That other life was another life for me. I thank God every day. There are so many women who must be in my situation. We forget about those women. There are no reliable statistics on how many women may be living in abusive situations, but women like Paula who live overseas are often isolated, have no family near, don't speak the language and are not protected by local laws.
American embassies have little help to offer.
Paula's plan for AWOS was ambitious and she was told it couldn't be done. But her sister bought her a computer and Paula forged ahead. She set up a non-profit organization and formed advisory boards. An international crisis line was launched in April. Paula began writing grant proposals for financial support.