International Sanctuary: Handcrafting Hope

Desmund Tutu famously said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” For some of us, these words may ring more true as recent events have cast a cloud of darkness over our world. We may, then, look to this Christmas season with eager hearts, hoping to catch a glimpse of light amid all this darkness. This year, the love, joy, and peace that ring throughout this season may not get put away with the lights, trees, and decorations, but it may just give us the chance to believe that the best is yet to come.For International Sanctuary, or iSanctuary, this hope is evident in the everyday practices of providing holistic healing to victims of sex trafficking in Mumbai, India. After reading about the tragedy of human trafficking in India, and then traveling to India herself on a short-term mission trip with her church, the founder of iSanctuary, Stephanie Pollaro, was moved to use her efforts, talents, and passions to join in on the fight to end human slavery, specifically sex trafficking. Founding iSanctuary in 2007, Stephanie used her hobby of jewelry-making to train girls that had been rescued from sex slavery in India in the art of designing and crafting jewelry. Hoping to sell the jewelry, she began to send the designs back to a friend she had in Orange County, California. Today, the grassroots jewelry business she hoped would provide a few women in India with job security and restoration has turned into a successful nonprofit that provides women with not just a means to an end, but with hope to dream of the best futures for themselves.On a chilled November afternoon, I sat down with Michelle Johnson, iSanctuary’s Head of Distribution, to learn of the tangible impact iSanctuary has in Mumbai and of its aspirations to spread its message of hope throughout the world. Michelle had been led to work for an organization like iSanctuary after a year-long trip exposed her to the injustices of human trafficking in Southeast Asia. That trip, six years ago, transformed Michelle’s perception on the world and inspired her to use her talents to contribute to something bigger than herself. She elaborated that in reiterating to the girls in Mumbai that the jewelry they are creating is not only selling well in the United States, but that it is desirable and beautiful instills iSanctuary’s message of hope in the girls, “to really help [them] believe and understand that they are worthy and capable and that they can achieve different goals that they have set for themselves.”The incredible thing about iSanctuary, is that it not only provides girls who have been rescued from sex trafficking with employment, but the organization’s staff forms deep and personal connections with each girl in order to understand her story, to empathize with her trauma, to learn of her dreams and aspirations, and to empower her to use her talents and strengths to pursue whatever goal she sets before herself. Where these girls do not find support in their communities, in their circumstances, or even in their families, the iSanctuary staff comes alongside them and walks with them in each step of their transformation and healing process. This may mean supporting a girl through her marriage and pregnancy, accompanying her to doctors’ appointments and paying for her medical bills. Alternatively, this may mean helping a girl sign up and apply for law school while still providing her with a job so she can make extra money while she completes her studies. These personal connections that the staff forms with each individual girl enables her to realize her worth, to see the beauty in her individuality, and to believe in her strength to achieve her dreams. Michelle realized the importance of empowering each girl to realize her worth and potential in one of her own personal experiences working with girls that had been rescued from sex trafficking in Orange County. While working closely with the girls, Michelle came to know one girl who had been trafficked from a different country into the United States and who also happened to be particularly younger among the other girls working in the program. Even still, Michelle noticed a certain brightness and intelligence in her, despite her reserve, shyness, and timidity. After leaving for a while to pursue another job, the girl returned to iSanctuary with a strikingly different confidence. Her persona and her confidence displayed a new light that resembled something completely different than the girl that kept to herself at the lunch table. This transformation and healing process that started in even the early days of Michelle’s career with iSanctuary came to fruition in the confidence and prowess of this grown-up girl.This story tells of such a beautifully timed transformation process that is unique to each girl working for iSanctuary. Some stories may tell of speedy and otherwise natural healing processes. Other stories may reveal the intricacy, the patience, and the faith that it takes to enable a healing process to come to its fruition. Still, in all healing stories, there is a common message of beauty, of individuality, and of hope that bind all these girls and all their stories together. In fact, this community that has been formed among the girls, themselves, is a powerful display of the message of hope and restoration. Michelle adds that the girls “hang out with each other outside of work [and] they ride with each other in the trains.” This community has allowed the girls to invest in one another, to lean on one another, and to support and enable one another to pursue their dreams. When one girl completed her first year of law school, the other girls threw her a celebration, brought her a cake, gave her card, and formed a circle around her in which they all spoke out the encouraging messages they had written to her.The community that is embedded in the work of iSanctuary is not just for the girls to enjoy in Mumbai, though. In fact, there are many ways to involve yourself, wherever you are, with iSanctuary’s work and with its mission. Michelle notes that one of the best ways to get behind iSanctuary’s cause in India is simply through buying jewelry. “The more jewelry we can sell, the more women we can serve,” she states. During this festive time of year, hosting a trunk show would be another resourceful way to personally connect with iSanctuary’s influence and to expand their influence within your own circle of friends and family. The beauty of iSanctuary’s impact is that it invites its customers and supporters to join along in its dreams and ambitions to provide healing and restoration to victims of sex slavery and human trafficking all around the world. Michelle spoke of this ambition in specificity to iSanctuary’s big 2020 goal, “which is to open ten different sanctuaries across the world.” Michelle elaborates that with that goal, they are going to need man-power, financial support, and the collection of a vast array of different ideas, skillsets, passions, ambitions, hopes, and dreams that are found in the individuality and uniqueness of each person that believes in its mission of hope and wishes to see that hope spread throughout the world.Finally, Michelle reiterated this message of hope that is so prevalent in all the work that iSanctuary conducts and in its future endeavors around the world. She explained that when the girls first come to work for iSanctuary, they experience difficulty in believing in their worth and they lack the hope that they can be different than what society has instilled in them, than what their family or friends have spoken over them, or than what their circumstances have misguided them to believe about themselves. She admitted that they “really have to overemphasize [that message of hope] with them and … help them re-work everything in their minds to believe that they are worthy and that there is hope, there is always hope.” Whether it is completing jewelry pieces, taking yoga classes, learning English, laughing and rejoicing during their chai tea breaks, or ensuring mid-day dance parties, these girls have been showered with love and care from the work of iSanctuary. More than that, though, they have been empowered to realize their worth, to push beyond any limits that they have been instructed to believe in, and to set new expectations for themselves.This Christmas season, believe in your impact and believe that by purchasing a piece of jewelry, you are directly contributing to building hope around the world. Believe that the healing process in giving these gifts of Purpose Jewelry is not only a healing process for these survivors of sex trafficking, but a healing process for us, as well, as we witness the power in the bond of humanity. Finally, believe that there is always hope and be relentless in sharing that hope with others.Here are a few of my favorite picks from the Purpose Jewelry line:Chevron Necklace – Get it here!Aurora Necklace – Comes in silver and gold, here!Sand Dunes Bracelets – Good for layering, get it here!Infinity Bracelet – Comes in silver and gold, here!Destiny Earrings – Great for holiday parties, here!Billow Earrings – On sale! Get ‘em, here!Shine Gift Set – If you can’t just pick one, get a gift set, here!Purpose gift card – Because, you can’t go wrong with a gift card! Get it, here!