Contact: Free For Life Ministries, 615-969-8983

NASHVILLE, Oct. 25 /Standard Newswire/ -- Free For Life Ministries of Nashville, Tennessee is pleased announce the upcoming arrival of Iana Matei of Reaching Out, Romania. The organization Reaching Out operates a safe house in Eastern Europe for teen victims rescued from human trafficking. The safe house has cared for over 150 girls since it was first opened in 1998.

Photo: Iana Matei

The program at the safe house includes housing the girls for approximately one year, along with counseling, job training, schooling, church attendance, and eventual integration back into society through placement in private homes.

Ms Matei is considered an authority in the area of human trafficking, having spoken at many international conferences and presenting to the United Nations. She was listed as one of just 10 'Heroes Acting to End Modern Day Slavery' by the U.S. State Department in their 2006 Trafficking In Persons report.

Iana Matei is a Christian woman with an amazing testimony. She was a political refugee to Australia, having fled Romania during the communist regime. She lived in Australia and worked with street children for 10 years. One day she decided to return to Romania for a visit, and realized that the children in Romania had it much worse than those in Australia. She felt compelled to go back to Romania to help the children there, and shortly thereafter opened the safe house.

Ms. Matei was featured in a '48 Hours' news program entitled 'Rescued From Slavery', where reporter Peter Van Sant actually purchased a young lady for $1800. The safe house took her in to care for her, and in fact it was as a result of this program that the Nashville based Free For Life Ministries was formed. After watching the program, Founder and President Colette Wise Bercu was so touched by the work that Reaching Out was performing that she contacted Iana Matei. She soon learned about the need for financial support by safe houses such as the one operated by Reaching Out, and decided to start a non-profit faith based organization to support those on the front lines in the fight against human trafficking.

Iana Matei will be in the Nashville area from November 4th until November 15th, 2006. She will be available for speaking engagements and interviews during that time. She would be an ideal guest at a women's conference, church service, or radio interview program.

She can be scheduled by calling Free For Life Ministries at 615-969-8983.