a way for us to share prayer requests from our programs all over the globe. There you will see special, personal requests as well as short reflections from program leaders about what it’s like to work in recovery in every country. We know that you are praying with us and we believe that it is an extremely important part of our work.

Because our prayer requests include sensitive and confidential information, you will be brought to a log-in page in order to view the blog. If you already have a Wordpress account, you may log-in with those credentials at this time.

If you do not, you can sign up for a simple viewing account here:

Sign-Up To View Our Blog

Once you have logged in, you’ll have access to the blog. First you will see our welcome page which will direct you to our prayer requests.

If you prefer to be notified via email when a new post occurs, please scroll to the bottom of the welcome page where it says “Follow Blog Via Email” and click “Follow” to enter your email address. This way, every time a new prayer request is added, you will be notified immediately.

Read our Prayer Blog

Travel Updates

Our Leadership Team's trip to Kathmandu and Mumbai is fast approaching! In August we'll be spending quality time with our Nepal team as we train and assess their current needs. Dominique, Steve and Naphtali will accompany our handicrafts manager to Mumbai to seek out a reliable source of raw materials. While they're shopping, Carla, Selina and Shirley-Anne will be in Kathmandu.

In September we'll also be visiting Berlin and Budapest for many of the same reasons - training and assessment. Look forward to pictures and stories in the months to come!

Her Story 2015 - Calgary Fundraiser

WHAT IS THE HER STORY FUNDRAISER LUNCH?

Being respectful of your time, we will take this opportunity to educate you on the global sex trade and human trafficking problem and what the SA Foundation is doing about it with a special focus on our Nepal Project. Come and hear how we are making a difference in the lives of young women who have been sexually exploited as well as those living in high-risk situations, even further escalated by the recent events. Be challenged and empowered to support the work of the SA Foundation.

The fundraising goal for this lunch is $100,000. This will help cover the Global Wonders & Nepal Project budget for $200,000!

EVENT DETAILS:
Tuesday, October 6, Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre, 197 First St. SW
11:30 am – 12:00 lunch; 12 – 12:55 pm program
Tickets $50 a person (not tax receiptable) or be a Table Captain for $500 (tax receiptable). Table Captains are the heroes of this event as they fill their tables with 7 guests and help cover the cost of the event. Purchase tickets or be a Table Captain here.

Please specify number of tickets or Table Captain in the comment box.
More event details will be emailed to you once you have purchased a table/ticket.

WANT TO DO MORE? CANNOT ATTEND?
1. Please consider making a donation online or mailing a cheque to:

The Servants Anonymous Foundation

Head Office
P.O. Box 46013
Inglewood RPO
1233 – 9 Avenue Southeast
Calgary AB T2G 5H7

Please write “Nepal Project – Calgary Lunch” on the front of your cheque or in the comment box when donating online.

2. Become an event sponsor and receive recognition in our newsletter and website!
a.Signature Sponsor – $5,000 – comes with a medium exclusive framed photograph print signed by our staff and participants in Nepal
b.Gold Sponsor – $10,000 – comes with a large exclusive framed photograph print signed by our staff and participants in Nepal

To become a sponsor, please write your sponsor level (Signature or Gold) on the front of your cheque or in the comment box when donating online. If you have a company logo you’d like put in our newsletter or website, please send us an email!

Thank you for considering what you and/or your company can do. Let us be the generation that brings slavery to an end – again! For further event information contact Naomi, the Project Coordinator for Nepal at 403-636-1419 or by email .

Greece

With the recent economic issues affecting Greece, they need your prayers more than ever!

"Over 60% of all migrants to Greece, legal and illegal, are female, and over 20,000 migrant women are trafficked annually to work in Greece.One study from 2001 estimates that 75% of trafficked women in Greece are brought into the country under false pretenses and, believing that an opportunity for lawful employment awaits them in Greece, suddenly find themselves sold to those involved in the sex trade and threatened with violence and deportation if they refuse to cooperate, and they become too frightened to report it.The average age of a sex worker in Greece is also lowering, and currently sits at about 12–15 years of age.

Trafficked women work anywhere from 6 to 12 hours a day and see anywhere from 40-110 clients a day. 70% or more of their earnings, however, go to the brothel owners or pimps in order to keep the women in debt bondage.Trafficked women are likely to face physical abuse, threats, intimidation, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and to experience drug and alcohol addiction, injuries resulting from violence, and various mental health problems as a result of the trauma they are exposed to." - WIKIPEDIA

For 10 years a local housewife and mother participated in a brothel visiting mission, meeting with young girls who were tricked and sold into prostitution. The mission’s primary goal was to preach the gospel to these young women but this woman’s heart was involved and she could not bear to leave them in their circumstances. She began to help the women on her own, the best she could with what she had to offer. Being a mother herself, she understood that these were somebody’s daughters and she felt called to provide more to them. She began searching for a program to implement in her country, made several visits to the United States to visit others who were working with this population, but could not find anyone who could help her duplicate an effective program. Through a mutual friend of the SA Foundation, she learned about what we do internationally and a relationship began to form.

