Ending Human Trafficking Cambodia Project #27910

Ending trafficking before it begins in Cambodia

by AusCam Freedom Project

Project Report | May 6, 2021
Resiliency

By Jess Teerman | Executive Director

We had another inspiring few months at the Shine Centre in Phnom Penh. You know we measure our impact by our effect on a girl's life, not by numbers in our programs. But the numbers are still fun...

Educational Support

121 girls received scholarship packages
31 girls received extra tutoring
22 girls received bicycles to get to class
20 girls received ICT training

Like Skill sand Peronsal Development

2 girls clubs
67 girls in our Healthy GLOW program

Career Counselling

42 girls in university
4 girls in vocational training
38 girls successfully employed

Case Management

190 girls with personal case workers
30 girls received urgent health treatment
7 girls received specialised counselling for extra care
5,960 kgs of rice given to families

The Impact: 264 girls

We measure our impact by how strong one girl's resistance is to exploitation, then we replicate that impact to as many others as we can reach. We measure that through:

Risk factors removed
Program engagement
Educational outcomes
Self efficacy and resilience

38% of the girls at high risk have been downgraded to low risk
73% increase in engagement in our training and mentoring
100% of the girls are reporting good educational outcomes

Our programming has been interrupted several times this past year, and this past month was no exception as the COVID outbreak in Phnom Penh worsened. The Shine Centre remains closed and a plan of action has been developed in order to continue to reach/protect the girls in any scenario.

As you know, the importance of AusCam's work is in identifying and intervening for girls who are at risk of exploitation. I believe the high risk cases can give us the most insight into how we use risk factors to identify needs, and case closures highlight the value in our intervention.

High Risk Cases

Nary notified our case workers that her father was suffering from a sickness. They had no money for a health check-up so our staff arranged and paid for a doctor’s visit. It was discovered that he had a form of chronic sinus infection, which if left untreated would turn. Her father was quickly scheduled for surgery, which our family support program has covered for her family to reduce the risk of Nary dropping out of school to find work. Next steps: case workers will follow up with her family to ensure she is in school, her father is healing and that no additional medical expenses or symptoms put Nary at risk.

Sokleap has a boyfriend who is pressuring her to drop out of school. Her father has complained that she is constantly lying to him and is skipping school sessions. Her school grades are suffering. Her boyfriend has introduced her to drugs and her father fears she will enter human trafficking. Next steps: intensive home visit to meet with the father and girl separately to determine the best course of action.

Case Closure

Sreyka was identified through the Freedom Line in 2020. At the time she had 8 members in her family and had recently dropped out of school because her mother was sick and needed money to support her medical costs. Our AusCam Social worker worked very closely with Sreyka and her family to identify a solution but she still rejected us and went to work with her Aunty. She has gone to work with her aunty since the school was closed one year ago but she has managed to get her homework to her teachers’ house every week. We have been supporting her family with extra rice and emergency supplies when they need them and Sreyka plans to open her own business in her community. All members of her family have jobs now, with a total family income over $500, so we have completed her case and closed this month. “I am thankful to AusCam for giving me the opportunity to learn so many new things such as that I attended other training with AusCam and always support me and my family.” - Sreyka, March 2021

Just recently parts of Cambodia went into lockdown due to a sudden COVID outbreak. Many families cannot leave their house, even for food, so we have organised a relief effort to continue to keep girls and their families safe so they can thrive post COVID. For more infromation or to support the efforts, please visit our link below.

Thank you for your relentless support and believe in the power of a girl with opportunities, choices and freedom.

Links:

Our Emergency Response

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Jan 5, 2021
The Green Light

By Jess Teerman | Development Director

Shine Centre Training

It’s no surprise that the last three months have been full of challenges caused by COVID-19. But it may be a surprise to know that we consider these months to be the most impactful yet. Because when girls are vulnerable, our work is more valuable than ever. So we don’t give up. We continue to provide essential emergency relief to keep girls safe, supported and encouraged.

And despite everything, we have opened the Shine Centre!

This one-of-a-kind centre offers leadership opportunities, training, mentorship, and educational support for girls at risk of being trafficked. We envision a future where all girls are protected and have the opportunity and freedom to realise their dreams. This starts by building a strong resistance to trafficking and exploitation for every girl. And it starts here… for girls like Chanvatey.

