If you passed her on a park bench, you’d never suspect her story. She’s older now — small and sweet, tough and tender. She laughs easily, tends to her plants and friends faithfully. Resilient, principled and full of grace, Eliana* exhorts and encourages without restraint. And she still calls regularly, just to check in.

With no retirement plan or extended family to lean on, I’ve never heard her despair. She giggles, “I know I’m the apple of His eye, Andrea — la niña de Sus ojos.”

We first met Eliana in the brothels of El Alto, selling food to the women working there — her middle-aged body tired, her spirit guarded. Hardened by years of survival, she’d sit staunchly in our drop-in center, arms crossed and skeptical.  

As a young teen she fled to the streets, escaping her step-father’s abuse. Hungry and in search of work, she was invited to work as a server in a restaurant across the river.  Much to her surprise, she found herself under lock and key, inside a building with others girls from her pueblo. After three nights, she succumbed to rape in the brothels. “I wanted someone to pay for all the pain,” she later confessed to harming a man - angry, wounded and fiercely self-protective.

And then she met Jesus — a man different from all the rest.

Her baptism remains one of our community’s most significant moments. Church faithfuls, youthful do-gooders and street friends crowded into a candlelit room, all singing as fifty-five years of darkness washed away in a plastic inflatable pool. None of us have been the same since.

Upon her decision, she chose a new name — Eliana, “My God has answered me” — it captured everything we hoped others would experience. So when we launched SutiSana, a social enterprise for women leaving sexual exploitation, her story inspired the brand — “healed name,” from Isaiah 62:2. Eliana embodied what we prayed for every woman who walked through our doors: full transformation, restored identity and a healed name.

Eliana is a treasured friend. We share a love of gardening and worship. We’re both feisty and sensitive, quick to defend and quick to forgive. 

She was with me the day my baby had his first seizure. She screamed for help as I tried to resuscitate him, and stayed with me as I navigated doctors and family life as a young mother in a foreign country. Together we lamented as his tiny body was poked, prodded, and wired — and together we now marvel at his life.

I love that my son knows and loves his godmother — that she, in her own journey toward healing, allowed her heart to love a child, my child, without restraint. She has prayed for my children and for me, watched them grow, and rejoiced over every milestone.  When she saw her godson recently — strong, kind and nearly grown, — she broke down in tears. “Your life is a miracle,” she whispered, remembering that terrifying day when he nearly died in our arms. My boys have witnessed her faith and resilience firsthand; #Trafficking has a face and a name.

Over the years, Eliana has kept us grounded. As our first lived-experience consultant, she offered intimate insight into a world we had only begun to understand. She cautioned us when we were naïve, challenged us when we grew weary and reminded us again and again how much it mattered that we kept returning to the streets week after week. She brought beauty, joy and wisdom to our shared service.

But we failed her. In our well-meaning but misguided efforts, we sometimes made her feel small — patronizing her in the name of care and protection. Assuming we knew best, our loving intentions wounded her in ways she couldn’t express, and she fled in anger. We’ve since adjusted our efforts to honor survivors and better respect their agency.

Now that we’ve reconnected, Eliana remains a steadfast friend - still fierce and funny, faithful and forgiving. She reminds me why we began this work. Our journey together has changed me and also left its mark on our family and our mission. Gracias Eliana, for modeling resilience, conviction, compassion and so much more. You’re a living testimony to the goodness of God.

*This story has been shared with Eliana’s full approval and consent. When I asked about sharing certain details, she said, “Of course, Andrea! They need to know the full story of where I’ve come from. I asked God to free from all of my vices, and He did that! This is for His glory.”

Andrea Baker, Founder Project Suma