The goal of World Concern Asia’s “I Am A Child” program is to reduce the number of children ensnared in sex trafficking with prevention and protection programs targeting victimized or at-risk children. We work to protect children in the border regions of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, where people are most vulnerable to the lure of traffickers. We are also expanding our efforts into Nepal.
World Concern’s anti-trafficking program was developed with the expectation that basic interventions can prevent children from being trafficked so they can live meaningful lives in their home communities among their families.
Our fieldworkers offer children opportunities for education and work with families who are considering migration to another region, which is common among families living in extreme poverty. They are offered information about the dangers of trafficking and are made aware of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.
World Concern partners with three local organizations to provide these programs, all of them strategically located on the border of neighboring countries, which are hotspots for child trafficking. We work in Poipet, Cambodia, along the Thai/Cambodia border; in the Thai/Lao border area and in the Thai/Lao/Myanmar area.
We believe we can have a major impact on trafficking in Thailand and neighboring countries by facilitating opportunities for anti-trafficking agencies to meet and develop joint strategies for greater impact.
Read how two Cambodian girls escaped 17-hour days working in a restaurant.
World Concern’s “School-on-a-Mat Program” brings a teacher and lessons to villages without schools. Most of our teachers travel from village to village on a motorcycle with their classroom – a big mat to lay on the ground – rolled up on the back of the bike.
Here’s what one observer of our School-on-a-Mat program had to say:
“The School-on-a-Mat program was fantastic – competent, caring teachers providing World Concern-sponsored anti-trafficking, life skills and sexual health education in addition to reading, writing, and other core subjects. The children had learned how to politely greet visitors, sang songs, and answered questions we asked.
"They clearly demonstrated knowledge of trafficking, its dangers, what was ‘okay’ and ‘not okay’ in regard to unsolicited adult advances, and indeed, told stories of friends and neighbors who had gone away and not returned. School-on-a-Mat is a creative education solution to encourage parents who compel their children to accompany them to the Cambodia-Thai border (to work or beg) to allow several hours per day of schooling.”