Today a team of eager, dedicated, like-minded leaders has formed and are going through the SA Foundation’s development process and are currently in Canada receiving training. The SA Foundation’s Board has added Athens as a franchise location to their 5-year plan and it is our shared goal that the first house and day program will be up and running by December 1, 2015.

We need your help! Due to the economic crisis in Greece, fundraising in this country will be impossible. We are calling our supporters together as we desire to see the young women trafficked into this country be provided with an avenue of escape and healing.

Donate to our Greek Project!

Vancouver Program

Our Cuddle 'N Care Babysitting service recently got a makeover! Thanks to generous donations we were able to purchase new furniture, toys, books and games for our participants' children. We offer the babysitting service to the women in our Vancouver day program as they work on their recovery from sexual exploitation. The babysitting service is just down the hall from the classroom, which encourages bonding between mother and child and helps foster heatlhy parenting skills.

We have recently added a new level of Advanced Programming to our Vancouver location! Once participants have completed the requirements of our Recovery Day Program, they are then welcomed into Advanced Program which is an extended 18 month program that supplies housing/daycare grants, personalized goal planning and support as they re-enter society and the workforce.

The purpose of Advanced Programming is as follows:

To assist participants to find safe and secure affordable long-term housing
To provide continued support to participants to ensure they maintain a healthy lifestyle as they continue to raise their children on their own
To provide support to participants as they strive to maintain their employment
To provide support to participants as they get promoted in their working environments with the aim and objective to earn enough money to become financially self-supporting
To continue to provide servant leadership tools for participants to become qualified sponsors to new participants that are at the beginning stages of their recovery

I Stop Traffick Run

Our Two Annual I Stop Traffick Runs this year were great successes! Our athletes raised almost $15,500 between both cities – more than twice as much as last year’s run! Thank you to everyone who came out or sponsored our athletes! Our kid's run is always the star of the show: nothing beats the smile on a toddler's face as she runs through the finish line at top speed! Running with such abandon reminds us of John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." We run so that our young women may be free, too. Start your stretches now in preparation for next year, and check out our Facebook for pictures from the event!

Fall Bling 2015

Great news - We're hosting Fall Bling in Vancouver again this year! Last year's event was a hit featuring a fashion show, presentation and lots of shopping for Global Wonders jewelry. People came dressed in their best to enjoy a classy and fun-filled evening with friends and family. We ended up raising close to $19,000.00!

Get excited about this year's event! We'll be showcasing the new Global Wonders Fall Collection and sharing stories about what the SA Foundation is doing to impact human trafficking one day at a time.This year we will be entertaining at a new venue on November 17, 2015. (Our previous newsletter indicated a different tentative date, but it has been changed!) Stay tuned for details!

Get Involved!

We need a bigger building!

The SA Foundation Vancouver program is growing at a steady pace. At this time we have outgrown our current office facilities! While we are scouting the city for a new location, our real dream is to build a customized building to house our Recovery & Advanced Programs, Babysitting Service, and our Main Office and Warehouse. You can give us a hand by starting a building fund for a 5000 square foot location!

Donations!

We are so grateful to our faithful donors and supporters. Whether you give a one-time donation or give monthly, you make a real difference in the lives of the young women we serve. You can become a donor here! Additionally, you can shop for our latest Global Wonders pieces at www.safoundation.myshopify.com with all proceeds going towards our Nepal project.

Come to our Events!

Please consider registering for some of our upcoming events! You’ve learned about a couple here, but you can find out more on our website. We encourage you to bring a friend along to help us fill those seats! For those who are socially-inclined, consider becoming a Table Captain at our Calgary Luncheon.

Spread the Word!

Tell your friends, family members, co-workers, work-out buddies and customers all about the SA Foundation. Help raise awareness about human trafficking in our cities and what you can do to help. Pray to end sexual exploitation/trafficking. Pray for the healing of young women and their children in all of our projects. Pray for us to receive God’s wisdom in all that we do!

Keep in Touch!

You can follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/safoundation and you can email us at any time at info@safoundation.com

We thank you all so much for your support, prayers and time. Be sure to keep in touch via our social media links below, or feel free to contact us at info@safoundation.com

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