James was a Special Ops Marine, who was working in a civilian company making $250,000/year in Oregon. One day, he and his family watched a documentary about human trafficking called Children For Sale and they decided, as a family, to do something. He quit is job and he, his wife, daughter (16 years old), and two sons (14 and 9), packed up and moved to Cambodia to start an organization to help victims not only recover, but discover who they were meant to be. TCI is a home-like environment that is structured to “help girls rebuild their lives in a meaningful and sustainable way”. I could go in-depth about how exactly they do that, but instead I will highlight some of the aspects of the program that are particularly unique and exciting. TCI provides housing, medical care, counseling, social work, safety, yoga, art therapy, education, and vocational training. James firmly believes that all girls deserve to rediscover their smile, so each girl gets extensive dental work until her smile is perfect. In the first phase of the treatment process, the girls are required to set career goals. The only limitations put on them is that they cannot choose menial labor. Unlike other programs that offer participants training in sewing, cooking, etc, TCI asserts that “if you give girls a job sewing in a factory, it doesn't do much to restore her dignity”. It also doesn't do much to address the larger societal problem that valued them so little to begin with. James encourages the girls to set a goal that they don't think they can reach, and then make sure that they do. For example, one of the girls that recently completed the program now works as a translator for the government and makes 3x the average Cambodian wage. She was able to move away from Phnom Penh as an independent, confident, and self-supporting woman.
TCI also trains the girls in basic life skills (such as going to market and cleaning their own houses – since many of them have been prostitutes since childhood and never learned basic self-care), physical fitness (to learn how their emotions and bodies are interconnected, mainly through yoga and therapy combined), big-sister program with another girl further along in the program, and requires that they participate in community service to learn to give back and improve their society. The girls themselves decide when they are ready to leave the house.
After our fantastic education from James, we spent the rest of the day just hanging out with the girls who were so excited to have us there. Normally, James doesn't allow visitors to TCI (he doesn't want the girls to feel like they are zoo animals), but he believed in our mission and thought it could be good for them to socialize with us. They cooked for us, and then we spent a while playing games and crafts together.
One of the girls, Srey Neth, has agreed to share her story in order to save other girls from the suffering she has survived. Neth is currently 19 years old, and has been at TCI since she was rescued from the Building by International Justice Mission a couple of years ago. Had I met her in any other setting, I would have thought she was a typical, if not extra goofy and silly, Cambodian teenager. She was definitely the entertainer and leader of the group and kept us all laughing with her funny dancing and sharp wit. But Neth is making up for a childhood that was lost. At age 14, her mother sold Neth into a brothel at the Building for $300. The madam who ran the brothel sold Neth's virginity for $300. For the next year, Neth was forced to service an average of 20 men per day, 7 days per week, even when she was sick or hurt. When she cried, she was electrocuted or beaten by her madam. She was given injections into her belly to stop her from getting her period so that she could work continuously. She eventually contracted HIV.
And today this exceptionally strong and resilient child made me laugh and be silly with her. She 
outsmarted me in a game we were playing and teased me for it. She showed me some of her artwork, including a drawing depicting her being beaten by her madam in the brothel. She is training to be a teacher, and helps counsel the other girls at TCI. She calls James “chicken hair” because of his hair style and he throws her over her shoulder while she shreaks and giggles. James, one of my new heroes, is so fatherly with these girls that in the face of the ugliest side of what men can do, he restores my faith that men can be good and noble and empathetic. And he seems to have restored his girls' faith in men, too. I would have thought that would be impossible.
Transitions Cambodia is funded completely by donations. It is a 501c3, so all donations are tax-deductible and qualify for employer matching. Please consider donating as a monthly donor ($35 per month can provide medical and dental care for one girl!) or one-time donation. Contact me for more info or go to http://www.transitionscambodia.org
No comments:
Post a Comment