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Monday, 06 April 2009 20:09
Blantyre Girls’ Home in Malawi: By Erwin & Laura van der Meer

Blantyre Girls’ Home is a rehabilitation center for child prostitutes. Its goal is to give young prostitutes a chance to start a new life. The home started in February 2006, when my wife Laura and I, together with Rev. Wonder Kanyangira and his wife Esther, decided to do something about the young girls who were prostituting themselves on the streets of Blantyre.

The home had very humble beginnings, with a subsistence budget, but ever since Word & Deed agreed to sponsor the home, things have greatly improved. To date, about 20 girls between the ages of 10 and 18 have passed through the home, while 10-12 girls are in the home at any time. We work with both local and foreign volunteers, but also employ two house mothers and a qualified social worker. It is amazing how girls change after just a month in the home. So far, of the girls who have left the home to be reunited with their families, only two have again become trapped in prostitution. Two other girls recently came back to the home when they found that they were not ready yet for life outside the home.

The home is established on Christian principles. Many of them have come to know Christ, which really changes their life. Some of our volunteers, both local and European, have also come to know Christ in the home. The girls now have a very beautiful choir which performs in various churches and even made it to national television in Malawi.

Since we are the only organization in Malawi that operates a rehabilitation center for child prostitutes, we cannot meet the demand for help. Due to poverty, child prostitution, especially among young teenagers, has been on the increase. We currently have insufficient space in the present home and there is an urgent need for at least two new homes to be opened in Blantyre. One of these will operate as a safe house in order to provide short-term shelter for abused girls and young women. We regularly get requests for short-term crisis shelter, but are unable to help because it will seriously disturb the girls in the long-term rehabilitation program.

There is also an urgent need for homes to be opened in other large towns in Malawi, namely Mwanza, Balaka, Nsanje, Zomba, Lilongwe, Mangochi, Mzuzu and Karonga. Various government and NGO (non-governmental organization) reports have indicated that child prostitution is common in these towns. If these homes are established in a rented house, the cost per home will be approximately $900 USD per month. It is our prayer that with God's help many more homes can be established and many girls can be rehabilitated and come to know Christ.

Rev. Erwin van der Meer is a missionary sent out by the Afrika Zending of The Netherlands to Southern Africa.
 
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