For nearly two decades, Helen has worked at the front lines of anti-trafficking in Asia. She’s focused her skills, as a trauma therapist and mental health specialist, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which she describes as a ‘bottleneck’ for Asia’s people trafficking. 

Many of the people Helen supports come from remote villages in northern Thailand where poverty, limited education, substance abuse, poor access to healthcare and mental health issues create a perfect storm of vulnerability. 

Sex tourism draws huge numbers of people to Chiang Mai and many vulnerable people end up exploited into this industry. But it’s not just sexual exploitation. Chiang Mai is close to Thailand’s border with Myanmar, where a huge civil war rages – displacing many people. Families are fleeing across the border into Thailand. A lot of young girls and boys, who have been separated from their families – or whose parents cannot work – are being recruited into exploitation. 

Young girls are being sexually exploited and young boys are forced into hazardous labour, including construction work. The urgent need for protective interventions, safe shelter and trauma-informed support services continues to escalate.

This is where Helen and her survivor-led team at Rise Foundation Asia step in; working at the intersection of protection, recovery and long-term restoration.

Our first question is, “are you safe?” 

Helen and her team provide direct support and advocacy for people who have experienced exploitation, working with government agencies, law enforcement and multidisciplinary teams.

Most of the foundation’s team are women who have gone through their programme. Helen explains, “We have professionals, and survivors who are learning to be professionals in their field [nurses, social workers and counsellors], working alongside each other.”

At their drop-in centre, Baan Romyen – located in Chiang Mai’s entertainment district – social workers and caseworkers assess each new arrival. “Question number one is whether they are safe. Do they have somewhere to stay?” says Helen. “Secondly, we ask: ‘Have you eaten?’”

When parents arrive, the team checks whether their children are in school. Many of the young people they see – some as young as 12 – have been recruited into the sex industry. “We make sure that we take them out and put them in school,” Helen says. “Currently we support around 40 children in school and 15 young women in college.”

Other organisations often refer people to the Rise Foundation Asia because of their robust trauma and health care programme. 

Mind, body and soul – healing the whole person

Helen and her team have created a healing-centred environment – where trauma-recovery and skill-building go hand in hand. “It’s not a one-stop, come for a year and you’re healed. Healing is linear,” Helen explains. 

Every single person that walks into the drop-in centre is sent to the hospital for a medical check up. Some of them have never received that. Ever. The centre provides mental health assessments and ongoing psychosocial support through its team of onsite counsellors

An outreach team is active daily, with dedicated evening outreach each week. Together with a nursing team, they bring essential sexual health care directly into the spaces where women and children are most vulnerable – whether in remote villages or urban centres. In addition to this ongoing outreach, they run full sexual health clinics several times a year to ensure access to critical care.

Where is God in Chiang Mai? 

Helen’s faith quietly informs her values and approach, shaping a commitment to dignity, justice and compassion in her work. “There is extensive research that shows spirituality is an important part of the human psyche. How spirituality works out is different for different people,” she says.

“We do not pressure anyone into a certain belief system. We work with women and children who have come out of places where they didn’t have choices. Exploitation was part of their life.”  

“A lot of the women we work with want to know more about Christianity because they see the long-lasting effect of our faith impacting a lot of lives. We do not waver from our belief system.”

Is exploitation a never-ending problem? 

There is a constant stream of displaced, vulnerable people arriving in Chiang Mai. For every 10 people helped there are 20 more who will end up exploited and abused. How does Helen keep going? 

Helen starts with the immediate needs. “There are women and children who are in front of us. Our job is to provide for their needs. We never say no to anyone. We either redirect them to other organisations or if there’s a gap we step in.”

Then there’s the bigger picture of how trafficking and gender based violence is growing so much. 

“A couple of years ago, I got very frustrated. There’s a metaphor used in the anti-trafficking and humanitarian field where we are just pulling people out at the bottom of the river and there’s not enough work done to stop nature. So prevention became a huge part of what we do.” 

Rise Foundation Asia gets children into school. “A lot of the young girls don’t get to go into secondary education simply because they can’t afford it. And if a family can’t afford it, then the boys are the ones who get to go.” 

Substance abuse is a huge problem too. 

“A lot of gender based violence and sexual exploitation comes from childhood abuse,” shares Helen. “Women who experience abuse in childhood may later enter exploitative situations believing it to be normal, as early trauma can condition the brain to accept harm as familiar or expected.” 

How do you change that? “We go back to the family system,” says Helen. “We go to the villages and see where the substance abuse problem starts.

“We’re in the process of purchasing land and raising funds to build a post-rehab centre that will serve the long-term needs of the community.” The plan: stop substance abuse, provide health care and then employment. “We want to provide an alternative form of employment before they get into sex work.”

Alongside this practical help, Rise Foundation Asia works in advocacy and policy changing.

