Providing Safe Homes and Restoration Services for Child Victims of Sex Slavery Worldwide.
Dear Friends and Family,
What a difference a year makes! When our team went to the Philippines in November, 2011 we had no idea how many girls were about to be saved from a life of sex slavery. Over this past year, our Unlikely Heroes home in the Philippines has rescued more than THIRTY girls out of “sex dens.” In practical numbers, that means our girls have been protected from more than 1,000 rapes.
When we were with the girls last year, we were heartbroken over the stories of how our girls had ended up trapped in sex dens. One girl began working in the bars and brothels at the age of 14 in order to survive. She felt as though she was living like a stray animal, owning only one pair of clothing and being prostituted for each meal. One of our other girls told us that her father sold her to a recruiter with promises of a job and a great salary. The young girl ended up in a brothel or what she called a “sex den.” By the team’s last day there, girls were showing up on the doorstep saying, “we heard you opened a home for girls like us, can we move in?
We just found out that three of the “sex dens” that were opened in the area where our home is located are now closed!! Our outreach team in the Philippines goes to the bars every week to eat lunch with the girls still trapped in the “sex dens.” The owner of some of the bars saw the love our team had for the girls and he began to feel guilty for selling these same girls for sex. In fact, that same bar owner became so convicted that he decided it was wrong to keep the bars open. He decided to close all three of his bars and give the minors to our Unlikely Heroes team for care. Furthermore, he even started renting out one of the bars to a local church. That building just went from a brothel to a church!
We are greatly encouraged by our progress and thrilled that these same girls are now living lives filled with hope. They are receiving job training, life skills education, and working in safe jobs! In fact, four of our girls will graduate from high school this March, one of our girls just got a job at a fast food chain near our home, and all of them are learning how to garden. We have so much to celebrate this holiday season, but we must admit what we love is that these rescued girls are now safe.
We want to see so many more kids rescued from a life filled with suffering, and we are working hard to open additional homes. Our home in the Philippines costs $50,000 to run per year. This includes the safe housing, life skills, education, therapy, food, home upkeep and clothing as well as the cost of our weekly outreach teams.
$416 Rescues one child from sex slavery for one month and provides safe housing, food, education, life skills, job placement & LOVE!
$5,000 sponsors one girl for a year at our home in the Philippines
Please consider giving a year-end contribution to Unlikely Heroes. Our team is determined to see children rescued, rehabilitated and restored. To give, please click our DONATE NOW buttons or write a check to: Unlikely Heroes PO Box 6143 North Hollywood, CA 91603
Thank you for believing in us; your support has made all of this possible. You really have become a part of our history, and we are so grateful for you!
Happy Holidays
Love Erica and the Unlikely Heroes Team!
Out of the Darkness and into the Light
A team of therapists from Unlikely Heroes brings hope and healing to victims of sex trafficking in the Philippines
Sarah is a 14-year-old girl with bright eyes and a shy smile. Even though she loves dancing and telling jokes, she’s not a typical teenager. Sarah’s mother has no source of income, and because of this, sent her daughter to waitress in a bar for less than $1 a day. However, when Sarah started to work, she quickly realized that her job was not to serve drinks. It was to have sex with men for money.
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Analyn's Story
The Unlikely Heroes Team met Analyn in November 2011. THIS IS HER STORY:
As a young child, Analyn was abused by her alcoholic father. Her mother worked in Manila as a maid and was separated from the family. Analyn and her sisters were left to themselves to find food to eat and safety from their father’s beatings. Often they would sleep in the barn to escape his alcoholism and abuse.
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Unlikely Heroes at The Crown Bar
"THERE IS NO CONVENIENT TIME FOR JUSTICE."
Our CEO, Erica Greve, speaks at the Unlikely Heroes Benefit Show at the Crown Bar in Hollywood.
December 8, 2011
Video courtesy TheSweetleilani
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Event Recap - BWDPR Gifting Lounge at the Academy Awards
On February 25, Unlikely Heroes was the featured charity at the BWD Gifting Lounge in celebration of the 84th Academy Awards at Confidential in Beverly Hills. Founder, Erica Greve, along with a small team of volunteers, greeted celebrities inside the elegant Beverly Hills Confidential Suite to share the foundation’s mission of rescuing and restoring children who were previously sold for sex in the USA and internationally.
Adam Rose of Weeds was present, along with Hope Dworaczyk (The Celebrity Apprentice). Kellen Lutz of The Twilight Saga was photographed with Unlikely Heroes founder Erica Greve on the red carpet. Kyle Massey of Disney’s That’s So Raven brought a smiling face to the upbeat event and actresses Lauren C. Mayhew of Raise Your Voice and Nadia Bjorlin of Days of Our Lives were also present.
Lively and purposeful, the event was a huge success in spreading the organization’s vision to see child sex slavery ended worldwide.
