By: Dr. Jeff Cadichon | Nadege Clinical Director
Every week our team meets to plan, dream and seek God together. We are in a crucial period for Nadege because we are working diligently on the opening of our first safe house for survivors of sexual violence in Haiti.
During a recent devotion, we discussed Mark 7. Like my two colleagues, I had a little time to express what stood out to me the most by reading this chapter. In verses 15 and 21, it is written:
“Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come...”
Reflecting on that, I thought about the women we are going to welcome into the safe house. They are women who have been raped, beaten and abused. These women are broken. They have lost hope. And worse still, they live in a community where, many times, they are considered to be responsible for their woes. They cannot escape double victimization.
However, at Nadege, we do not assimilate these women to what they have suffered. We do not reduce them to the evil they have suffered. They have certainly been broken. What enters into them is impure, but they are not without value or honor.
Our mission at Nadege is to bring out the best in these women. Our challenge is to welcome them, offer them holistic care, with long-term mental health services and more. If “it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come", we will keep working very hard on turning these bad thoughts into positive ones.
My colleague Amy Roe would say: “What comes out of a person is the most important.” So, at Nadege, we strive to bring out in women a sense of empowerment, understanding, feelings of safety and well-being. Then, when they graduate from the safe house, they can spread the hope and restoration that flows out of them within their community.
We need better humans to have a better society. Helping someone to become better is a human act. It is also helping oneself. It's contributing to a better world. If you read this blog post, I would encourage you to do the same in your home, work and community. Together, let's bring out the best in women who are survivors of sexual violence as well as in those who surround us on a daily basis.