Every Woman is Worth It

The Wellhouse

The Wellhouse provides hope and restoration for female victims of sexual exploitation

It was a circuitous route that led to this production. One of the interviews filmed for this project was captured for a separate organization, however, the project could not find its way. When I was contacted by the Wellhouse to produce this piece, I was thrilled at the opportunity to work with an organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of victims of sexual exploitation.

“We exist to honor God by rescuing and providing opportunities for restoration to female victims of human trafficking who have been sexually exploited.”

- The Mission of the Wellhouse

The Wellhouse is committed to providing opportunities for restoration for these women while providing shelter, education, counseling and family reunification among other things, to prepare them to re-enter society with new found hope.

The name is derives from the gospel - the story of the woman at the well. A samaritan woman - an outcast; someone seen as inferior in her community - while drawing water from a well, was pursued in a conversation with Jesus, who told her that if she were to drink water she would be constantly be coming back, always needing more.

If she were to drink from the living water, she would never thirst again.

The story of the Wellhouse was inspired by the Gospel

The Wellhouse was in need of a succinct way to cast vision and educate audiences on how their offerings create opportunities for restoration.

The challenge of telling this story lay in capturing the story visually while protecting dignity and anonymity of those women in the program.

The wellhouse is home to a beautiful chapel nestled on a small lake on the property. To explore the story, we focused on the beauty of the property and the symbol of a clay jar to represent the roots of the gospel in this story and freedom evidenced in each phase of programming of the Wellhouse.

We shot several scenes with some wonderful staff and volunteers acting as wellhouse residents taking part in some of the programming available to residents at the Wellhouse. Carolyn, Holly, and Marlie were a treat to speak with and to hear their hearts for these women and this ministry was as encouraging as it was a pleasure.

Perhaps the greatest punctuation of the shoot came in the beginning of the day as the residents gathered in the chapel to worship and hear preaching and teaching reminding them of that gospel message that provides the foundation for the ministry. To hear a group of women who gave faced such darkness to sing with such conviction is truly profound.

The Wellhouse chapel nestled on a beautiful pond on the property.

It was truly a privilege to work on this project with the Wellhouse, and hopefully contribute in a small way to help the Wellhouse accomplish it's mission.

To discover more about the Wellhouse, read survivor stories, or to find ways to support the ministry, check out https://www.the-wellhouse.org/

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