Our Selam and her journey back to find her family.. Shared with her permission

Among the nineteen ladies who came to our first drop in time, she was the one who stood out.  As we questioned those women who had all come off the street of Zion Church about their background and personal details, SHE was the one who stopped the flow of shallow retorts.  

She 

          went 

                      deep. 

Already at the enquiry of her age, we started to question her surety. “22 years” said her baby face. Then as we asked where she was from, an upset arose among the ladies.  As she started to cry, one of the other ladies explained what was really going on.  She could not remember where she was from because she had been taken away from her family at an age where children take for granted where they live and familiar surroundings are just named HOME. 

Selam was not her given name but this was a name she had acquired on the street.  She had been desperately waiting to be rescued for years from this life but knew no other way out.  Until the Great Rescuer came along.  Selam attended all our drop in sessions then the subsequent one on ones, and she was the one who made the biggest upset when we delayed the moving in to the house.  She was desperate for change- not wanting to wait even one week longer!  She was the one I spoke about on Valentines Day.  She was the first to ASK to be taken to church and the most familiar with the Christian songs, yet her story sung the songs of heart break. 

She remembered that her house was near a Livestock market and she remembered her mother’s name.  Yet all other details were still blurry to her.  She knew what region she was from and what religion her family practiced but to decipher what city she could go to find her family was near impossible. 

Recently, she went on a trip with one of our staff to try and find the family she so longed to reconnect with. The family she dreamed of when all her friends were called by theirs and the family she was unjustly taken from at such a young age.  Wogayu, one of our staff had a mother in the same region and she had begun some investigation of which direction they could head.  After coming up with a destination and a budget of time and money they needed to reach there, with our support and prayers, we decided to send them off.

Friday the 13^th was the day Selam and Wogayu left to go on a search for the family that Selam had been taken from many years ago.  From 9am to 10:30 they went to Nazaret, Wogayu’s home town- the place where she once worked on the streets and then had been restored after entering the Ellilta Women at Risk program ten years ago.  Now the home to her Beltena spice business that successfully runs each Saturday during the week by her and throughout the week by her son. 

They set out on a seven hour bus trip down South past Asela to a town called Robel.  Here, tired from their journey and aware of the little sunlight they still had left in the day, they began their search and they started by asking an old lady from the Orthodox Church.  Some of the people there started to help them by taking them around. They started asking people on the road around the city if anyone knew this lady who had birthed Selam.  A first name was all she had. 

That night they found someone who claimed to know Selam’s mother.  Not only did the lady she claimed to be her mother have the same name as Selam’s, but the sister had the same name as well.  The heartbreak came, however, when she told them that the mother had died.  So they went on a search for the daughter to get some more information; the whole while nervous and unsure of what this discovery would reveal.  Upon the finding of her daughter, they also discovered they were Gurage (another tribe far from where Selam was searching) so Selam was relieved that this couldn’t have in fact been her family. 

From 6am they started looking the next day at the market.  They paid a lady 50birr to help them find her.  This lady said she knew a lady by the same name as Selams mother but it was the wrong lady.  She did however come across a familiar face- they found a man in the market who Selam recognized from her childhood.  She excitedly approached this merchant at the market, expecting to have her excitement reciprocated but he didn’t show any recognition of Selam.  Discouraged, they went away and found his son who was willing to help them out, yet with no leads. 

That night, for the second time, they found another lady who claimed to be her mother. This lady had also had her daughter taken when she was five or six and she had the same name as Selam’s mother, but after some questioning, they found out that she wasn’t.  This hopelessness Selam had experienced, was a hopelessness that plagued many other people in rural Ethiopia.  The taking of young girls to do the work of others in more urban settings.

After a restless morning, they went to rest in a hotel reception area and were propositioned by some men looking for a “good time”.  Wogayu was sure to let them know that they were not for sale and that they were women of God.  A great role model for Selam who may not have known how to approach such a situation so fresh off the streets.

Another encounter they had was when they were trying to find a place to have Jebena Buna (the traditional Ethiopian coffee).  They ended up at the neighbour of one place they were directed to where the man inside (an Orthodox priest none the less) was one of Selam’s old customers.  Unaware of their arrival, his wife and children had gathered to make coffee for them.  He sat there trying to hide his face.  He was an onion farmer who had often come to the market in Debre Zeit to sell his produce.  As the Red Light district and Zion Church are both located near the market, often the farmers and merchants who come from the rural areas are the regular customers of these women.  During harvest season they make their homes in with these women and pay meagre prices for bed and services rendered by the prostitutes on the street.

Sunday they went onto the next city where Wogayu’s relative lived- a familiar face and comfortable place to stay was to be a breath of fresh air from the so far discouraging attempts they were making.  He knew the Mayor of the neighbouring city called Dixus so he called him to see if he knew of Selam’s mother and wanted to know if she was there.  A light at the end of the tunnel came as he confirmed that he did in fact know her mom and he encouraged them to come by taxi and meet him at the bus station. 