Chanvatey was a 12 year-old waitress. If she stayed, she would likely be recruited into exploitative work, or worse. She knew how important education was but was also the oldest child and under pressure to provide for her struggling family. Chanvatey approached one of our AusCam social workers, who performed an initial assessment and discovered her father was an alcoholic and physically abusive. So he was connected with counselling services and it was quickly discovered that he suffered from severe mental illness. After being prescribed antidepressants, his condition significantly improved. Chanvatey was given a bicycle so she could get to school more safely and her family received food support to reduce their household costs. She has now quit her job, focusing on her studies and is now ranked fourth in her class.

She wants to go to university.
She wants to study accounting.
She wants to work in a bank and help other girls find the freedom she has found.

And there are more like her… 181 to be exact.
Girls in secondary school = 150
Girls in university = 17
Girls in vocational training = 1 (Music School)
Girls working in valuable careers = 6
Girls coming in through our crisis (“Freedom”) hotline = 7

We ran lifeskills training for 45 girls, career counselling for 47 girls and girls clubs for 46 girls.

And they’re families…
17 families received 540kg of rice
14 girls/families received health support
5 girls and 3 families received counselling
11 cases identified as high risk requiring more intensive support and case management.

We had workshops on values and decision-making, and sexual and reproductive health and rights for hundreds of girls. Tutoring classes to start this month!

Unfortunately Cambodia has now seen all schools closed again, including our Shine Centre. But this is just a temporary pause in our impact. We will continue as soon as we get the green light.

We envision a world free of exploitation and trafficking, and never before has the opportunity to lower the risk been given to those directly at risk. And we plan to look back and see a generation of girls who took that opportunity.

Thank you for being a part of that vision.

Home visit

Links:

https://www.auscamfreedomproject.org/

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Sep 10, 2020
Shining Light through COVID-19

By Jess Teerman | Development Director

At AusCam Freedom Project we believe that every girl should have the opportunities, choices and freedom to live out her full potential and realise her dreams. We are doing that every day for hundreds of girls in Phnom Penh, but it is only possible because your support enables us to continue running towards (not from) enormous challenges.

The last three months have been a massive example of that, as we have been providing essential emergency relief to keep girls safe, supported and encouraged.

Here is how:

After receiving calls into our emergency hotline (The Freedom Line), we performed intake assessments on each girl to determine the situation and needed intervention(s) using our customised line of questioning. Over three months, we provided immediate intervention to 75 girls (new clients). Of those 75 girls, 62 of them received emergency relief packages, while the rest received other forms of crisis intervention or referral. There were a total of 434 full food/hygiene relief packages given out to 217 girls (two packages each set to last 2-4 months). Many more girls received top ups (rice support, menstrual hygiene kits, etc.) for a total of 993 people served.

Take Sreyneath for example. She is 15 years old, with two younger sisters, one of whom is a baby. Her mother left her husband (Sreyneath’s stepfather) on suspicion of abusing the girls. But he still makes unwanted visits to the house and Sreyneath was feeling pressure to drop out of school to support the family any way she could. “Anyway she could” would likely lead to exploitative work, or worse… trafficking.

When we received Sreyneath’s call on the Freedom Line, we instantly provided emergency food and hygiene relief to keep her and her sisters fed and safe while we sorted out what to do. Fast forward two months and her family is now food secure, her mother has learned how to protect her family using our network, Sreyneath is now studying by e-learning on her smartphone via the Ministry of Education and Facebook Live, and she has 24/7 access to our team for any help she needs.

The next part is up to her… building her own future. So we are also providing a safe environment and access to training, mentorship, leadership opportunities and educational support. She will be building her skills and confidence to do remarkable things.

Traffickers cannot prey on a girl who is protected, educated and motivated.

With the shifting environment, we are now combining our proven outreach tool (The Freedom Line) with our prevention model, which will culminate in a unique centre that will give girls at risk of being trafficked (or re-trafficked) opportunities and access to education while surrounded by an encouraging support network. Our focus on the quality and impact of our programs to prevent school drop out and increase girls educational outcomes will increase our overall impact of preventing trafficking and exploitation.

It is called the Shine Centre.
More details to come, but if you can’t wait, please visit our website (auscamfreedomproject.org)!

We envision a world free of exploitation and trafficking, and never before has the opportunity to lower the risk been given to those directly at risk. And we plan to look back and see a generation of girls who took that opportunity.

Thank YOU for being a part of that vision.

Links:

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