I’m “Margaret” and This Is Part of My Story

“As a child, I experienced the darkness of this world at its worst. We were always hungry and had to work to survive; this consisted not only of cleaning, but also of being sexually trafficked. The men did whatever they wanted to do with us, and we were helpless. 

At the age of seven I was lucky to be adopted. I used to have nightmares about my past and my family wondered why I woke up screaming in the middle of the night. I had not told them about what I went through before I was adopted. I wanted to forget what happened, but I found out that I couldn’t run from my memories.

I struggled with hopelessness and being angry. It was a never-ending cycle of self sabotage and my family life was in pieces. Once I chose to be honest, I went to The Haven, an NDC partner home, and that is when my journey towards healing began.

The Haven is exactly what it sounds like, a safe place for girls like me. Everyone treated me as family and helped nourish me back to health. They were always considerate, encouraging, and gave me hope for a new life. I received therapy, which worked a miracle in me, and I learned that people genuinely want to help me. I was surrounded by people who loved and supported me. My Haven family taught me how to be myself, laugh freely, and look forward to my future.

Today, I am taking honors classes, forensics, and speech which I enjoy immensely. I also joined ROTC, Asian Student Union, and book club. I have always dreamed of going to college and have started applying for scholarships and grants. I plan to go into the criminal justice field. I want to major in forensics, because I want to help others just like you all have helped me. I am not going to let what happened to me in the past limit what I am going to do in the future. Together, we can make a difference, because New Day for Children provides a way for programs like The Haven to give girls like me hope. So I thank you.”

Your generosity and continued support of New Day provides restorative care and offers hope for the future to children like “Margaret” who have been recovered from child sex trafficking. You truly make a difference in the lives of these kids!