“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.” – Isaiah 1:17
Over the past year since completing my Master of Public Health, I have been blessed with several meaningful opportunities—from working with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization on chronic kidney disease and advocating for agricultural workers in El Salvador, to continuing my involvement with Wells of Hope in Uganda supporting children of incarcerated parents, and serving locally as an EMT. I am beyond excited to step into my next role as I continue my work in public health and advocating for the health and safety of vulnerable communities around the world.
Starting in June, I have been invited to serve for one year in Peru with International Justice Mission (IJM) as a Program Quality and Measurement Fellow. IJM is a Christian human rights organization that works to protect people living in poverty from violence. They partner with local authorities to rescue victims, bring criminals to justice, restore survivors, and strengthen justice systems so that communities are safer long-term.
In Peru, IJM focuses on protecting women and children from sexual and domestic violence—abuse that too often happens in homes, schools, and neighborhoods where people should feel safest, with highest rates occurring among those living in poverty. Many survivors face slow or inadequate responses from justice systems, while social norms often pressure victims to remain silent, resulting in widespread underreporting and unaddressed harm. IJM works alongside police, prosecutors, judges, church leaders, and community members to improve how cases are handled, ensure survivors are supported, and help prevent future violence.
In my role, I will help design, monitor, and evaluate IJM’s programs, primarily working behind the scenes to ensure projects are effective, sustainable, and truly serving survivors well. I will support initiatives that train church leaders to become safe refuges for women and children and collaborate with law enforcement to strengthen responses to violence. As the Peru office is still relatively new, I will also assist in building strong systems and partnerships that will help this work endure.
This opportunity feels like the culmination of years of preparation—my graduate training in public health, research focused on violence prevention and vulnerable populations, my previous time living and working in Peru with Socios en Salud (Partners in Health), and my continued work across global health initiatives in Latin America. I am humbled to see how God has woven these experiences together for this season and grateful for the opportunity to use them in service of IJM’s mission.
This fellowship is funded through personal support raising, and I am working to raise approximately $32,500 to support my role and the ministry for the year. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with me in this work? Whether through financial support or prayer, I would be deeply grateful. Monthly support or one-time gifts both play a meaningful role in making this work possible. No gift is too small, and every contribution truly matters. I would also appreciate your prayers for me, the IJM staff and partners, and especially for the women and children IJM serves.
This opportunity is an answer to prayer, and I would love to invite you into it with me. Please don’t hesitate to reach out, I’d love to answer any questions or chat about what the Lord is doing.
QUICK FACTS
– In Peru, 1 woman dies every 3 days because of her gender.
– In 2021, about 70% of women who experienced violence chose not to report it out of fear or shame, either because they considered it normal or they did not know where to seek help.
– Nearly 1 in 5 girls is sexually abused at least once in her life.
– Worldwide, up to 50% of sexual assaults are committed against girls under 16 years old.