Pastor Rebecca Makayi, a Zimbabwean based in Minnesota, United States, says she has launched an organization that caters for immigrants and hopes to use it to assist women and girls affected by human trafficking.
Mrs. Makayi says she was touched by the plight of young Zimbabwean women and girls trafficked to Arab States and later abused after being promised lucrative job offers.
She is now in the process of raising funds to assist those affected. Her organization called Immigration Women Coalition USA helps immigrants, who have relocated to America, but she says following the seriousness of the plight of the trafficked women and girls to Kuwait she will now refocus here attention towards sourcing funding to help those that have returned home in starting self-help projects.
She said this would ensure that they do not get lured back as a result of the poor economic situation in Zimbabwe.
"I never thought it could be possible for our women and girls to be trafficked to other nations. I was shocked to learn about this after seeing the report on Studio 7 and I have decided to use my organization to raise funds so that I can in my small way help to start small projects for those that have been repatriated," says Mrs. Makayi.
Mrs. Makayi, who is also the secretary general of a group of Zimbabwean women from different church denominations called Women of Dominion International, says she will use the upcoming conference which starts in Delaware on Thursday to lobby for the plight of human-trafficked women and girls.
"Some women in the diaspora are not aware of the situation of human trafficking happening to our women and girls in Zimbabwe and I am going to use the Women of Dominion International platform to bring more awareness of the plight of these women. I hope that we can then put our heads together to assist as Christian women," she says.
Over 200 women and girls were trafficked to Kuwait and other Arab states after being lured by employment agents who promised them greener pastures that later turned into a nightmare. Some of the women, numbering about 60, have now been repatriated with the assistance of a local businessman, non-profit organization, oung Women's Christian Association International, and government.
Other women and girls have gone back home after raising air tickets or getting assistance from friends and relatives.