Stella’s Houses

Hincesti was the first orphanage we visited in Moldova. Although much had been done to transform the orphanage there, it was still a truly horrific place. As we worked hard to ensure that we stopped children freezing to death or dying from malnutrition, we got to know many of the children personally. One of these children was a young girl named Stella. She was a natural leader, and became a sort of unofficial guide to us while we visited the orphanage. She would tell us about the special needs that some of the other kids had, and generally did her best to look out for the other kids. Stella’s hobby was sewing, and she had made two beautiful tapestries from meagre supplies of material and thread that she had somehow managed to obtain. On one of our first visits, she gave us one of the tapestries. A poverty-stricken orphan, she gave away half of her most treasured possessions. Needless to say, we were greatly moved by her gift, and from that time on, we made sure she never ran out of thread or material.

Then, at age sixteen, tragedy struck. Stella was put out of the orphanage. In the place she was sent to be “cared for,” she was treated brutally and she ran away. When we returned to the orphanage and heard what had happened, we searched desperately, but never found her.

One of our workers was tasked to find her, but all he found were tragic stories from people who had seen her, reporting that she had been selling her body to live. That was bad enough, but even worse was to come when the orphanage doctor delivered awful news.

Stella had died from Aids. This tragic young girl was used by vile men until they killed her.

Every year in June, more ‘Stellas’ are forced out of Orphanages all over Moldova.

These children are sent away from the orphanages with nothing more than a few pounds and a bus ticket to whatever town appears on their birth certificate. That’s when the sex-traffickers make their move, and pounce on the girls. Corrupt orphanage officials regularly tip off the traffickers as to the availability of “suitable girls.” These vile men show up at the bus station with fancy cars and lure girls away with promises of good jobs, plenty of money and nice apartments. But once the girl enters the car, she is enslaved, tortured, raped and beaten until she complies with the wishes of her new masters. Finally she will arrive in some far off country, where she is forced into the arms of eager customers as often as thirty times a day.

Although there are some state programs that are supposed to care for these kids, Moldova’s resources are extremely limited. At this stage, untold thousands of them simply fall through the cracks and are never seen or heard from again.

Moldova has been described as “the engine of the sex industry.” Human trafficking is rampant. When we realized that girls like Stella, whom we had worked so hard to protect in the orphanages at Cupcui and Hincesti, were being abandoned to lives of horror at the hands of the sex traffickers, we knew that an answer had to be found immediately.

That answer is “Stella’s House”!

Located in Moldova’s capital city, Chisinau, young girls from the orphanages are able to get an education, have a safe place to stay, and live in a family-like environment where people will care for them, teach them and keep them safe. Stella’s House 1, shown right, has been in operation since 2006. Stella’s House 2 was officially opened in April 2009 by the United States Ambassador to Moldova, Asif J. Chaudhry. Both homes were purchased, finished, then beautifully decorated and furnished.

These two buildings are saving lives right now.

But this is just the beginning. Moldovan officials are already asking us, “What about the others?” With God’s help, and yours, we are working night and day to take care of as many of these young girls as possible. As of December 2009, Stella’s House 3 is near completion, and we have already secured the site for Stella’s House 4. Stella’s 2, 3 and 4 are all adjacent properties, so when complete, all three homes will become a single, secure campus. As long as vulnerable young girls are being thrust out of orphanages on to the streets of Moldova, Stella’s House will be there, offering them a home, hope and a future!

We need your help and support to care for these girls month after month.

Stella’s House No.2 on the right.

Stella’s 3 is seen under construction in the foreground.