By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer 

PELHAM—The Pelham-based national organization, Global Women, recently had a team return from Moldova.  Members worked along side its global partner, Beginning of Life, to help prevent young people from being trafficked.

Moldova, a former Soviet block country, is the poorest country in Eastern Europe and is one of the largest destinations in the world from which young men women are trafficked.

“There’s not a lot to hold young people in the country educationally or vocationally because it is such a poor country,” said Trudy Johnson, associate director of Global Women. “There are organizations working to improve the situation in Moldova and help people feel pride for their country… the organization that we are paired with (Beginning of Life) is very much involved in educating young people to help them not become victims of trafficking.”

Johnson said it’s hard though. There’s very little educationally, especially for women, and there’s not a lot to look forward to as far as a future. It’s why traffickers can frequently use the lure of money and the promise of a modeling career to attract women.

They are called “the lost generation of Moldova” because so many people have been trafficked out of the country, and Beginning of Life works to prevent trafficking while also aiding in rehabilitation and restoration.

Global Women’s team in Moldova provided quality childcare for children as their mothers went to a retreat type camp to learn skills. Sometimes teams participate in the camps, teaching skills like sewing. The jobs may change, but Johnson said they always get asked to come back again because they are able to help so much.

Global Women was founded in Birmingham 14 years ago, with the focus of connecting the resources of people in the west with indigenous Christian women leaders and like-minded organizations in other parts of the world. The organization is focused on ending sex trafficking and providing clean water, maternal health, education and economic development.

Each year, Global Women’s board invites organizations around the world, that meet their criteria, to apply to be a global partner. Then the board goes through those applications and selects the ones they thing would be a good fit for. The board determines who the group can help and to what extend, and then Global Women works through those partners.

Johnson said they are heavily invested in in economic development programs, particularly in Asia. They help fund scholarships grants for young women who have a desire to work in the healthcare field, and they help teach others the skills to provide for their families.

“We recognize that we do not know what any of these vulnerable women need,” Johnson said. “We don’t know the needs of our global partners or people in that country, but we can come and walk along side them. We can be supportive of what they are doing.”

On mission trips, teams remember that as they help work with vulnerable women. Along with proving childcare in Moldova, the team members were sharing their stories and working to build relationships with the women they were helping.

“They recognize what’s important and what we value are relationships with our global partners, so it’s just important for us to continue to build on those,” Johnson said.

For more information, visit globalwomengo.org.