Cebu Sanctuary

Today, we are thrilled to welcome our first cohort of 5 young women escaping human trafficking into our brand new Cebu Sanctuary in the Philippines. After a year of uncertainty, closures, and setbacks, this opening is a testament to the amazing team we have and the ongoing support of our community. It is thanks to the collaborative efforts of our team, local partners, and trusted community of supporters that we have the infrastructure, program, and resources to meet the needs and challenges of survivors of human trafficking in Cebu to provide them with a pathway to freedom.

Last March, our Co-Founder, Wendy Dailey, was on a trip to Cebu with our founding partners, the Smiths, when the world began to go into lockdown. Though the future was uncertain, we knew that the need for our program in Cebu would only increase over the next year as depravity and unemployment skyrocketed. Human trafficking preys on vulnerable populations, forcing individuals to believe that they have no other options.

Cebu remains a destination, source, and transit area for human trafficking, where women and children victims are brought to be sold. Corrupt authorities turn a blind eye to numerous bars and underground nightclubs in return for bribes. Though anti-trafficking organizations have been working for over a decade in Cebu, survivors of human trafficking still struggle to reintegrate into society.

784,000 men, women, and children are estimated to be living in modern day slavery in the Philippines*

International Sanctuary’s program will be critical for the success of survivors and the completion of the rescue, rehabilitate, reintegrate model of collaborative partners in Cebu. Through meaningful employment in our social enterprise, PURPOSE Jewelry, girls will obtain job training, employment, and economic freedom. Our program uses a trauma-informed approach to ensure that we understand the impact of trauma on the young women in our program. It is with this understanding that we create a safe, empowering, collaborative space that is considerate of individuals needs and goals as is appropriate to a professional workplace.

Through strong collaboration with our partners, 10Thousand Windows and Good Shepherd, and we will be able to meet the multi-faceted challenges that human trafficking presents to provide hope, dignity, and freedom to survivors in Cebu. Thank you to all who walk alongside us on this tumultuous journey to ensure every woman knows that she has options and can live a life of true freedom.

To learn more about this partnership, go to:
10k Windows
Good Shepherd Asia Pacific
International Sanctuary

*Source: Global Slavery Index