Grantee Spotlight: LOVE146
“Education and empowerment training can show girls that femininity does not entail docility, and can nurture assertiveness so that girls and women can stand up for themselves.” This quote might sound quite familiar for those of you who tuned into Half the Sky with us last fall. Nicholas Kristof and Cheryl WuDunn passionately explained that education was the key to helping women and children overcome oppression around the globe. What you might not know, however, is that this quote is also one of the driving forces for one of our latest grant recipients, LOVE146.
LOVE146 is an organization whose mission is to “combat child trafficking and exploitation with the unexpected and restore survivors with excellence.” The group was originally founded in 2002, and has been working tirelessly to end child trafficking ever since. They work to rescue victims of sex trafficking and help them reintegrate into society by providing them with safety, treatment, and access to education. Through prevention and aftercare efforts, LOVE146 is seeking to end child trafficking and modern slavery for good.
The $4,000 grant that we are awarding LOVE146 will allow five girls to take part in the Round Home Project. LOVE146’s website gives insight into what the girls who benefit from the grant will receive.
Round Home is located in the Phillipines and is “uniquely built and designed to facilitate the restoration and holistic health of every child entering its doors. A tree house is used for therapy sessions. A volleyball court is available to play on. There’s even a punching bag for children to work out their aggression. The physical structure of the Round Home is intended to promote reflectiveness, a sense of peace, freedom, dignity and self-esteem, as well as playfulness so that children can simply be children again.
The approach to running the home is attuned to the needs of the exploited and traumatized child, which include both the needs of ordinary children as well as children who have been wounded in many ways, lack hope, are broken, lack opportunities and self-worth. Therefore, the Round Home is characterized by efforts to keep the child safe and well provided for, instill hope, effect healing and restoration, promote growth and development, facilitate the release of potentials, and enable the child to come full circle, liberated from their traumas and sufferings, to realize their innate worth. The Round Home aims to be a safe base from which the girls can derive the strength and courage to later tackle the world outside.
We are thrilled to be working with LOVE146 and support them in their mission to abolish sex trafficking through their removal of educational barriers for these young women. To learn more about LOVE146 and the work that they do, or to check out their amazing photo stories, videos, and education, please check out their website at: www.love146.org.
This blog was written by Kaitlin Kirk. Kaitlin is a volunteer with the Circle of Sisterhood, working primarily with the marketing committee. She is currently finishing her last semester of graduate school at Illinois State University in College Student Personnel Administration. She currently works for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Illinois State. Kaitlin is a proud member of Sigma Kappa Sorority.