Prostitution Prostitution is not a job which anyone deserves. Despite what many may tell you, it is not a job regardless of the physical location in which it occurs (street, brothel, massage parlor, car, private home, strip club, restaurant etc). Prostitution is inherently harmful to all those that cross its path, from the individual that is engaging in the act to the society as a whole.

Those involved in Prostitution are mostly recruited from the section of society that have suffered the most setbacks in life, including being deprived of their self-respect at an early age. Many are victims of sexual abuse in their family home or rape. To be able to cope with the memories of their past hurts and the harsh work they are involved in, many turn to alcohol and drugs.

The prostitute often ends up penniless, alone and either dead in a gutter from violent crime or in a hovel laying in a bed dying of an AIDS related illness. This is unless they get the help the need before it is too late. Life Place is about giving those that are trapped in the world of prostitution a lifeline to leave the business and at all it entails behind. This website will tell you all you need to know about prostitution, its harmful effects and what Doctors For Life has been doing to eradicate this practice. As well as what you can do to help us in our fight to save the men, women and children involved in prostitution.

If you are involved in any form of prostitution or know someone who is involved in prostitution, please let us help you.

Helpline +27 (0) 79 046 4200 Telephone: +27 (0) 31 368 4938 Email: mail@dfl.org.za

Or Walk into:

Life Place Coffee Shop

Pickering Street

Durban

Current News

Project LifePlace update.

Project LifePlace is doing well. Two ladies in rehabilitation are being trained in material painting, knitting & gardening. These are some of the products being made by them.

            

Thank you for the furniture

20110926 LifePlace
Good news. We are thankful to have received a donation of furniture for LifePlace from Natal Portland Cement (NPC). We are trusting for more furniture for our Safe House, which opened recently.

LifePlace visited by students from the University of the Free State

20110720 LifePlace
A group of thirteen theology students from the University of the Free State, accompanied by Professor Pieter Verster visited Doctors for Life’s, LifePlace care centre in May. They were on a mission trip and were interested in working with women in the Point and Morningside areas. The LifePlace team accompanied them on a street outreach to speak to women caught up in prostitution and it was quite an experience for them. We appreciate the visit and look forward to the next one.

LifePlace Outreaches:

Tuesdays and Fridays

• Please do confirm before going, by phoning 032 481 5550

Services offered at Lifeplace:

• HIV Counselling and Testing
• Prostitution Counselling
• Skills Training
• Weekly Devotion
• Bible Study
• Feeding Program
• Transport to and from Church on a Sunday
  
  Staff members @ LifePlace

Sandra Berning

Lyn Matthews & Pearl Fuggle

The main emphasis of Life Place to reach out to the men and women that are lost in the world of prostitution. Many have come from an abusive background or found themselves in this situation due to untenable circumstances. The goal is to help them leave behind that life by giving them hope in the form of Jesus Christ and an alternative way to make a living. Day and night members of the team at Life Place walk the streets of the Point area in Durban . The team go into the bars and into the Escort agencies talking to the prostitutes, pimps and their customers. They speak to those that they meet about the love of Jesus and offer them help to leave behind the life that they have been living. Life Place operates as a coffee shop, which enables all those that the team have met on the streets and any passers by to walk in. They can come in to receive free counselling or just to have a meal. The coffee shop also runs a free HIV counselling and testing clinic once a week on a Saturday. The men, women and children( yes children we have found girls as young as 9 working as prostitutes) that come to Life Place receive Godly counsel and if they are ready and willing they are sent to a residential place of help. Here they receive further intensive counselling and spiritual strengthening. At the end of this time they are enrolled in a skills training programme of their choice or if they are children they return home to their families or another suitable place of safety. Those that are given skills training study a variety of subjects from Baking to Computing. After this many go on to become productive members of the society. Often they come back to assist in the ministry. Over 200 people that we are aware of have been helped through this ministry. There are many more that give their hearts to Christ on the street and go away to allow the Lord to work in their hearts without us ever knowing.

