The Beautiful Dream Society’s foundation was formed, true to its name, through a literal dream. In March of 2008, Jennifer Crow, while sleeping one night, had the most meaningful dream of her life. Here is the dream in her own words:
One night in March of 2008, I had a very vivid dream. I dreamed I was on a ship with another woman sailing past a rocky coast. As I looked over the horizon, I saw the word “LESOTHO” spelled out in large letters. On the rocks were thousands of seals, and one seal in the middle, a mama seal, was much bigger than the others. She had a large pouch like a kangaroo. While we were watching, the mama seal’s pouch was ripped open, and all her babies, from embryos to young adults, spilled into the sea and were lost. As I looked into the face of the mama seal, her face turned into the face of a beautiful black woman. Her large brown eyes met mine as tears ran down her cheeks. Although she didn’t speak, her penetrating eyes conveyed her urgent plea: “help me”. That was the end of the dream.
When I woke up, I was confused about the word LESOTHO, which I had never heard of, so I Googled it. I thought it was a brand name of a company or clothing line. I was shocked to discover that it was a tiny country completely surrounded by South Africa, ravaged by poverty, with the third highest rate of AIDS in the world.
Since then, our team and I have been to Lesotho several times to determine how to help. After learning of young teens being trafficked and prostituted – and hearing a Lesotho police supervisor call them “naughty girls” – we knew there was a huge need to help these disregarded victims. We completed an extensive feasibility study to determine how to proceed, and developed key relationships with Lesotho government, police, and outreach organizations. The Beautiful Dream Society was formed in May 2010.
Our approach to the human trafficking issue is based on a four-part organizational strategy: Victim Relief, Perpetrator Accountability, Victim After-Care, and Structural Prevention. Our team will include professional counselors and psychologists; a legal team, and partnerships with several Lesotho organizations where victims will continue to recover.
We are proud to announce that our first team moved to Africa in December 2010 to begin work to open the Beautiful Dream Centre, the first human trafficking shelter for women in Lesotho. The Beautiful Dream Centre will be an affiliate of the A21 Campaign, which is a human trafficking rescue organization that operates in 14 locations around the world, and was founded by Christine Caine,the woman who was on the ship with me in my dream! We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with a global organization of such high caliber with proven results. Although we are an affiliate, we are self-funded and administrated.
We have chosen and leased a facility in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho as the initial location of the Beautiful Dream Centre.
After researching how she could help this tiny country and praying over it for almost a year, Jennifer and two of her friends, Teresa Pinson and Danita Estrella, embarked on their first journey to Lesotho in February 2009. On that first trip, the love for the people of Lesotho and the compassion for the plight of victimized women and children was kindled in their hearts, and the vision for the Beautiful Dream Society began to unfold.
Our approach to the human trafficking issue is based on a four-part organizational strategy: Victim Relief, Perpetrator Accountability, Victim After-Care, and Structural Prevention. Our team includes professional counselors, registered nurse and social worker; a legal team, and partnerships with several Lesotho organizations where victims will continue to recover.
Using the A21 Campaign as a blueprint, the Beautiful Dream Society’s mission is to fight the injustice of Human Trafficking against women and children in Southern Africa through:
- Victim relief through the Beautiful Dream Crisis Care Shelter
- Perpetrator accountability through the Beautiful Dream Legal Team
- Victim after-care through referral to Restoration Programs
- Structural prevention through Beautiful Dream Prevent Initiatives