During the 3rd quarter of 2013, El Pozo de Vida had an average of 8 girls living in the shelter.  We received two new girls, both coming from living on the streets and being exploited sexually by older men.  They were both in poor health and malnourished. Besides the 2 main meals and 2 light meals that we serve the girls each day, we always had reserves of beans and rice to serve to the new girls to help them gain weight and calm their anxiety levels.

High anxiety levels are very common with human trafficking victims, especially those with drug addictions.  During their detoxification process they have a lot of stress and cravings, which we are able to control with food options, such as fruits and vegetables. Both of the two girls we received this quarter came with heavy drug addictions. One of our other girls suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome, and we are able to help mitigate that by giving her apples or fruit in a little basket, where she can learn to administer her resources as well as self regulate her stress levels.

During this quarter, with the funds from Alkare Foundation, we served over 368 meals to trafficking victims and their caretakers. We were also able to give several cooking lessons and workshops as a form of vocational training for our girls.

Thank you again for your generous donations and for investing into the lives and health of underage trafficking victims in Mexico City. Alkare Foundation has been a huge blessing in meeting one of the most basic needs of our girls.

Sincerely grateful,

El Pozo de Vida, A.C

Mexico City, Mexico