Date 19, 2005
Life Place Update
By Petra Luna:

Petra, Lihle, Eva and her youngest son

What is the light house?

Since 2001 Doctors For Life has been reaching out to orphans in neighboring communities and beyond. Everyday, children are orphaned. This results in more and more children having to fend for themselves. Additionally, a vision that has been in Dr. Albu Van Eeden‘s heart, founder of DFL, has come to pass. A life place care center has recently been opened in the inner city of Durban.

This center consists of assisting women and children prostitutes to enhance their lives by providing counseling services, HIV testing and above all, instruction through a weekly bible study and by daily administration of God's Word. Is it also a place where these women can come and ventilate their feelings, concerns and frustrations.

Based on my observation, most of the children prostitutes are orphans whose parents were also in the sex industry. The rate of prostitution in Durban is certainly becoming a growing industry, in spite of the growing rate of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the growing rate of sexually transmitted diseases. Many of the women and children are also heavy drug users which plays a major role in the spread of HIV/AIDS and STDs. Furthermore, research has proven that prostitution adversely affects the physical and psychological health of these prostitutes, their families, and society as a whole.

It is my observation that the prostitutes have been very receptive to the counseling and advise given to them. Some of them have left the sex business. The first person who stopped practicing prostitution is a woman by the name, Eva, who is a mother of two children. Eva appears to be growing strong and she has expressed that accepting Christ has been the most important decision of her life in turning away from the sex trade.

The second person who left the sex industry is a fourteen year old girl by the name of Lihle. As a child, Lilhle was sexually abused. Reportedly, she has been traumatized by being the care taker of her dying mother who had Aids. Lilhle decided to accept DFL's offered help , and is in the process of being rehabilitated and is also growing in the knowledge of Christ.

A woman in her early twenties, mother of a two year old girl (child was removed from her mother at the time of birth by social services). She has also left the sex business. Till recently, she was being rehabilitated and cared for at a missionstation due to her acute case of AIDS and tuberculosis, but failing health has resulted in her being moved to a more comprehensive hospital facility. She has professed to never go back to her old life as a prostitute in the streets of Durban or anywhere. According to her report, her mother was also a prostitute and she experienced the loss of her mother who died of AIDS.

By the grace of God, the life place has become a healing center, where many people will come for advice concerning abortion and other issues. One example is a lady who came for advice about having an abortion, and after some counseling, she was made aware of the abortion process and the consequences involved. Therefore, the woman changed her mind and decided to keep her baby.

Evidently, it appears that this is the time to reach this population. The responses received from the child prostitutes as well as the adults is awesome. A huge persentageof them want to have their lives changed.

###

Doctors For Life International represent more than 1000 medical doctors and specialists; three-quarters of whom practice in South Africa . Doctors For Life was founded as a South African organisation in 1991 and has spread across the globe. DFL is involved in several community projects including orphan care, the care of terminal AIDS patients, malaria prevention and the care of abused women. Please go to: www.doctorsforlifeinternational.com for more information about these projects.

Further Reading:

AIDS information
DFL's stance on Prostitution
Court Cases where DFL is involved
Sexual Addiction
Substance Abuse
Other Issues