At Flame, we are working at the 'top of the cliff' preventing kids from sexual exploitation and human trafficking. The best way to do so is by equipping them with a solid primary education. The trends of survivors of human trafficking in Cambodia show that the vast majority of kids who have been trafficked had minimal primary education. Of those rescued, none of them had more than 3 years primary education. In addition to educating the kids themselves, we also hold regular training sessions for the family members of the children we work with, helping remind them of the tactics of human traffickers, and the basics of recognizing and reporting human trafficking.
When our families -who are already among the poorest of the community- are faced with a crises, we have a team of social workers on the ground who are there to support them. Examples of such crises are: when a parent dies, a house is burned down, a family is evicted from their home, parents loose their jobs, a parent goes to jail, when there is a medical emergency, or when the children sense they are not safe at home. These are real examples just from within the last year. This is on top of COVID-19 and the stress that that has been on our world and the families here in Phnom Penh. Reducing risk when there is increased vulnerability protects these children from human trafficking.
At one of our centres, I sat down with one of our staff and we talked together about her past. To be honest, it's not something she often thinks about, but when she was only 7 years old she moved with her mother to Thailand. She lived and worked on a construction site. I asked her as a little girl, what on earth could she do on a construction site... and she responded by saying she could drag things out to the front of the site and sell them. Incredible. Can you imagine the risk? At 12 years of age she was identified by our project here in Phnom Penh, and has been with us now for 10 years. This young woman is the Centre Leader who is now not only teaching the kids in our program but completing her final year of university at night school concurrently. This is what you are achieving in Cambodia. Each child who is educated, is not only given options but is protected from human trafficking and equipped for a life ahead where they are able to contribute meaningfully to society.
This is Flame.
