Women at Risk

At Women at Risk

Tears ran down Nalashet's face as she explained how Woman At Risk has changed her life. She used to live night after night in prostitution... until she came to Women At Risk. Now, she's out of prostitution, and she explained, her relationship with G-d is everything to her. 

It was our last day volunteering at Women at Risk and it was also the women's last day in the first part of the program. After three months of morning devotionals, introductions to a variety of skills and crafts, discussion, counseling, and classes, they will now move into focusing either cooking or weaving. 

That last day was the most profound of all for me- the women debriefed about the last few months and said how Women at Risk has changed their lives. "Before," one woman explained, "I worked all night and slept all day. I didn't know anyone. Now I know G-d." It was then, after a month of spending time with these women, that I deeply considered where they've come from and how profound of an impact Women at Risk has had on them. The whole program is incredible. It gives women a chance to leave prostitution, gain education and skill training, and receive job offerings at the end of six months. It's shown me what it looks like to effectively "help people to help themselves."

More importantly, though, I loved simply getting to invest time in the women- painting nails, making necklaces, singing, talking with them about G-d... Some are nearly the same age as me and they come from such difficult backgrounds... still, they have such joy. They have this joy that is so simple- it's a joy that's been fought for. They are quick to laugh, quick to smile, and it isn't taken for granted. It reminds me of the stanza in Oriah Mountaindreamer's line in the poem, "The Invitation," that says this:

I want to know

if you can be with joy

mine or your own

if you can dance with wildness

and let the ecstasy fill you 

to the tips of your fingers and toes

without cautioning us

to be careful

to be realistic

to remember the limitations

of being human.