Dear Friends,
As we move into this new year, I’ve been thinking about what it means to have a “pioneering spirit.” This phrase dropped into my heart in a unique way. I haven’t been able to get it off my mind since.
It takes us back hundreds of years to the pioneers. They set out on a great unknown journey. They didn’t know the details of their path, they just knew they were driven towards something new, something better. They knew it was risky. They would face great hardship like unyielding weather, sickness, and injury. Still, they were willing to endure it all for the promise of a new and better way of life. Hope and vision kept them going.
As we have launched Uncaged, we have felt that pioneering spirit rising up within us. We don’t know the details of the journey, but we know that there is a new horizon just up ahead.... one that brings rescue, restoration, hope, healing, and transformation into the lives of trafficking survivors.
We are doing something new and different. We are creating a holistic, wraparound approach to healing that is scalable and transferable.
By scalable I mean, “Let’s ramp this thing up!” We have 48 million people being trafficked in our world today. 48 million!
It’s obvious to me that we need a big solution for a big problem. We have to dig deep to affect the broken bodies, minds, and spirits of these precious souls. We have to provide a customized approach for each survivor. And I am thrilled to say that we have the framework and trauma-informed tools to do this. Our model is able to reach thousands of survivors AND prioritize customized care for each survivor. It’s an innovation in this work that we couldn’t be more proud of.
As for transferable, what I mean is that we know that trafficking is a global scourge. Our model must unlock transformation in any country and culture. We believe we have the tools to make that happen as well. By working with expert nationals in each country, we can adapt the model to suit the needs of various regions and populations.
We are doing something bold, new… and slightly intimidating. This hasn’t been done before. The Sanctuary model has the ability to effectively and efficiently cocoon survivors, healing each one through trauma-informed, evidence-based therapies that will restore them almost entirely.
It’s not quick. It’s not inexpensive. But we know it is worth the hardship, the risk, and the endurance when we look into the eyes of a woman or child and see joy, hope & transformation. There’s no greater joy than watching the fire return to a survivor, like when Mihaela learned how to dream again.
We are about to open the doors of The Sanctuary in Romania. Then, we cannot wait to journey on to the next destination... and the one after that... and the one after that! Let’s take this around the world!
Thanks for joining our pioneering journey. We couldn’t do it without you!
Sincerely,
Kim Westfall
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