Sharon and her son desperately need a leg up so they can have a brighter future.

Dear Family,

I want to tell you Sharon’s story of survival. Her worst fears were realized—rape—but she escaped with her life. The good news is you can now help her achieve her God-given dream of self-sufficiency.

A gift of $17 will help Sharon learn the skills she needs to become self-sufficient and care for her son, the product of that rape.

Sharon grew up in a poor village in Uganda. Tragedy struck when her parents passed away when she was still a child. Sharon’s impoverished aunt took her in, but could not afford the basic fees to keep her in school.

As a youth, Sharon gave her life to Jesus Christ through a local outreach. Her new relationship with Christ was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her. She finally had hope.

But she struggled to support herself when she reached her early 20s because of her incomplete education. After learning that she could earn better wages working as a housemaid in the Middle East, Sharon obtained a passport and traveled to Saudi Arabia.

She worked hard as a maid for several months. But one day the husband of the woman she worked for did the unthinkable—he trapped and violated her. No one heard her cries for help.

Sharon knew death awaited those who had “relations” with their boss’s husbands in that culture—even if it was by rape—but to make matters worse, Sharon soon realized the assault had resulted in her becoming pregnant.

Sharon with her baby boy

She had also heard that if she—the “adulteress”—wasn’t killed, she would be forced to have an abortion likely resulting in her own death.

Betrayal. Anger. Loneliness. Grief. Fear. Sharon had no place to turn. Her body had just been painfully violated and the rapist’s baby was now growing inside her. She knew she’d have to escape before her secret did—and before her boss’s husband came back for more.

Sharon anxiously waited for an opportune time to escape the house. She already knew the consequences of failure.

One day she finally made her desperate attempt, but soon was picked up by local police. After discovering that she was a foreigner without a passport they threw her into jail. (Sharon’s boss had confiscated her passport when she’d started work to prevent her from leaving.)

In prison Sharon met other girls from Uganda. They warned her that once the prison guards found out she was pregnant she would be forced to have an excruciating abortion.

Fearing for herself and her unborn baby’s life, Sharon did the only thing she could think of—she acted like she was insane.

After several weeks of her “insanity” act the exasperated prison guards decided to deport her back to Uganda. Finally, a miracle!

And then another: once back, Sharon was discovered by a local ministry to rape victims. By that time she was very broken and suicidal.

Praise God, however, she found much healing in Jesus through a local support group of other rape survivors. She’s also given birth to a beautiful baby boy!

Sharon and her son are now back living with her impoverished aunt in a very poor village. She loves Jesus and serves on her church’s worship team, but she’s as poor as ever—and now has another mouth to feed.

She found work at a local hair salon, but doesn’t earn enough to one day send her son to school. She earnestly desires to learn some skills that will help her stand on her own. Can you help make her dream come true?

A gift of $17 will help Sharon learn the skills she needs to become self-sufficient and care for her son, the product of that rape.

Sharon will be trained at a new, biblically-based training facility in Uganda that will empower her to get a job, a sense of dignity, and income to care for herself and her son. Incredibly, just $17 will enable her to learn new skills.

(The facility where Sharon will be trained and work costs $13,600 to start, and will train an estimated 800 women survivors of rape in Uganda. $17 represents the cost for each of those 800 women, including Sharon.)

Can you help make a real difference in her life and the lives of other women who’ve had their lives torn apart by rape? Please consider helping to give Sharon and others a chance at a new life by learning self-sufficiency skills with a gift of only $17.

Thank you for prayerfully considering what our Lord would have you to do,

David

P.S. Sharon didn’t choose to be raped or to have her life turned upside down, but she’s now struggling to provide for her baby, clinging to her hope in Jesus. You can be the answer to Sharon’s prayers by helping her get the skills she needs to stand on her own feet with a gift of just $17.