Jhomie was 17 years old and working in a bar in the Philippines when one day, the bartender called her over and shared a scene he had just witnessed:
A customer who was interested in Jhomie had slipped the bar manager some cash. The bartender didn’t have to explain to the teenager his reason for concern.
You see, Jhomie knew that the bars weren’t a safe place for her to work.
She was not naive to the fact that tens of thousands of Filipino women are objectified, exploited, and sold for sex every year in places just like the establishment where she worked.
Why was she there, you may ask?
Jhomie’s father had died and her mother was too sick to provide for her family. Jhomie was the only one left who could make a living to help her mother and two younger siblings survive.
With few employment options available to a young, impoverished girl, Jhomie felt the bars were her only choice.
Her hope was to work there without experiencing the exploitation countless other women before her had suffered—until that day, when she was warned that her freedom was in danger.
“The bartender told me to escape,” Jhomie later remembered.
She waited for the right moment, which was forced on her when the bar manager came and asked Jhomie to leave with the customer who had paid for her.
 “I pretended to need the washroom,” the young woman later told us, “and escaped through a vent.”
Jhomie’s escape is a miracle—and she took advantage of it by never returning to the bars to work again.
Instead, she was introduced to our partner organization, Samaritana Transformation Ministries, which works with Filipino women who are at risk of or have escaped exploitation.
Samaritana helps women learn a skill that will give them a dignified means of employment, while also providing them with much-needed emotional and spiritual care.
Jhomie thrived in her new home.
At first, the young woman worked as a seamstress, sewing handicrafts that Work of Your Hand then purchased and sold to help our partner pay her wage.
But soon enough, Jhomie's character and skills propelled her into a place of leadership.
 Now the Filipina prepares, designs, and checks the quality of the products other women create. Jhomie's job is to ensure that each item is carefully and beautifully made.
And if that's not enough, Jhomie is also passionate about caring for the women and pimps still working in the sex trade.
Every Friday night, the young woman goes out to the bars to talk with and befriend people there.
Her hope is to be a listening ear to the hurting and a helping hand to those who long to escape.
Jhomie's story is a testament to the power of God to protect and rise up on behalf of those who are downtrodden: that is Jhomie's life work--and it is also the call that is placed on the heart of all those who love God and join Him in bringing His Kingdom to the darkest places.
Please continue partnering with Jhomie.
Each purchase from Work of Your Hand empowers women like her to turn their lives around, and each handicraft you buy is another impoverished family that is better equipped to provide for themselves.
Thank you for working with us to change lives, one purchase at a time.
Blessings,
Darren & Minako Polischuk
Founders, Work of Your Hand
P.S.
- Purchase a set of pearls made by women who were at risk of or escaped sex trafficking in the Philippines; each time you wear your jewelry, you will have a beautiful reminder to pray for women at risk worldwide.
- Donate to our "Where Most Needed" Fund, which allows us to act swiftly when critical needs arise, which sadly, happens far too often in the lives of impoverished, vulnerable families.
This month, we're excited to give you a sneak peak of Summer 2017's order for Samaritana jewelry. We are thrilled about these beautiful pieces, but even more so about the women who will make them and earn a fair wage through dignified work:
 
 
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