Sometime in 1997, I began to have a burden for prostitutes, girls who stand by the way side waiting to be picked up by men. How could a young girl or any woman sell her body in exchange for money? I asked myself but I found it hard to condemn them.

I began to think about ways to reach anyone of these girls in order to help them and give them other options apart from sex in exchange for money. Surely there were other dignifying ways to make money, to work as a maid could even put them on the path of a favorable destiny.

With this burden that would not leave me, compassion flowed in my heart towards them. I knew that to help them was of God. I began sharing this experience with people around me and we began to pray about this situation; asking God for direction and salvation of their souls. I found an opportunity to visit a brothel where some of these young girls live.

From then on I began to visit this place frequently and talked to these ladies one-on-one.

Before this time I had ministered to women in general. I discovered that one of my gifts is compassion towards the needy and underprivileged. I disliked the abuse of women and cheating of others. I love to see women enlightened enough to be liberated without jeopardizing their God given relationships with men and their position in the marriage and family setting. What is the future of these women in crisis, prostitutes? If not helped, they will produce more abandoned/ unwanted children and orphans, as they become victims of Aids themselves. This creative thinking led me to begin a search for accommodation for them. I have discovered that for almost every one of these girls that I talked with, their problem stemmed not only from poverty but a background of rape, abuse, incest and even broken homes. Many of them came from a particular part of our country, yet they change their real names. They came to Lagos in search of greener pastures and “better life”. But is this really a better life? I asked them.

We are here to affect our community positively and help to get rid of societal ills such as this one.

Are you moved in joining us to bring an end to this social menace?

NIKE ADEYEMI