Priceless

Have you ever been told, either through words or by someone’s actions, that you were seen as priceless?

The stark reality for victims of human trafficking and child slavery is they are told the exact opposite. For children living in restavek, a form of modern-day slavery in Haiti, voices constantly assail them telling them they are worthless. The stories from the girls who have been rescued from the restavek system and now live at our Transitional Home are heartbreaking – that anyone would disdain and discard such beautiful young women is unbelievable. We at Restavek Freedom believe they desperately need to hear the message that they are priceless.

One way you can help share this message with victims of child slavery is by liking our Facebook page and helping us raise $20,000 in the month of March. This is a message that needs to be spread!

It is so encouraging to see how the Smallbone brothers are spreading the word to let women worldwide know they are priceless, while raising awareness about the issue of human trafficking. Joel and Luke Smallbone, who make up the Grammy-award winning band for KING & COUNTRY, teamed up with their brother Ben and their entire family to make a movie with this theme at its heart.

Inspired by true events, Priceless is a powerful drama/thriller that brings to life the realities of human trafficking. In addition to the film, this message that women are priceless is further illustrated through a song written by for KING & COUNTRY entitled Priceless, which states:

Irreplaceable, unmistakable, incomparable
Darling, it’s beautiful
I see it all in you
Oh, so priceless

No matter what you’ve heard,
This is what you’re worth
More than all the money or the diamonds and pearls
Oh, this is who you are

That is a message children throughout Haiti are desperate to hear.

The Smallbone family and for KING & COUNTRY joined with Restavek Freedom to share this very message with the girls in our Transitional Home through a very moving and special opportunity. They donated a Priceless necklace to each of the girls in our home. These necklaces contain a two cent Austalian coin. This penny signifies that a woman is worth more than all the money in the world! It is a reminder that she is priceless.

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A good friend of the organization, Sally Wevers, helped our team present these necklaces. Sally is the former Assimilation Director of Calvary Church in Michigan. She shared, “As I thought about the title of the movie, two words kept popping up in my mind, the words ‘precious’ and ‘priceless.’ There are things that can be bought, and things that cannot.”

She had the girls make a list of what was precious: things like house, books, school, jewelry, food, and friends were examples they gave. Sally explained, “They recognized that each of these things could be bought, except for friendship. However friendships often are short-lived, and not always trustworthy, though still precious.”

On the next list, they wrote the word “Priceless” at the top. Sally shared, “We defined what the word meant, as there is no creole word for ‘priceless.’ Each girl was asked to write her name under that word. We then talked about what it means that each of them is priceless to Jesus and to us. There is no amount of silver, gold, or money that could match the priceless value they have. I went around to each girl, looked into her beautiful face, said her name, and had the rest of the girls repeat in Creole, ‘You are priceless’.”

Because our team wanted these girls to really own this message, they asked the girls to put the necklaces on each other, and share with each other just how immeasurable their worth is. It was a truly tender moment, and Sally explained, “As I watched these girls receiving their necklaces, two words came again to my mind, those two words ‘precious’ and ‘priceless.’ And they are both! Because these girls who have been abused and mistreated in the past have heard once again of their value, we believe they can know they are worthy of honor and respect because they are priceless to Jesus and priceless to us.”

Thank you to the Smallbone family and for KING & COUNTRY, as well as Sally Wevers and all those who are making it possible to provide these girls with holistic love, healing, and care. Your donations are transforming lives!

Want to get involved? You can help us raise $20,000: Like Restavek Freedom’s page by Mar 31 and a donor will give $1 per like to provide children in Haiti with freedom from isolation, illiteracy, and exploitation.

Remember, you too are priceless!  Join in the fight to help END human trafficking, and share this with your friends!