Dear Tim & Michelle,                                                    Trained in March, 2008

Greetings from the Deepika Social Welfare Society in Calcutta, India.  We serve among the prostituted women and their children in red-light areas. At present we are concentrating in Sonagachi red-light area, which is the largest in Calcutta with about 9 to 10 thousand prostituted women residing there.  

Our outreach includes a:

1. Girls Home:  A residential facility for the girls who are at high risk of sexual abuse and for the HIV positive.

2. Evening Care Centre: Where the children of the prosittutes are provided with educational materials, emergency medical care, and evening snacks. This provides a safe environment for the children during their mothers’ peak business hours.

3. Vocational Training Centre: Within walking distance from the red-light area where women come and learn various skills such as tailoring, quilting, making paper products etc.  Some women have come out of prostitution and seen life transformation and others are still in the process.

Just recently, in order to help more women I was thinking about how they could learn to make something that they could sell in order to earn a living.  All that I had in mind was, it should be simple enough to make, creative, of good quality and have on going demand in the market with expert designers, trainers, and distributors available who can teach and help us handle the business.

Jewels 4 God is an answer to all my prayers.  In fact it is more than I could ever ask or imagine. I like this win-win situation, for our goal is to show an alternate lifestyle to such women who have been abused and exploited in their lives. This means they can be winners through this training and come out of bondage. 

At the moment whatever we are doing is like a drop in the ocean when compared with the ever growing trafficking and sex industry. Most effective and proven ways to prevent girls getting into the sex industry and to bring out women from prostitution are alternative ways to generate income.

I know that your jewelry training will help many prostituted women have a new life and be rescued from the red-light areas. I am very excited about this wonderful opportunity that God has opened for us through all your sacrificial hard work. Please let me know your convenient dates for training.

Thank you so much for your prayerful efforts and willingness to help the people who are in darkness.

God richly bless you.

Yours sister in Christ,
Ambika
_____________________________
Ambika R. Pandey, Director
Deepika Social Welfare Society

Mail Donations to:                                  Or Donate Via Credit Card:   
Jewels 4 God                                          Call: 540-972-9166
218 Cornwallis Ave.                                  
Locust Grove, VA   22508