Cassie is stepping into a new season of life. She’s planning her wedding, thriving in her career as an events coordinator, and dreaming of motherhood. Her days are filled with purpose and joy, but her journey to this moment began in unimaginable circumstances.
At just 12 years old, Cassie was lured from her remote mountain village in the Philippines by a trusted family friend who promised her education and a better life in Manila. Instead, she was trapped in a horrifying world of online sexual exploitation. She was forced to perform sex acts on camera for predators around the world. Her trafficker posed as a caring father figure, hiding his crimes behind a facade of generosity. Cassie lived in fear, silenced by threats, and surrounded by other young victims – including a baby girl and a six-year-old boy.
For nearly five years, Cassie’s childhood was stolen. But in 2014, her nightmare came to an end.
With the support of IJM and Philippine authorities, a rescue operation brought Cassie and other children to safety. That night, she met her IJM social worker, someone who gently assured her she was not in trouble. She was free.
From that moment on, Cassie began a journey of healing. She was welcomed into a loving aftercare shelter she now calls her “second home,” where she found safety, support, and renewed hope. With IJM’s help, she bravely testified in court against the abuser, helping to secure justice for herself and others.
Today, Cassie is not only a joyful daughter, sister, and friend. She’s also a passionate advocate.
As one of the survivor leaders in IJM’s Philippine Survivor Network and a co-founder of United and Free, an organisation that supports survivors’ reintegration, she transforms her painful experience into purpose. She speaks out for the end of online sexual exploitation of children, dreams of a world where no child suffers as she did, and remains committed to pursuing justice wherever life takes her.
These are the Little Things That Mean Everything.
Cassie’s life today is filled with the everyday joys that freedom makes possible – planning events, sharing meals, mentoring others, and imagining the future she once thought impossible. These moments may seem small, but they are sacred. They are the little things that mean everything.
This season, your gift can help restore those everyday joys.
$80 can provide child therapy, a safe space for survivors like Cassie to begin healing, build confidence, and take steps toward a hopeful future.
Give the little things that mean everything.
Choose a Gift. Change a Life.
*pseudonym and image obstructed to protect survivors identity