Brittany
Brittany works in Gingoog, Misamis Oriental, Mindanao, Philippines fighting trafficking. The United States reports a nearly 265 percent increase in online child sexual abuse during the pandemic. The economic impacts of the pandemic, combined with an increased amount of time children spend at home, resulted in an increasing number of families forcing their children into online sexual exploitation. Working alongside Brittany are five locals including social workers, a pastor, and the house mom at our safehouse. She is able to not only build relationships with the girls at the safehouse who are rescued but also with the case workers. Due to the exponential increase of trafficking in Gingoog, the social workers often work 7 days a week and are on call 24 hours a day. The team has bible studies refresh days where they use diving to cope with the emotional toll of fighting trafficking. Brittany is a dive instructor and also uses diving as therapy with the girls to heal from their trauma.
For the safehouse, Brittany provides the basic necessities for the girls and school supplies. When girls are rescued, they literally come with only the clothes on their backs. She works with local churches to collect second-hand clothes, new underwear, and stuffed animals for each girl who is rescued. Her goal is to meet the basic needs and then through relationships, she can share the love of Jesus Christ. As the girls get older, they will have the opportunity to have a career with Christian organizations to make sure these girls have income and livelihood so they do not go back to the life they came out of.