Human trafficking survivors walk a long and winding road – but with the right support, as Sister Margaret Kruse relates, there is hope for new life.
RSS Subscribe
Listen to the full In Good Faith podcast here.
Don’t forget to call us and leave a message. Tell us what you like, ask a question, or just say hi. Call 913-214-6087.
Let us know your thoughts about the podcast by taking this short survey! Your input helps us shape the future of the In Good Faith podcast! Click HERE to take the survey. Thank you!
Sister Rejane
This Random Nun Clip is brought to you by A Nun's Life Ministry. Hello! I am Sister Rejane Cytacki of A Nun's Life, and my guest today is Sister Margaret Kruse, a Sister of St. Francis of Assisi. Her community is located in St. Francis, Wisconsin, just south of Milwaukee. Our podcast was fittingly recorded on the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, the patron saint for people caught in modern day slavery, or human trafficking. Sister Margaret is passionate about raising awareness and ending human trafficking. Her community is one of seven women's religious congregations, and one Lutheran Church, that collaborated to found Sisters Program South, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sisters Program South is a drop-in center for women who are trapped in human trafficking. This is a safe place for women to get off the streets, get their basic needs met, as well as providing resources to help them start a new life. for our audience, I think we often think human trafficking is people from that are coming from other countries, but what you've been talking about is even in our country, people, women in prostitution, women as young as 10 to 12, get groomed and brought into this industry.
Sister Margaret
Yes.
Sister Rejane
It goes against the dignity of being a human being.
Sister Margaret
Yes. Right. Yes. As a matter of fact, one of the examples of women who have been at Sisters Program South, she was a Native American who, in her early 20s, was trafficked, and was working on the streets trying to raise enough money -- she had to have a specific amount of money to give to her pimp. And if she didn't, then she would have to stay out there until she got that amount. And because of this, she developed an addiction to opioids and somehow got in connection with the Sisters Program and started going there for the hospitality. And over a period of time, began to trust the people that were there, and has since been able to move out of prostitution and away from her pimp, and has her own apartment, is employed and is on her own, but comes back to the program, just to have the support that she needs to keep going on that. But to be able to see some successes is just really wonderful. And it takes many, many years for that to happen. They said that oftentimes before a woman will trust them, it'll take up to six to eight times of them coming back and forth. And they may also totally get out of prostitution, but then fall back into it again, because they get more money from the prostitution than they do from their employment. So it takes time for that to happen. So it's a real process.
Sister Rejane
Right. And just all the healing of the trauma. There might be mental health, might be addiction, like you mentioned. I mean, it's like trying to reset your life in a different way.
Sister Margaret
Correct.
Sister Rejane
That takes a lot of courage.
Sister Margaret
It does.
Sister Rejane
Hard work. And failure. Like you said, it may take time before they can stick it out, so to speak. To hear full episodes of A Nun's Life podcasts, visit the podcast page at anunslife.org/podcasts.
This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.
