1 out of every 3 women in this remote Asian country experience domestic violence. Not only is it condoned but the husband's friends encourage him to beat his wife to show her who is boss. Should the abused wife escape back to her family, they would just send her back.
In this shame based culture, women who experience violence never talk about it. That would bring shame on her. But these poor women are already filled with shame & guilt. They have no selfworth or hope. Does anyone love them? Does anyone care?
We were invited to come alongside our NGO friends & bring them some new 'tools' to use in helping these women. My friend taught the Woman at the Well story about another woman also filled with shame. Connecting this woman and her experience to women in their culture would hopefully bring value & hope into their lives.
The art project was about 3 'labels' the Woman at the Well might have worn. A label about how others viewed her. A label about how she viewed herself. A label about how God viewed her. Sharing the meaning of the finished labels is an important part of processing the teaching and their response.
Photos: Creative activity at the table. A few labels created by our friends. I left gluesticks, painted papers & blank labels so they could carry on the teaching themselves.
awesome. heartbreaking.
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