Dear Friends,
It’s truly amazing how much growth and breakthrough we have seen in the last few months.
AIM launched its own Undercover Team that already has 3 arrests! Our first Retail Store will open in Phnom Penh very soon, enabling us to keep more people employed at AIM Employment Centers — and our employment numbers just hit 171! The Kickboxing Team out of The Lord’s Gym continues to win matches all over Cambodia. Speaking of winning, the documentary highlighting AIM’s ministries, The Pink Room, just won an Emmy!
And, most importantly, we now have a 95% success rate of reintegrating survivors of trafficking. That means when a little girl is rescued and receives care and restoration, she does not go back. She is reintegrated into her community and living a new life.
Praise God.
With all this growth, these last few months have also held heartbreak. A Cambodian volunteer was recently arrested because of abusing children. One of our staff members has a child that is in desperate need of heart surgery. There have been flash storms flooding the community and killing the people.
We invite you to dig in, read our stories, hear about the victories and the struggles. Know that you are a vital part of our success and can even help us in our struggles when you GIVE, GET and GO.
Committed to Freedom,
Don & Bridget Brewster
Updates This Quarter
- Undercover Team Highlights
- 20 People Say “Yes” to Jesus at AEC
- Healing the Community at Rahab’s Medical Clinic
- AIM Volunteer Arrested
- School Expansion Plan
- AIM Siem Reap has Hundreds of Meetings
- Amazon Smile:) and Matching Gifts!
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20 People Say “Yes” to Jesus at AEC
The light in Svay Pak is growing while the darkness continues to fade. On March 27th 2014, 10 people that work at AIM Employment Center received Christ as their savior!
In April, these new believers put on a skit about Jesus at a party for all the factory workers, anxious to share the love of God with their coworkers.
Recently, Chanleak gave a message at the weekly devotion. He preached the gospel and Jesus’s love for the people. At the end there were 10 more people that came forward to receive Christ as their savior.
Chanleak is also pastoring a small church in Kompong Cham Province with a 2.5 hour travel time each way. He leaves his house at 4:30 am every Sunday morning to preach and be with his congregation.
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Healing the Community at Rahab’s Medical Clinic
The Medical Clinic run by Rahab’s Church is there to serve and heal the community of Svay Pak. We see anywhere from 250-400 patients a month and several issues are recurring — domestic violence is, unfortunately, pretty common.
About three weeks ago, a father was fighting violently with his son. The mother was trying to protect her son and got her arm cut by her husband. She came over to Rahab’s House where Socheat was able to help and suture the cut.
The community knows that when they need help they can come to us for love and care.
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AIM Volunteer Arrested
by Don Brewster
While we have had significant breakthrough in the war on trafficking, we have taken a hit.
On March 21, a ten year old boy that stays at Rahab’s House Church in Svay Pak, came to a staff member and said that a male volunteer had sexually abused him. This volunteer is a young Cambodian man who had been attending Rahab’s House Church. He participated in drama ministries and was eventually asked to help lead them as a volunteer.
The morning after staff was informed about this abuse, the boy was taken to the police by AIM counselors to give a statement where he said he was not the only boy to be abused by this man.
Another boy gave a statement of abuse to the police. Both boys received care from healthcare professionals and are currently meeting with counselors.
The man who perpetrated these crimes was arrested by our undercover team and confessed. He is in prison awaiting sentencing. While we are glad that swift justice has been done and the children are doing well both physically and emotionally, we are heartbroken that this happened at the hands of a volunteer.
All intake for new Cambodian volunteers in our programs is on hold as we change our processes to better ensure the character and background of every participant.
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AIM School Expansion
AIM’s School is busting at the seams! We are maxed at capacity with over 350 students. We temporarily rented extra space but a School Expansion is in the works!
We purchased land and are planning to build a facility with capacity for even more students. And with 3,000 children who say they would attend school if they could, the school can’t come soon enough.
The school is a vital part of our trafficking prevention. Not only does it give children opportunities for future employment, it gives them a safe place during the day and social workers that care for their entire families.
We were able to start a new daily transportation route for 10 of our students at kilometer 9 (two km from the school) resulting in two students coming back to school, after 6 weeks of absence due to lack of transportation. The debt-ridden mother was about to un-enroll her children because of this problem. Now they are back in school, and safe, and learning and growing!
Many staff are getting married, getting continued training on caring for children and growing themselves.
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AIM Siem Reap has Hundreds of Meetings
We have had meetings with so many girls who want help leaving the KTV. These Karaoke Bars are just fronts for brothels.
All these girls hear about AIM through their friends that are living at AIM Transitional Home in Siem Reap. When our girls see their friends on the weekend, they tell them, “you don’t have to work here, please come to AIM so we can help you have a new life.”
100% of the referral to AIM Transitional Home this month have come from the girls living there already!
We started a new social work documentation process and this month we had more than 100 recorded meetings with girls through the social workers and staff!
Our Employment Center is at capacity!
Bella and Transitional Home Girls[divider]
Amazon Smile:) and Matching Gifts!
Buy on Amazon and they will give to AIM!
Save this link to your bookmarks bar and use it every time you purchase. Watch the giving pile up!
<-Click here
Does your company do Matching Gifts? Be sure to check and contact Nancy Gugino with questions!
nancy@aim4asia.org
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