 

As the correlation between prostitution and the AIDS epidemic rise steadily, Doctors For Life International (DFL) has expanded its role to include the care of abused women in South Africa ’s red light district. DFL’s Life Place , situated in Point, Durban , aids women in escaping from the sexual exploitation industry, commonly labeled prostitution or commercial sex work. The LifePlace Care Center has been instrumental in helping to provide refuge and rehabilitation for a significant number of prostitutes in Durban . Through Life Place , many women and children have been re-united with their relatives, have found respectable employment and are now progressing towards living new and productive lives.

One of Doctors For Life International’s key projectsOperation Life Child, assists children who have been orphaned by AIDS.Operation Life Child has found that many of these children, in addition to the trauma of losing their parents, have been sexually abused, sadly most often by their own family members. This deadly combination coupled with their socio-economic status make orphans an easy target for further exploitation by the sex industry. DFL’s Life Place has rescued prostitutes as young 10 years old from the streets of Durban .

Prostitutes are often drawn into the profession due to their harsh economic status. South Africa is facing a 40% unemployment and a HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 21.5%. This indicates that many families are loosing the main breadwinner to the virus and inadequate provisions of welfare lure many by the false promises of quick money.

DFL is committed to bringing the continual exploitation of vulnerable members of our society to a standstill. We plan to continue assisting men and women who want to leave the destructive and dehumanizing world of prostitution. However, public help and support is required to help turn the long list of necessary preventative measures into actions. Interested individuals and parties can partner with DFL by providing time, skills, financial support and other relevant resources that can be used to help the victims of the sex trade. Interested donors can visit the DFL website at www.doctorsforlifeinternational.com and select “LifePlace” from the donation page to channel resources specifically towards the rehabilitation of prostitutes. DFL is registered as a non-profit organization and 100% of the proceeds are applied to the project. Correspondence is also welcomed and can be sent to mail@dfl.org.za

Testimonies

Testimony of Linda Parker

I would like to tell you just how God saved me from the jaws of hell! My real name is Linda, but as a prostitute my name was Lisa. So I was known as Lisa in Albany Grove where I worked as a ‘money maker’. I used to stay in a room at the bottom of a block of flats; this room had no lights, no water and was infested with rats. My Nigerian “boss” promised me that I would only stay there until month end and then we would move to a delux apartment. This never happened. I ended up staying there for a year and 6 months. During that year I was dependant on a wake -up drug which I would get every night before I went out. I was also pregnant at that time and took the drugs gladly oblivious to the well being of the baby. The Nigerian would get anxious if I refused the wake up and sometimes he would convince me to take it. At other times if I refused it he would stand on the street with me in case I wanted to run-way. I was very fortunate with this Nigerian because he never beat me like how other girls got beaten. I would steal and rob in order to stay in his good books and so he called me ‘money-maker’.
There also came a time when I was “hallucinating”, or that is what I thought, because whenever I smoked I used to see a man standing in front of me. He would silently stand there with his arms folded over his chest. I couldn’t see his face, but only the silhouette. I was always afraid of this ghost, and even if there was a candle in the room I wouldn’t go in unless there was someone with me. I also used to hear it breathing and following me when I went on the street. This only happened if I smoked, but because I was so addicted, it was a must to smoke, I just had to do it. So one Sunday I decided not to go out so I bought myself sweets, candles and a newspaper. After reading a little, the candle dropped and burnt the whole room, including everything I owned. So I had to run away. I was left with the clothes on my back. Those Nigerians hated me; I had burned down their place of business. But God had other plans for my life and now I am safe in the arms of Jesus. When I came to Doctors for Life I had nothing, only the clothes I was wearing. They gave me clothes, food and a safe shelter.
One day I was reading the bible and I read James 4:2. “You don’t have because you don’t ask”. I needed shoes for church and I prayed, at dinner a girl said that she had a parcel for me but she had left it behind. I was wondering what parcel it was. Toward evening she came to the room with the parcel and it had my name on it. When I opened it there was a brand new pair of shoes inside with my name on it. So God does answer prayer.
I am also just so grateful that God has given me second chance!