On their journey, the Mayor had informed Selam’s family about the call he had received and they all started making their way to the bus station.  When Selam arrived she was met by her family- Her mom, wailing and fallen down in unbelief at the return of her daughter- her pregnant sister who fainted at the sight of her long lost sister and her brothers who had missed out the opportunity to enjoy the playful moments of their childhood along with their long lost sister.   A sister they had all assumed was dead. 

Her mother questioned her about personal events that only Selam (or Zerfe as they knew her) would know- what was her nickname, who were the brothers that used to sneak money away from their mom’s purse, also what was the thing she used to drink a lot as a child.  Once she answered them all correctly, she knew this was in fact her daughter.  She also confirmed Selam’s age- she is in fact only 17 years old.  (Needless to say WE are not surprised.)

They heard stories of what happened after Selam had been taken.  She wasn’t the only one who had been taken.  Her neighbour had taken Selam along with her own sister.  The whole village went on a search to find the couple who had done this awful thing.  They would never find them.  They had taken Selam and her sister up North far away from where they lived.  Here this lady sold her sister off to another man while she kept Selam, tortured her, sexually abused her and bound her hand and feet in a dark room.  Every now and then she was sent out to purchase things at the market or shop.  On her travels one day she heard a group gathered singing in one place and she entered.  It was a group of Christians singing praises to their God and worshipping him and speaking of His grace.  She befriended a girl there who would often take her in.  This was her saving grace, even though it meant she would return home late and suffer punishment for it. 

At one stage, this ladies father came to warn her about the wrong she was doing, but the lady, stubborn and evil, planned to kill her father the next day.  Her neighbour, having caught wind of her plans, called her father to have coffee with her and pleaded with him to escape. 

The one who became her owner, also owned a business at the market that caused her to go out and buy and sell in different cities.  One time when Selam was left at home by herself with her husband, he took advantage of her.  He brutally raped her to the point that her dress stained red with the blood that represented the unwillingness of her body for such an act.  Once again, the neighbour lady saw Selam and knew what her outcome would be if this evil lady had come back to find her in this state-knowing that she had been the object of her husband’s affection.  She told Selam to flee for her life and gave her some money to get her to the next town. 

Still only about 9 years old, Selam found herself on the street with nowhere to go.  A nice Christian bajaj driver, took her in to his home and kept her there with his family for two years until he started experiencing domestic difficulties and Selam found herself once again out on the road.  With no education, and nowhere to go, Selam travelled to Addis Ababa and was encouraged by another girl to start working the streets.  Here she would be able to earn an income that would at least keep her alive.  Already accustomed to drinking at a young age, Selam would drink to drown the sorrows that held captive her young and precious soul.

Meanwhile, her family reported, that a couple of years later, the thieving neighbours who had taken Selam from them had indeed returned.  The lady was thrown in Jail but she insisted that she still had Selam safe and sound in another city so she paid 10000birr (the equivalent of around 1000USD at that time) bail to be released from the cells yet she never returned. 

Pictured, Selam with her family and friends before she was taken.  She was eight years old at the time of her disappearance and much loved by her family.  Her disappearance caused her mother to have a nervous breakdown.  Her father had already died

Her family are Orthodox but also practice idol worship and did so in front of Selam.  They also started to drink alcohol while Selam and Wogayu opted for soft drinks.  Selam shared what had happened in her life since her disappearance- including her life in prostitution, the birth and death of her baby as a consequence of her lifestyle and then her rescue from it through our rehabilitation project. She told them all about her life at the Hope House and all the people involved so that her family understood that it wasn’t just Wogayu who had played a part in her life change, not just one person or even a program- but in fact God who had done all this for her.

They were amazed at her new found life and said that they had never heard of people helping people like we had helped them and Selam.  They said that it was a good religion, we are good people and perhaps the religion she had now found was one they had never heard about.  

Wogayu also reported of the demonic possession of Selams mother.  This demon manifested at their meeting.  He was talking to Selam and asking her “why did you leave? You left our “horse” and she was all nervous.” It also went onto ask why she brought Wogayu and why she is praying against them? They said they are good spirits and not evil so she should leave them alone.  Wogayu was in the background praying the whole time and covering Selam with the blood of Jesus. 

Selam also found out she has an older brother in Nazaret and that in fact Wogayu knew this brother- without knowing there was any relation.  He and another brother also plan to come and visit Selam in Debre Zeit.  They came home rejoicing and sick.  All the crying gave them headaches and the sleepless nights too.  God was surely with them and although it was challenging in the beginning, the final result was sweet. 

Just this last week, Selams mother called and asked her to pray for her.  She said that she doesn't want to worship these false gods any more.  That she needs what Selam has and she still deeply misses Selam.  Please continue to pray for this family and for the ripple effects of what this reunion will mean. 

For all of those who have believed in us and enabled us to help bring healing to these women.  WE can't express how thankful we are.  God bless you all.