Over
the past 30 years, the Missionaries of Mary Queen of Heaven (MQHM), a religious
community of nuns founded in 1996 in the Archdiocese of Cebu, have rescued and
rehabilitated hundreds of women and girls who survived sex trafficking,
prostitution and child abuse.
According
to estimates by major international organizations, between 60,000 and 100,000
children in the Philippines are forced into prostitution or sex trafficking
every year. According to the Philippine Department of Justice, sexual
exploitation is the most widespread form of trafficking. Among identified
victims nationwide, women and girls account for the overwhelming majority of
cases. At the national level, more than 70% of trafficking convictions are
specifically linked to commercial sexual exploitation.
Sister
Corazon J. Salazar, founder and Mother General of the Missionaries of Mary
Queen of Heaven, together with six other nuns, established the community to
respond to one of the most tragic consequences of poverty in the Philippines:
the sexual exploitation and trafficking of young girls. Through their
apostolate of mercy and compassion, the nuns are committed to restoring
dignity, hope and a future to girls and young women who have suffered abuse and
exploitation.
Their
mission has two main dimensions. First, they rescue girls and young women, from
the age of eight onwards, from prostitution and human trafficking, offering
them a safe home, care and loving attention. Second, they provide educational
assistance to survivors and children from impoverished rural communities,
helping them break the cycle of poverty through education and training.
The
Missionaries of Mary Queen of Heaven run the “House of Love” in Tuburan, near
Cebu, for the rehabilitation of survivors of prostitution and women and girls
who have fallen victim to sex trafficking. Nearby, they operate the “My Bonita
Girls’ Home” in Purok, in the municipality of San Jose, which assists minors
who have suffered abuse…
“Many
women have taken part in rehabilitation and employment programs and are now
reintegrated into society,” said Sister Corazon J. Salazar, Mother General of
the Missionaries of Mary Queen of Heaven. Both centers offer rehabilitation and
counseling programs, education and vocational training to prepare survivors for
reintegration into society.
The
program also includes the “Regina Coeli Education Assistance Program”, aimed at
supporting people living in poverty in rural areas and protecting them from
illegal recruiters who operate in their communities, promising fictitious jobs to
deceive parents and persuade them to send their children away with them.
Cebu
province has historically been considered a critical area, serving
simultaneously as a point of origin, transit and destination for victims of
domestic and international trafficking, due to strong tourist flows and poverty
in the surrounding rural areas.
During a recent visit
to the “House of Love”, one of their facilities, Archbishop Alberto S. Uy of
Cebu said: “Seeing the ministry of the Missionaries of Mary Queen of Heaven
firsthand deeply moved me. This is a work that gives life.” Article from
FIDES missionary news service of the Pontifical Mission Societies.
