Lino: A Teenage Boy Trying to Help His Family

Based on a true story.

Sixteen-year-old Lino* skipped school one day, jumped on a bus, and headed into town. 

His mother was sick for the second time that month, so his sister had stayed home to care for her and help with the chores. His father was working in the fields, trying to salvage whatever was left from the last flood. Things were tight; they hadn’t had a proper meal in days. 

Lino was sick of it. Why should he sit in a boring classroom all day while his family struggled just to survive? He needed to find a job—not breaking his back over a field all day only to have everything ruined, but a city job that could make a real difference for his family. 

An opportunity

After getting off the bus in town, he walked into the first store he saw—a gas station. Nervous but determined, he beelined to the person at the counter, a tall and lanky young man wearing a red shirt.

“I need a job,” he said, unable to meet the man’s eyes. 

The red-shirted man assessed the boy’s village clothes and then said, “I’m sorry kid, but we’re not hiring.” 

Lino turned and nearly ran out of the gas station when a larger man buying a soda stopped him. 

“Hey kid, I can get you a job. My friend needs a new salesman at her clothing store. She pays good too.”

The man introduced himself as Justino*, a truck driver passing through on his way to the next city, where the shop was located. He said he could give Lino a lift for free since he was already going that way. 

Lino wasn’t sure about traveling even farther away from his village, but when the man told him how much he would make, it was too good an offer to pass up. He followed Justino out to his truck and climbed in. 

Agitated

At first, Justino made good company on the drive, telling Lino stories about the friend he’d be working for and singing along with the radio; but as the journey went on, Justino became more and more agitated. He grew quiet and restless. 

At one point on the drive, Justino noticed a police car in the lane next to him, and he panicked and pulled over to the side of the road.

“I need you to get out and walk for a bit. I’ll swing back around and meet you at that bus stop up there after this police car passes.”

Lino was confused, but did as he was asked. He didn’t really have any other options anyway. 

Interception

A Love Justice monitor saw the teenage boy walking by himself on the side of the road and walked over to find out what was going on. 

As she listened to his story, the promised salary was the biggest red flag to the monitor. Lino didn’t know what kind of salary was typical for a sales position, but the monitor told him that Justino had promised twice as much as people usually made doing that type of work. 

Together they walked to the bus stop and waited for a long time, but Justino didn’t come. 

“I know this is hard to hear, but sometimes when a job seems too good to be true, it’s because it’s not real,” the monitor said gently. She explained to him what human trafficking was and how he might be in a very dangerous position if he continued his journey. “I’m guessing Justino saw me here with you and drove on because he was worried about getting caught.” 

“I have his number,” Lino said, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket. 

The monitor called the number several times, but the phone appeared to be turned off. 

Finally, Lino began to accept that Justino did not mean to help him. The monitor brought the boy back to the booth where her colleagues waited; they coached him on how to find employment, prayed with him, and arranged for his safe return home.

Make a difference

When Lino was stranded on the side of the road, far from home without the means to stay safe, our monitors were there to intercept him and bring him home. Your giving made that possible!

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*All data and statistics current at the date and time of publishing. Names changed and some specific locations excluded for privacy and security purposes. Images are representative and do not picture actual victims.