There is a place where rescued children who have been exploited, abused, and even abandoned come to begin their healing. This is Life Impact’s offsite emergency transitional safe house, but it’s more than that—it’s a place of safety where trust is built and fear starts to leave.
When we first rescue a child in Thailand, they don’t go directly to the Promise Land. Instead, we bring them to another secure location for their crucial first months with us. Because these children come to us with so much trauma, they either want to fight, run away, or shut down. They come to us not knowing who to trust. The people who are supposed to protect them and be the good guys, such as the police and those in authority, even their own mothers and fathers, end up being the bad guys and their exploiters and abusers. These children have to learn to trust again. They have to know that they are now forever safe!
When God first gave us the idea to provide a way for rescued children to transition from exploitation to safety and safety to healing, we had no idea how impactful it would be!
The Emergency Safe Home has become the perfect bridge from rescue to heal!
One girl, Sandar Oo, who came to us as a teenager, had often been left alone as a little girl and was abused because there was no one to protect her. She never even attended school. When we rescued her, she went to live in our transition home. Eventually, she was placed in a family-style safe home on the Promise Land, where she found safety and completed her education. We saw her healing process accelerate and her potential. When she turned 20, she officially became a Life Impact Staff! This sweet girl wanted to be the first face for newly rescued children because she remembers feeling safe and comforted when she first arrived at the safe home.
Now, Sandar Oo stays with our newly rescued girls, helping them feel the love and warmth she experienced. She still has the teddy bears we gave her when she arrived many years ago. She was rescued and is now a rescuer!
