Prostitutes and the Homeless in Costa Rica Find an Alternative
Can a prostitute's life turn around after 17 years? Nydia
emphatically responds, “Yes it is possible!”
Nydia has first hand experience. Now 39, she ran away from home
when she was 16. She was being physically abused. For a while she
worked as a housekeeper, but there never seemed to be enough money
for her and her two children's basic needs. One day while Nydia
was reading the newspaper, she ran across a job opening at a massage
parlor. Interested, she went to check it out even though she did
not have any experience.
Not What It Seems
To her dismay, the Costa Rican woman found out the massage parlor
was more than just therapeutic massage; it involved prostitution.
She wasn't that desperate. However, a while later her job ended
and her children were hungry. Feeling she had no other choice, Nydia
responded to the offer. Her life of prostitution began.
The years went by as Nydia tried to find other ways to make money.
Last year her life of prostitution thankfully ended. An aunt invited
her to an outreach event for prostitutes. She made the difficult
decision to turn her life around, but was plagued with fear about
providing for her family. She earnestly prayed for a way out of
the destructive lifestyle.
One day while taking a daughter to school, Nydia saw Operation Blessing
Costa Rica's advertisement offering courses in cosmetology and dressmaking.
She signed up. Over the next six months she learned how to cut hair,
do manicures as well as many other personal care services. Upon
graduation, we helped Nydia begin a beauty salon right in her home!
Today, Nydia is a happy woman. She's found an honest way to make
a decent living and provide for her family. She knows without a
shadow of a doubt it is possible to begin again.
We Create Jobs
Over the last three years, we have been equipping underprivileged
women across Costa Rica with marketable skills including dressmaking,
cooking and hairdressing. When they graduate, we also provide them
with start up supplies and donated equipment. At any given time,
more than 30 women are preparing to enter the workforce - former
students like Nydia and current students such as Elsa.
Learning How to Get Off the Streets
"Bread for sale. Delicious bread for sale," cried
the street woman. Elsa's daughter played in the dirt beside her.
The mother's first priority was trying to sell enough of the bakery's
bread so she could buy food. At this time, she could only dream
of getting off the streets.
It wasn't long ago the family's life was good. But things spiraled
downward when her husband began taking drugs. He lost his job and
everything had to be sold to buy food. When the money ran out, he
abandoned Elsa and his little girl.
Desperate to provide a safe life for her daughter, Elsa called Operation
Blessing's outreach center in San Jose'. She soon was comforted
by one of the staff and enrolled in free sewing and baking classes.
Elsa has gained confidence by attending just a few hours of the
6-month class. She now takes her daughter by the hand and heads
to the streets looking toward a brighter future.
You Can Make a Big Difference
This is just one of the many Hope Works micro-enterprise projects
in action around the world. Your gift $50 can give a South American
family enough livestock to be able to begin a profitable farm. $100
can train and equip a woman in Africa or Asia to be seamstress.
And just $150 can help an unemployed father or mother in the USA
begin the move from welfare to the workforce through our 12-week
Life Skills Empowerment program.
Help
break the cycle of suffering!
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