Gina and Gavin
enabled 10 trafficked women to gain an education!
Gina and Gavin raised $1,588!
This paid for:
Tuition fees for 10 survivors of human trafficking living in a shelter to complete 6-month education programmes.
Textbooks and school supplies for 10 women.
Gina and Gavin's Motivation
A great deal of our happiness stems from the freedom we have. Here in Wellington, NZ, Gavin and I enjoy ultimate freedom. Freedom to follow our dreams, freedom to be and do whatever we want.
It's unbelievable and heartbreaking to think that Human Trafficking is an actual thing. Please help us help Siti and 9 others get a knee-up.
Gina and Gavin's Feedback
Gina and Gavin received this thank you card from the women they helped to educate
"Dear Gina and Gavin,
Thank you for giving the gift of education opportunity for our shelter residents. Thousands of Domestic Workers come to us with a range of barriers – limited language skills and minimal experience and education. With your generous donation of AUD $1,500.- to HOME, you help promote innovative solutions and transform
lives for them. Without a doubt, your donation will play a key role in achieving their educational dreams."
- Academy staff
Siti's Story
Aged 23, Indonesia
When a recruiter came to Siti’s rural village in Indonesia and promised her a high paying job as a domestic worker in Singapore, Siti jumped at the chance to financially support her family who had been surviving by taking out high-interest loans.
When Siti arrived in Singapore, however, she was made to work 21 hours per day and suffered immense physical and psychological abuse. Her passport was confiscated and she was locked in the house at all times. Siti was under constant surveillance by her employer to ensure she kept cleaning even when suffering from lack of sleep and intense pain from her multiple injuries. She was also constantly verbally abused and threatened that she or her family would be killed if she left, told anyone about the abuse, or didn’t complete her tasks.
By a stroke of luck, an Indonesian domestic worker living in an adjacent apartment told Siti how to escape, by writing on a piece of paper and holding it up to the window. The girl instructed Siti to break out of her apartment at 5am, jump over the high security gate and run for help. Siti was terrified but couldn’t endure her circumstances any longer.
Since her escape, Siti has been living in a women's shelter with other victims of human trafficking for the past year while she awaits her court case against her former employer. The court case can take up to two years, during which time she is legally prohibited from working. This situation creates additional stress on Siti as her family is still relying on her to support them.
At the shelter Siti learned about an academy which provides skills and vocational training courses for foreign domestic workers in subjects including business administration, hairdressing and care work, as well as budgeting, empowerment and leadership classes. Siti wants to utlilise her time in the shelter to learn business and budgeting skills so that she can find paid employment in Indonesia once her court case is settled. In this way she can support her family in a safe environment and avoid having to migrate again.