Sometimes, all it takes to change someone’s path is a little light.

Hi, we are Sharon and Aya, two moms from the Guelph, Ontario area who have come together to start this fundraiser to help Emma, a young member of our community who has survived a lifetime of child sexual exploitation, captivity, and human trafficking. This may be hard to read for some, but we hope you can read it with your heart– because she needs our help now more than ever.

Her story

Emma has lost everything at the age of six– her safety, her childhood, and her freedom by the very people that were supposed to protect her. She had been trafficked and by the time she became a teenager, she had been passed on from one trafficker to another, who would transport her to different locations, where she was exploited in ways no human being should ever endure.

This is the reality of human trafficking. It is real, it is not a myth, and it is destroying lives in the shadows.

Since childhood, Emma has endured extreme abuse. This includes dehumanizing torture, threats, burns, electrical shocks, starvation, and the harm to those around her and other victims trafficked with her, often kids that had no chance of protecting themselves, just like her. This left her with scars, bodily damage, disabilities, and deep emotional trauma. Even after being freed, Emma’s struggle did not end. For many survivors, freedom is only the beginning of another battle– homelessness, instability, and trying to survive without proper support. No one should have to fight that alone. Right now, Emma can’t make it into any shelter due to a lack of space and is currently sleeping on a chair at a charitable organization. Being a human trafficking and child sexual exploitation survivor means a long journey of recovery ahead– extensive trauma, injuries, instability, and a long fight for justice, and without safe, stable housing, healing becomes almost impossible. We are truly hoping that with this fundraiser, we can help Emma get safe, stable housing and help her get all the support she needs. Emma has never lived like a normal girl, and didn’t get to go to school like everybody else. Because of her disadvantaged past, trauma, and the gaps in her life caused by years of exploitation, her opportunities are already limited at the moment.

But Emma is still here, fighting. She is actively working with services, reaching out everywhere she can. She wants to build a life: to go to school, become financially independent, and regain control over her future. She wants to live, which is already a miracle. We want to help her bridge that gap—so she can stay safe, heal, and continue building her future.

Our goal

Our goal is to secure safe, stable housing for Emma. We have found an affordable studio unit for $1,350 per month in a quiet, safe community, it is absolutely perfect for her– and we truly hope to make this her home– but we are currently missing the funds to do so.

We are aiming to raise enough to cover first and last month’s rent, an additional three months of rent to provide stability, and an additional amount for basic furniture and household items to help her settle in. We will be buying second-hand to reduce the costs as much as we can, donating items from our own homes, and doing our best to create a space that becomes her very first safe home– where she can have her own routines, laugh freely, and feel like a deserving human being again. Getting this for Emma will not only significantly impact her well-being and ability to move forward, but will also change her life. We hope that, as a community, we can give Emma a safe, private, and peaceful place where she can begin to heal, rebuild her life, and move forward with dignity.

Breakdown of costs:

Estimated costs: $8,750

Fundraiser goal: $9,000

Any additional funds will be used to cover essential needs, including:

Why Emma matters

The trauma, pain, and injuries from surviving human trafficking and child sexual exploitation often go unseen. Emma deserves to be seen. Emma is a creative girl who wishes to visit the Canadian Rockies, but more than ever, she wishes for a safe home and a normal life. Not everyone wants to heal, but those who do deserve a chance.

The reality is, the system does not provide enough safety and proper support for survivors like Emma. She has reached out. She is in the system. Reaching even a simple form of help, whether financial, housing, or mental health, takes time– time that Emma simply can’t afford right now. She needs a safe place now. She is suffering from insecurity, sleep deprivation, and lack of necessities, but she is still doing everything she can to get a job and volunteer, which is truly admirable. Many victims like her only get freed and escape later in life, and since she is no longer a minor, she can’t access help from child services. Despite everything she has been through, she is still standing.

What we truly want with this fundraiser is to show her that people do care, despite what she was made to believe. That life is worth living after everything she has been through. That there is still good in this world and beauty for her to see and experience. She is polite and kind-hearted, doesn’t smoke or drink, and her only fault is being a victim. She wants to help others like her and bring change. The sad reality is that most human trafficking and child sexual exploitation victims don't make it, while their traffickers live nice, comfortable lives. Some never escape and recover, and many of them, due to the trauma and lack of proper help and resources, take their own life. She still has her whole life ahead of her, and it is not her time to give up.

Let’s help Emma win

We know that Human trafficking is an ugly pain. It is easier to just not look. As mothers with adolescents, as community members, we simply don’t want to leave Emma behind. Emma may still be young– but her pain is no less. She has no family, no safe place to call home, and such an unimaginable pain that she carries so bravely. She doesn’t complain. She tells us all the time “I gotta be strong, and keep moving forward.” But we know better. Please, if you are able to donate, share, or simply send words of care and support, you are helping more than you know. You are helping Emma see that she matters. She cannot do this alone anymore– she needs our help.

Let’s show her she is not alone, that her life does matter.

Let’s help Emma win, not the predators.

Thank you so much for your compassion, kindness, and support.

-Aya and Sharon

* If any of these have brought up concerns for yourself or someone you love, there is an anonymous hotline you can call to talk. Please reach out. The future is unknown, and the road ahead will be tough– but your pain matters (Canada only): 1-833-900-1010

(We had to blur Emma’s face for safety reasons. We hope for your understanding. In the photo, you can see Aya, her son's girlfriend together with Emma)