Helen explains, “We work closely with local and foreign governments. We’re doing cross-border and cross-sector work. Anti-trafficking organisations shouldn’t just work among themselves. It’s a humanitarian issue because it involves poverty, education, business, economic freedom and has a spiritual factor as well. 

Churches have a part to play in combating trafficking 

So how can churches help?

“Churches have the capacity and the people to lend their hands.” Says Helen: “Whether you have doctors in your seats, lawyers or educators, there are many ways that the church can contribute to this humanitarian issue and keep people safe, raising awareness and providing preventive measures.”

Helen reminds us, “the social media of churches alone is amazing. Even if once a week or month you put some of this information out, you’re reaching hundreds and thousands just from your community alone. You don’t have to leave the church and be in the mission field. 

“We all need to find the gaps and fill them.” 

Start now

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The post Creating pathways to choice and dignity  appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

Finding enough leaders for churches and church groups is a challenge familiar in many parts of the world. Yet in the vast Diocese of Northern Argentina, with 187 churches among five people groups who speak different languages, equipping people willing to lead is another major hurdle.

A CMS-facilitated indigenous mission group identified training as a key priority for mission among indigenous peoples in Latin America, and CMS has been supporting the development of a new training centre in the Diocese of Northern Argentina.

The Centro de Formación Anglicano (CeFA) launched in March 2024 to offer leadership and ministry training for students from indigenous communities.

Alongside dealing with long distances to travel, students are learning in their second language (Spanish), are from oral storytelling cultures and have received varying levels of education prior to this course. Students travel to the centre in Ingeniero Juárez and stay for two to four weeks, before returning to their communities to see family and put learning into practice for one or two weeks.

In the first year nine men from the diocese completed the course – and in March 2025 a cohort of 13 women began studying together. Three of them shared with Paul Tester, CMS mission manager in Latin America, how they came to join the course.

“Why me?”

Etelvina is 26 and from the Toba community. Her family is Christian, her dad is a pastor and she has always participated in church. When she was 14, Etelvina started to take her faith more seriously and within a year was helping with church activities for women. She also started studying nursing in the city of Formosa, leaving her rural community when she was just 17.

In autumn 2024, Etelvina received an invitation from Daniel Lescano, the vicar general in the Diocese of Northern Argentina and a key leader at the CeFA. He asked if she would like to start another type of studying: the year-long CeFA course to learn more about the Bible and serving the church.

When she received the invitation, Etelvina had questions: Why her, not other young people? Was this God’s plan or just a human plan? She shared the invitation with her dad, who warned her that studying would not be easy. Etelvina took time to pray and reflect, and came away encouraged that this was God’s purpose.

Since her teens, Etelvina has learned to speak in public about the Word of God, which she found very hard. Etelvina is now a leader in her community, even though she doesn’t always feel confident.

Etelvina wants to know more to be able to help the church and says that this type of study is needed. She wants to use what she learns to help others – to be a spiritual nurse as well as a medical nurse.

A change of plans

Amandina, from the Wichí community of Barrio Collins in Potrillo, had originally planned to study computing, but missed the deadline to sign up. Then a friend told her about a different type of course that would equip Amandina in her role in the church.

Having lived with her grandparents after her mother died, Amandina was discipled by them as she grew up. As a teenager she helped in Sunday school, and she continues to serve there. Yet over the years Amandina’s church responsibilities have grown.

Now 28, Amandina’s community trust her and she has become a leader. Together with her aunt, Amandina is responsible for the AMARE women’s group and she helps lead the church.

Alongside former SAMS mission partner Chris Wallis, Amandina has become a tutor on the SEAN Abundant Life course on the foundations of the Christian life.

Although Amandina sees other people who she thinks are more capable than her, they don’t want to serve, whereas she does. She says she really wants to serve and that she loves God a lot.

So when Amandina’s friend told her about the course at the CeFA, Amandina mentioned the idea to Gladys Garate, an Argentine missionary based in Potrillo. Gladys and Amandina discussed the course with Daniel Lescano, and found out more about what was required.

Discovering that she would have to be able to speak good Spanish made Amandina a little scared, as her first language is Wichí – so for a couple of weeks she had some doubts. Yet she was encouraged by the trust of her community and the way that this opportunity seemed to fit with God’s purposes for her.

Amandina was very happy to be accepted onto the course, as she had thought since she was 16 that at some point in her late twenties she would be involved in sharing God’s Word with others – and now she is being equipped to do just that.

A dream of learning

Long before she received an invitation to study at the CeFA, Iliana, a 19-year-old woman from the Chorote community, dreamed that she was in a classroom in a house. She didn’t know where it was or how she had got there. Outside there were some young people playing; the door was open and she wanted to go and have fun. When the teacher turned his back she went out, but someone asked her, “Why are you out here? You are chosen.” The teacher came out and guided her back into the class.

