Survivor Update: Oceana Thrives in School

Every survivor is precious. Still, we are especially joyful when we are able to bring child survivors to safety. Now that Snowy and her brothers and sisters are safe, we wanted to give you an update about another dear little one we rescued, *Oceana.

We rescued Oceana last year when she was just 6 years old. She had been begging on the streets in Western Europe for two years. Needless to say, she was in bad shape when we found her. Our team quickly set up appointments for her with dentists, counselors, and doctors at a hospital in her home country. When they went to pick her up and take her to these appointments, Oceana’s eyes were big. She was clutching a magazine and a little cookie.

“What are those you’re holding,” our director, Beni, asked her kindly.

Oceana could barely speak. Very quietly, she told him, “these are a gift for you.”

After everything this little girl had been through, her first thought was to bring a gift for our team. It’s humbling to consider! Beni accepted her gift and thanked her seriously.

Oceana has been living with a loving family in her homeland ever since. Now 7 years old, she’s making good progress. Just a couple of weeks ago, she started school for the first time ever! On her second day of school she woke at 5 am and went into her mom’s room while carrying her clothes. “School, let’s go!” she exclaimed to her groggy host mom. Clearly, Oceana is overjoyed to be a kid again, playing and learning with other children.

Her road to healing remains long. She still suffers from some serious health issues due to the trauma she experienced. When we met her, she scarcely knew how to talk. Her verbal skills are growing every day, but she’s still catching up to other children her age. We’re going to be there every step of the way, making sure she gets the support and services she needs.

Oceana’s transformation is only possible because of your support. Your commitment to Uncaged allows us to locate children like Oceana, get them the care they need, and journey with them on the long road to healing.

When we played Oceana songs in the car on the way to her host family, the word she repeated over and over again was “happiness.” Thank you for giving happiness to children and survivors like Oceana.

The Unicorn: Dr. Vanessa Snyder Joins Uncaged as Program Director

We are thrilled to introduce our (part-time) International Program Director, Dr. Vanessa Snyder.

As of September 1st, she is at the helm of creating our holistic trauma therapy program. For the last 2 years she has worked in a volunteer capacity (even traveled to Romania with Kim Westfall twice).

For over a decade, Dr. Snyder has specialized in treating complex trauma and sexual abuse. Her research and experience has placed special focus on survivors of commercial sex trafficking.

When Kim first met her over a year ago, she described what the role would entail. She asked Dr. Snyder, "What kind of person am I looking for in this position?"

Dr. Snyder answered, "A unicorn. You're looking for a unicorn."

Kim looked at her. "You're my unicorn," she thought. But she didn't say anything.

One week later, Dr. Snyder called Kim. She opened her mouth and said, "I think I'm your unicorn."

As we have gotten to know Dr. Snyder over the past year, we are confident that she has been ordained precisely for this position. Most recently, she has served as the Vice President of the Richmont Institute of Trauma & Recovery. For the past decade, she has counseled hundreds of people seeking healing for complex trauma, including those who have experienced sexual abuse. On top of these endeavors, Dr. Snyder led multiple trauma response teams to crises around the world. Her teams worked globally with trafficking survivors and disaster survivors.

When asked about her work, Dr. Snyder says, “This work has the capacity to be life-giving and life-changing. Ultimately, my desire is to see people set free and walk in the wholeness they were created to enjoy.”

We couldn't be more grateful to have found this unicorn who will unlock transformation for thousands of survivors!

Let's get these resilient and precious people free, and then let's keep them free. Your support and encouragement makes it possible.

Snowy's 4 Siblings are Safe

Many of you have been following and asking about Snowy’s case. Thank you for your support and prayers. Clearly they played a part in bringing freedom, not just to Snowy but 4 of her precious siblings.

Now we can share some of the details of this case.

Years ago a “businessman” came to a tiny town in an Eastern European country. Many of its inhabitants were alcoholics, including Snowy’s parents. Long story short, Snowy’s parents sold her for a bottle of alcohol.

She was trafficked for 3 years and endured the unimaginable. When we met Snowy 1 1/2 year ago, she was riddled with disease and infested with lice. After a year of living with a loving, safe and healthy family she was thriving.

And then the unthinkable happened. Just a few weeks ago, Snowy's mother, accompanied by the “businessman,” came to court to try to gain custody of Snowy’s again. They came sharply dressed and full of falsehoods. Our team did a brilliant job defending Snowy.

The day after court, the judge sent an inspector to Snowy’s biological family’s home. The nice clothes were gone. Instead, they discovered Snowy’s mother and her accomplice drunk. 4 other children surrounded them.

With the court's blessing, Snowy's host family offered to take in Snowy's siblings. After almost 5 painful years, these 4 children are finally reunited with their sister! 

The rest is history! All five of the kids are safe. Snowy's siblings are receiving the physical and psychological help they need. Sadly it appears the children, ages 3-13, had already been abused and possibly sold for sex.

The children have a long journey of healing ahead of them. We hope to bring them to The Sanctuary for intensive, holistic healing.  

If you would like to be a part of these 5 precious children’s healing journeys, you can donate to The Snowy Fund here. This fund brings hope and healing to children under the age of 18.