From West Lothian,  Scotland, Ann Gray worked as a primary teacher and spent a year as a lay missionary in Sierra Leone before joining the Columban Sisters in 1978.

Following her formation as a Columban Sister she obtained a  BA in  Theology at St. Patrick's College,  Maynooth, Ireland and was then assigned to Hong Kong.

For many years Ann has worked with women who are used and abused by the illegal entertainment industry.

It was while she was in Sierra Leone that Ann, the oldest of three girls, began to have a sense that she was being invited to dedicate her whole life to God and to the service of the poor and marginalized. On her return from Africa, she joined the Columban Sisters and following further studies she  was assigned to Hong Kong, at the Southern tip of China.

Ann says that from the beginning she felt called to work with those who are probably the most rejected and abandoned by society – women used and abused by the illegal entertainment industry. “Having heard some of their life stories, I have to say that I admire these women,” Ann says. “Some of them are married, others are separated, but there is always the constant struggle to support their children, and sometimes even other family members, including aging parents.  One of the women I know is taking care of the children of her ex-husband even though they are not her children.”

In Hong Kong, many women are forced to enter the illegal entertainment industry.  Young women from some the poorer nations of Asia are often tricked into thinking that they are going to Hong Kong for a good job, but when they get there, they are, instead, forced to work on the streets and in X-rated clubs and become virtual slaves of those who have brought them there. Ann tells of one young woman  who upon her arrival at the airport in Hong Kong, was taken to a house where she was held under lock and key.  She was allowed out only when accompanied by a guard.  Each night she was taken to a restaurant where she had to wait until a client approached her.  This young woman cried so much that they decided to get rid of her and sold her for a large sum of money to a person in Thailand.  Fortunately, she was able to elude her captors at the airport and so escaped.  Eventually, she was able to return to her native country.

In order to help women forced into this kind of work either by physical force or through economic constraint, Ann has opened a centre for them called REACH OUT. There with the help of co-workers a wide range of services are provided. 
 

One of the ongoing and crucial services is to walk the streets at night and so be where the woman are. This is how trust is built up with them.  These women are caught in a vicious circle; they are used by their “owners” and fear the consequences of being taken in by the police.  Trusting others does not come easily to them.  However, over the years since this program began, the number of women who approach the organization has grown from almost no one to over 600 referrals per month.

To contact Sister Ann
E-mail:  
colsrscb@iohk.com