Casa Esperanza (The House of Hope), for me, means a complete life change. It’s like a door that opens to a new reality. I knew there was someone willing to help and protect us but with so many difficulties in life, we sometimes forget. Pain overwhelms us and we forget that there is a God we can cry out to for help.

I was at that point, trapped in my own pain, my tragedy, my misery. I came to Casa Esperanza because I couldn’t see another way out; I couldn’t find another job. Working in the brothels was not pleasant at all; many of us were there as if we were forced. Sometimes we clung to that life because, though painful, it allowed us to bring money home.

But in that process, we forgot what was most important: the true owner of our lives. It wasn’t us, it was God. We survived each night, but we returned with our heads even lower, yet we had no choice; we had no way out. We couldn’t see another option. We were all like that, trapped, without something to make us realize, to remind us that there’s a God who invites us to ask for support, for help, for strength.

When Andrés invited us to Casa Esperanza there was so much distrust that few of us accepted. Some went only for the material help, but others went because we wanted out; we wanted to see if someone could do something for us, if someone could help us leave the brothels or at least give us hope.

We started attending the lunches, hoping for something more, something beyond food and clothing. We wanted a true way out. And that’s what we learned: everything happens in God’s time, not ours. Some got tired of waiting, but others clung to that faint hope that pulled us out of darkness and uncertainty. That door that opened for us at Casa Esperanza gave us new life, new jobs and a knowledge of God we didn’t have before. We didn’t know how to talk to Him, how to ask, how to pray to truly feel okay.

Through the devotionals, psychological support, social visits and the help of Andrés and Andrea, little by little, we opened our eyes. We learned to have patience, to trust that God would come into our lives at His time. And that learning has radically transformed our lives. Many women are no longer in the brothels, no longer in prostitution. Now they live much more peaceful lives filled with hope.

My entire family has been blessed and completely transformed, so I am deeply grateful to have found this path that led me to Casa Esperanza. So far, for me, it is the only one in Bolivia that confronts the problem of prostitution so directly. Perhaps there are other organizations that address human trafficking or street issues but none that, like Casa Esperanza, get so deeply involved. I feel privileged to have been part of this and my gratitude is immense. That is what Casa Esperanza means to me.

- Deidra,* Survivor