IJM has been partnering with police in Cebu for years to stop traffickers. They were ready to act.

It was getting darker. Dinnertime had passed. And Roselle* was still not home. Her mother, Linda,* was worried.

Finally, one of Roselle’s friends told Linda where her daughter was: Roselle, concerned about the family’s finances, had accepted a job as a waitress on an island hours away. It was any mother’s nightmare. Linda rushed to the port, but the boat to the island was gone.

Linda knew the terrible truth— a job offer for a 17-year-old girl at a distant bar was likely the snare of a trafficker.

IJM has been training police to combat trafficking in Cebu for years, so when the officers received Linda’s desperate plea to stop the abuse before it occurred, they were ready to act. They quickly found the woman who had offered Roselle the job. She confessed her plans to traffic the girl to a brothel, and was placed under arrest.

Another group of police was mobilized to meet the boat at its destination. When she reached shore, Roselle was immediately rescued—along with two other girls.

Mother and daughter were reunited. Linda cried as she held her girl— overjoyed at her return and shaken by the terrible fate from which her daughter had been spared.

IJM’s team in Cebu began work immediately to support Roselle and the other two girls, and to get the traffickers off the streets for good. With the help of IJM investigators, police found and arrested the owner of the “bar” where Roselle had been offered a job. Both traffickers are now in jail while their case is tried in court.

IJM social workers have stood by Roselle, helping her heal from the betrayal. IJM attorneys are standing up for her in court. Nearly a year after her rescue, Roselle bravely testified against her traffickers. She’s in school—supported by her mother and IJM aftercare. She has hope for the future.

*Special thanks to our friends at IJM for sharing this article.