As we mark National Human Trafficking Awareness Day on 11th January and the close of the Christmas season, a guest of Caritas Bakhita House gives insight into festivities at the centre.
We all know that Christmas is a time of joy and togetherness, but this year it brought an unexpected wave of love that caught us all by surprise. Coming from many different backgrounds, we each had our own traditions for celebrating the holidays; but as we gathered together we quickly realised that our differences only enriched the experience.
The warmth and generosity we shared were beyond anything we could have anticipated. I wish everyone were writing this with me so to record all our happy memories, but let me try to give you a glimpse into our day.
I’ll be honest: here at Caritas Bakhita House we are so well looked after, and there is always someone to take care of things for us. But to my surprise, as Christmas approached everyone became so much more energetic, and we were all eager to get stuck in with preparing for the big day.
On Christmas Eve we put up all our decorations, listening to carols as we turned on the festive lights. It was magical, and the house looked absolutely beautiful. We went to bed promptly as we were excited for the following day’s fun; what we didn’t know was that the morning would also bring presents for us to unwrap!
When morning finally came, we woke up early to get ready for our big Christmas lunch at two o’clock. The kitchen was filled with delightful aromas, as each of us helped to prepare a part of the meal. Everyone was busy – even Marley the cat (he knew something tasty awaited him for Christmas, too)! While some cooked, others saw to the dining table, which was so royally laid out it was hardly recognisable!
After eating our fabulous meal and quickly cleaning up, we were invited into the living room, where there was a surprise waiting for us. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked at the Christmas tree and saw all the incredible gifts that people had generously donated.
The parcels were huge; I thought perhaps they could fit a mini-fridge inside! We were given our presents, each with our name written on, and everywhere I looked there were bright, wide-toothed smiles. Everyone was so happy; we kept on saying ‘thank you!’
The evening continued with games that brought out everyone’s competitive spirit, and a real highlight was when we split into teams and embarked on a card hunt around the house. It was amazing; we all had a blast and the house was filled with laughter for hours. And just when we thought that the day was coming to a close, we had a round of Bingo; it was our first time playing, but it soon became our favourite game as everyone got to win a gift!
It was a great end to a very memorable day; we had so much fun and felt a renewed sense of gratitude for everything that is done here to make us happy. I wish tomorrow it could be Christmas again!
Caritas Bakhita House is a safe house for survivors of modern slavery, exploitation and human trafficking. Since opening in 2015, the centre has provided accommodation to 205 women and 16 babies from almost 50 different countries. Alongside tailored therapeutic and trauma-informed care, the centre also assists women with bringing perpetrators to justice, and has helped to secure a total of 223 years of prison sentences.
Find out more on the centre’s Impact Report.
