January 24, 2025

Written by: Kenadi, Marketing Intern at Starfish Project

Here at Starfish Project, our mission has always been to give opportunities to exploited women to do these three things: experience freedom, establish independence, and develop meaningful careers. Today, I want to share more about what it truly means for survivors to experience freedom at Starfish Project.

I want every woman at Starfish Project to experience freedom - both physically and emotionally. For the women who are being trafficked or exploited, the first step toward that freedom is physical freedom. This means helping her get out of the brothel where she lives and works.

At Starfish Project, I’m proud of our Outreach Teams, who faithfully go into the brothels each week with one mission: to build genuine relationships with the women who are living there. The Outreach Teams further grow these connections by doing things like bringing small gifts, exchanging phone numbers, and taking women out for meals – showing them kindness and trust. As these relationships grow with the women in the shops, we then invite them to come work and live at Starfish Project, offering them the chance to start a new and hopeful chapter in their lives.

Many people ask why women would stay in the brothels if they have another option. There are often several complex reasons behind their decision to stay in those circumstances. It is common that the women we meet come from faraway places, sometimes hundreds of miles away, and they don’t know anyone else in the city. Some may not be able to read or write, and many are afraid that leaving could make their situation even worse. That is why it can take our Outreach Teams months or even years to build a trusting relationship with a woman. But once a woman decides to leave, we are always overjoyed to welcome her into the Starfish Project family!

Women in the brothels mainly live in the same rooms where they work, often sharing a bedroom with four or five other women. When a woman decides to join Starfish Project, she is welcomed into our shelter, where she finds safety and stability in a clean, supportive, and familial environment. For us, physical safety is the first crucial step to her healing and rehabilitation.

Each woman starts her journey with us on the production team, where she learns to make jewelry by hand daily.

All the women work side by side throughout the entire workday. If you were to visit our office, you may not even be able to tell who was formerly exploited and who was on staff. This is because we all work together as equals! Here at Starfish Project, every woman has the chance to work through her emotional wounds while living and working in a safe, nurturing environment.

Every team member at Starfish Project is given the option to pursue counseling, and almost all of us choose to take advantage of this. When we see each other becoming more emotionally stable, gaining strength, and growing through counseling, it often encourages others to give it a try too.

In my experience at Starfish Project, what each woman talks about most in counseling isn’t always the trauma from their work in the brothel. For many, the deeper wounds come from their childhood and families of origin. Counseling, along with the support of our community, has helped them experience freedom from this trauma and shame they have carried for so long.

At Starfish Project, I feel incredibly grateful to witness women experience true freedom. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of hearing a woman say, “Yes, I want to join Starfish Project!”

For our Outreach Teams to offer women a job, we need enough jewelry orders to make it possible. This is why your purchases matter so much and can make a huge difference. Your orders directly support our mission, allowing the Outreach Team to extend the invitation to women who are still caught in exploitation, giving them a chance to experience freedom.

Each piece of jewelry that is bought helps us reach out to more women who are still living in the brothels, offering them a way out and a new beginning. Thank you for being part of their Stories of Hope.

Your support is truly changing lives.