By Kirollos Abdalla —
Michelle Sheba Tolentino had to share just one egg with her two brothers and parents for dinner in the Philippines.
“As a child, I experienced emotional abuse, sexual abuse and physical abuse. That really had an impact in my life,” Tolentino says. “I grew up in one of the slums in metro Manila where there’s a lot of drug trafficking and prostitution. Children as early as 11 years old are already trafficking drugs. Girls as early as 15 or 16 are already working in the bars as prostitutes so that they can earn for their families.”
Eight of 10 Filipino children suffer physical, emotional or sexual violence. That’s why Tolentino is fighting to rescue children from satanic oppression as co-founder and executive director of Made In Hope Philippines, which helps women who have escaped sex trafficking and exploitation.
“It is a community that is alongside women survivors of sex trafficking and their children. We offer livelihood skills training, entrepreneurial training, and spiritual formation programs,” Tolentino says.
She herself wasn’t exploited. When she studied at Moody Bible Institute (master’s degree 2008), one professor had the class write an essay to carry your cross and she was smitten by the Holy Spirit to dash her dreams and pursue ministry.
She moved from lovely Chicago back to her native Philippines and returned to the raw poverty she grew up in, this time to minister to suffering kids.
Tolentino says the church doesn’t do enough for kids.
Billy Graham and Jon Stott called for world evangelization at the Lausanne I conference in 1974. It wasn’t until Lausanne II in Manila in 1989 that leaders called specifically for the evangelization of children.
A major shift came in 2004 when the Lausanne Forum in Pattaya called Christians to reach “at risk” kids.
Tolentino’s ministry coordinates with Lausanne.
She has spoken in churches, conferences and mission gatherings in more than 20 countries, often on topics such as child protection, human trafficking, missions and Christian responsibility toward vulnerable children.
She incorporated her love for drama with the weekly Christian radio program of kids called “Okiddo: The 4/14 Kids Show” that is broadcast through the Far Eastern Broadcasting Company. The program reportedly reaches hundreds of thousands of listeners and has won multiple broadcasting awards in the Philippines.
“Every child deserves someone who will fight for them,” Tolentino says.
