By Cherilyn Gaviola, partner-in-mission, Philippines (Province of Philippines and Japan)

I was lost, troubled, and in pain. My dignity was ripped away and I lost everything. But then, there were kind human beings who brought me back to life and held me until I found my way back to God in my new way of life.

I grew up as the apple of the eye of my family. I was the eldest and the only girl. I remember how my dad used to adore me: he loved listening to my beautiful voice. I remember growing up with all the love and care I could want from my family.

Then, when I was 15 years old, I lost the most precious person in my life. My father died. I ran away – and this led me to my darkest days. I met a group of friends and experienced the fleeting happiness that comes from drinking alcohol and taking drugs. I felt I could not escape this reality. Things got worse when I was influenced by friends to engage in prostitution. I was alone and needed money to survive. Feeling that we were all in the same situation, I went with them and I lost myself. I lost the “me” that used to be so happy, jolly, and active.

I decided to go with a friend to Welcome House at Villa Maria Good Shepherd Sisters. I had always heard about this place from the outreach workers who used to visit us every night.

At first, I felt hesitant but that didn’t stop me from taking the first and most courageous step to change my life. It was hard to leave the life that I had become accustomed to, but in time I noticed little changes. I was offered an education and psychological healing, and many activities that helped me rebuild my life and prepare for my future.

After much healing, I can see that so much has changed – from the way I see life, the way I look at others and the way that I take responsibility for things. I am proud to be able to say that I have achieved everything that I hoped I could achieve; with the help of God, I have done all the things that made me new.

I now have a family of my own and work with a large well-known company where I have excelled in my work.

I am also happy and proud to volunteer for Welcome House as an outreach-out worker and am one of the officers of an association called United Services for Women Advocates of the Good Shepherd (USWAGS). Part of our mission is to reach out through the streets of Cebu City to victims of trafficking, gender-based violence, and women in situations of prostitution, supporting them to regain their dignity and find their way back to God.

After everything that I have been through, I have arrived at a place today where I see myself as empowered. I have found ‘me’ and now desire to live the life that I have always wanted, helping others and loving God through others.

“I wish to see the ‘me’ living the life that I wanted, living a life helping others, and loving God through others.”