Columban, Sr Tammy B. Saberon tells her story of working in prison ministry In the Philippines.
I have been working in prison ministry since 2013 in both male and female jails.
This year I met an inmate aged 40 years. She is the eldest of four siblings whose greatest desire was to complete her studies even though her family was desperately poor.
At the age of 18, she left home to pursue her dream of further education. To support her ambition she worked as a helper for a very rich family.
As a birthday gift, Mary (not her real name) was promised to the son of her employer who drugged and abused her for many years. She was imprisoned and chained in her own room, during which time she gave birth to two children.
It was not until she was also being used by men involved in the drug trade that she realised that her boss was a drug lord.
She was considered missing by her family because she could not or did not want to tell her parents where she was.
Unexpectedly, her brother who was also involved in drugs, was invited to Mary’s room by the drug lord. When he entered the room, he recognised his sister and told her that he would help to get her out of the place. Nobody in the house knew that she was his sister.
When he left the house, he informed his mother that he had found his sister and arrangements were made to rescue her and her two children. Upon her release, she was taken straight to the hospital for treatment. The drugs forced upon her had resulted in severe drug addiction.
She was finally discharged into the love and safety of her family. However, her children were a constant reminder of their father who had treated her so brutally, so she left and went to live with an Aunt.
It was during this time that Mary met and married a man who loved her unconditionally, even after hearing her story. They were happily married for some years and had three children but Mary still carried the rage of the injustice she had been subjected to.
Looking for revenge on the drug lord, his son and associates led her into the drug scene where she found herself in trouble and was jailed in December 2015.
Even after telling her husband of her previous life and her infidelity to him, he visits her each week and promises to be there upon her release.
His love for Mary remains unconditional.
Sr Tammy B. Saberon, SSC
Related links
- Read more from the current Columban eBulletin