Iliana didn’t know what this meant, but she kept having the same dream. She shared it with her family, including her father, who is part of the CMS-facilitated indigenous mission team. He suggested that maybe it was about her being trained.

Having always been in the church, in the last year Iliana has been more committed to following Jesus. She leads Sunday school, but other leaders had stepped back and she felt discouraged and alone. As she sat in her room one day she heard a voice say, “You are not alone.” Knowing that God was with her, Iliana decided to be a person of God, teaching the Word. Although she was sad because others were not helping, she felt joy because of God’s Spirit.

In her work with the children Iliana felt she was lacking what she needed. She had always wanted to be trained, yet something had been holding her back. Then Daniel Lescano visited her community and talked about training at the CeFA – Iliana was intrigued, and decided to find out more.

Now Iliana is studying and enjoys what she is learning. When she came to the centre, she found that the teacher from her dream looked very much like Pastor Narciso, the director of the CeFA and one of the teachers there!

Thanks to support from CMS, these women and others studying alongside them are part of the next generation of leaders in the church in northern Argentina – thank you for helping to equip them!

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The post Women at the centre appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

Kiran, Rida and Farah all grew up in devout Muslim families in the Middle East. Choosing to follow Jesus made them outsiders in their communities. But today these three women find themselves on the cutting edge of mission – helping hundreds of others follow Jesus. 

Meeting Jesus

Kiran, Rida and Farah all came to Lebanon as refugees from Syria with their families in recent years. As refugees, they were already pushed to the edges: outsiders living in a foreign culture, away from almost everyone they knew and loved. Little did they know, they would soon be pushed to the edges even more.

Kiran used to live in Beirut, not far from a church which has had links with CMS for several years. Kiran would often pass the church on her way to the market, and remembers seeing a Bible verse on the door: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. “I felt like that message was meant just for me,” she says. One day, Kiran went in. As she stepped inside, a woman started apologising to her, saying the church wasn’t giving away food or other supplies that day. Kiran explained that she wanted to know what was happening in this building. Why had she seen so many people coming out with smiles on their faces? This was the beginning of Kiran’s faith journey, and not long after, she started following Jesus and became part of the church.

Farah and Rida also visited churches near where they lived and were both touched by Matthew 5:44: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you. “That really stayed with me – there’s nothing like that in the Quran,” says Farah. Rida read the entire Bible and ultimately found “no violence or hostility” in it, in stark contrast to the violence of ISIS she had witnessed in Syria. It wasn’t long before Farah and Rida gave their lives to the Lord, too.

Pushed even further to the edges

For Kiran, Rida and Farah, making the choice to follow Jesus was costly. All three women faced intense opposition to their faith.

“When I was first exploring faith, I felt that the devil was telling me that it would be better for me to keep living in darkness,” remembers Kiran. And things got worse: the day she was baptised, Kiran’s father-in-law kicked her out of the house and her entire extended family cut all contact with her.  

Farah’s husband used to offer her money and more freedom if she stayed away from church and he would punish the children for singing Sunday school songs and asking questions about Jesus.

Rida’s uncles ridiculed her and one of them declared that killing her would be permissible because she had left Islam. In his eyes, she had dishonoured the family.

But in the face of hostility, divorce, rejection from family and friends and even death threats, these women are still standing strong today.

Learning to lead

Kiran, Rida and Farah’s pastors introduced them to a CMS partner called TN, a movement of Christians helping disciples grow in Christlike character and develop their leadership skills. TN offers ministry training specially tailored to Muslim-background believers (MBBs), including in-person training in groups as well as regular one-to-one support. This helps people like Kiran, Rida and Farah to grow in their relationship with Jesus and develop spiritual practices to sustain them in their faith as well as equipping them to share their faith and disciple others.

Rida serves in southern Lebanon, a region which is 90–95 per cent Shia Muslim. She had been sharing Jesus and discipling people there for two or three years when she did some training with TN. Through the training, she was encouraged to consider how to make her ministry even more effective. Rida was supported as as she came to focus on discipling young people.  

Farah found the training with TN gave her practical tools to share the gospel and make disciples. “The training strengthened me, encouraged me in my calling and made me a better servant of the Lord,” she says. Farah is now looking after two small groups and is discipling followers of Jesus from both Muslim and Christian backgrounds.

Kiran was already sharing Jesus and making disciples in six areas in southern Lebanon. Following the TN training, Kiran is now ministering in 12 areas, looking after 16 discipleship groups and over 200 families.

TN’s training has helped Kiran, Rida and Farah and many other women build a solid foundation of faith and provides the ongoing support they need when things get tough. And they know they are connected to a whole network of Christians that stretches across the Middle East and North Africa.

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The post The powerful witness of women in the Middle East appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

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