HOPE: [WE] are ending trafficking!

Since 2005, Chab Dai’s vision has been “Christians working together to end sexual abuse & trafficking”. So the question we asked this week to our directors around the world was:

“Do you actually have HOPE that human trafficking is ending?”

And the overpowering response by each was “YES there is HOPE!”

But how could they say yes so confidently you might be asking yourselves? Because of three things: committed people, coordinated people, and people working together.

“There always is!” says Julia, Chab Dai Canada’s Coordinator…

For the past couple of years working in Canada I have met many committed people working against human trafficking who are willing to work together. There was a group of people in Montreal (TIME) who started a group called “Speak Canada”; they made postcards for people to send to the government, to pressure them to write a national strategy for combating human trafficking. This is an example of regular people who are passionateabout ending human trafficking. There is incredible HOPE!”

Helen, International Director & Founder, says confidently, “Yes there is!”…

I wouldn’t be sitting here if there wasn’t HOPE, I would have left a long, long time ago. Collaboration is key because the issue is overwhelming. When I meet 150 people in our member meetings wanting to collaborate and increase their standard of care I can say: yes, there is hope. In the last five years, I have seen huge progress in terms of greater collaboration, better organizational capacity, and a commitment to raising the standard of care for survivors.”

In Cambodia, Yeng (Country Director) also says, “Yes. I have HOPE”…

“One person or one NGO alone cannot put an end to human trafficking. The key is that we need to work together and have the same vision. The thing with human trafficking is that not everyone wants to end it because of the economic benefits people make from it and because of corruption. It is important that the work we do against human trafficking is supported at different governmental levels in the community.”

Joan, Program Director at Chab Dai USA says, "Absolutely… The fact that you are reading this right now means some progress has already been made and there is much more to come!”

Change doesn't take place in isolation. It happens when people join together to make it happen. Mahatama Gandhi didn't act alone, but his passion for India led to its independence. Nelson Mandela' s vision for racial equality revolutionized South Africa and ended apartheid. These are just two examples of people who maintained their HOPE to the very end! The fight against human trafficking and modern day slavery is no different.

Read more about Chab Dai's Core Values on our website.

Happy Khmer New Year!

Happy Khmer New Year from the Chab Dai Team!

Khmer New Year, or we can say “Bun Chaul Chnam Thmey” in the Khmer language, is the name of one of the biggest Cambodian holidays. The holiday lasts three days and marks the end of the harvesting season, when farmers can enjoy the fruits of their labor before the rainy season begins. Buddhists in Cambodia always make preparations for the new year by cleaning, mopping and decorating around their houses. They believe the angel “Tevada” will attend their houses and bless them all.

During the three days of celebrations, Cambodian people wake up early every morning to cook traditional foods. Dressed in traditional dress, they take baskets of the prepared foods, fruits & drink to pagodas throughout the country, in order to offer it to their ancestors by praying through monks. At home they also have colorful decorations with lights & flowers, for offering prayers to their ancestors.

Khmer New Year is also a very fun time for Cambodian people of all ages. Street corners are often crowded with friends & families enjoying a break from daily routines, filling their free time with dancing and popular games. Along the road during the daytime, people fill plastic bags with water, and throw them at people who drive or walk along the road. They also sprinkle perfume or baby powder on people for fun.

The third day is the most important and fun. Buddhists cleanse the Buddha statues and their elders with perfumed water at the pagoda. It is also thought to be a kind deed that will bring longevity, good luck, happiness and prosperity in life. By bathing their grandparents and parents, children can obtain from them best wishes and good advice for the future.

Khmer New Year is a great opportunity for students, Chab Dai member staff, and also for children in aftercare shelters to return to their home and visit their family. Please pray for their journey and the sweet time that they can spend celebrating with their families.

“I Bet you Didn’t Know [This] about Human Trafficking!”

Chab Dai staff from around the globe share “I bet you didn’t know this” facts about human trafficking, based on their work as practitioners on the ground, & through complementary academic research. Human trafficking happens globally, and we are working in the USA, Cambodia, & Canada!

Joan, Chab Dai USA Program Manager, is based in Sacramento where our office has been operational since 2008, she says:

"Did you know that an estimated 200,000 American children are at high risk of being trafficked for sexual exploitation each year?

Did you know trafficking is one of today's fastest growing criminal industries? Poverty, inequality and gender are factors that increase vulnerability but they, in and of themselves, don't cause trafficking. Just like other industries, human trafficking is a demand-driven market and it touches every nation across the globe, including the United States.”

Helen, Chab Dai International Director, shares from over 10 years of living in Cambodia and being involved with the issue of trafficking:

“Human trafficking is much more complex than most people want to understand. The focus is often on sex trafficking, but for us labor trafficking and migration is as important.

Our work has two major components: prevention and demand. Without targeting the demand, trafficking will never end. Lot of people get confused with prostitution and human trafficking, which creates debates that sometimes aren’t actually addressing human trafficking.

Probably 2% of the prostitutes have chosen their job. My focus is on the 98% who never had a choice.”

Yeng, Chab Dai Cambodia Country Directory, speaks from his experience starting and implementing a grassroots trafficking prevention project across Cambodia:

“In the rural areas in Cambodia the people have little knowledge of human trafficking and they trust people too much, especially those from the cities.

Also many people don’t know about the fact that a lot of boys are being sexually abused in Cambodia.”

Julia, Chab Dai Canada Coordinator, is an advocate to end trafficking and started our office in Montreal in 2009:

“Every year 1500 women are brought into Canada as slaves. One thing that surprises a lot of people is that forced marriage is happening in Canada today, especially in the Jewish and Mormon communities.

There was also a recent case outside of Toronto where 19 Hungarian men were bonded in the basement, working 18 hours a day with one meal per day. This is modern slavery happening in our own neighborhood.”

For information about these statistics & thoughts, learn more by downloading our Recommended Reading List, or by contacting us.

Building National Leaders

Chab Dai believes in building leaders. This year we are focusing on supporting and empowering directors & managers through forums, trainings, discussion groups, and reading lists. Books are always being passed & traded across our desks!

Our team is currently studying 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey, and say they appreciate the wisdom of John Maxwell too. In Siem Reap we facilitate a monthly directors and managers peer group with our member staff; this week we talked about good communication skills.

We acknowledge that great leadership and management skills enable staff to implement great projects and therefore better serve & protect children.

As a team we have created a mini-reading list of leadership books we like:

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey
• Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman
• First Things First , Stephen Covey
• Good to Great, Jim Collins
• 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, John Maxwell
• 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, John Maxwell
• Servant Leadership , Robert Greenleaf

(Photo above of our Directors & Senior Management Team in Cambodia.)

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Celebrating Int'l Womens Day

To join in the celebration of the 100th Year Celebration of International Women’s Day, Chab Dai Cambodia partnered with The Asia Foundation & USAID to host an event called “A New Life, A New Hope: Celebrating International Women’s Day”. Attended by leaders of government ministries, donor agencies, and non-profit organizations, the event highlighted the issue of reintegration of female trafficking survivors. It was an exciting night, featuring a drama, delicious cupcakes, and a beautiful display of artwork created by survivors.

The event included a showing of “A New Life, A New Hope,” a drama that will be used to educate police officers, social workers, government leaders, and NGO staff in Cambodia about the realities of what happens after a girl is rescued from trafficking, including testifying in court, learning life skills, and returning to her family or community.

Chab Dai collaborated with our members to put together an art exhibit by survivors of trafficking. We printed quotes from our new research (The Butterfly Longitudinal Research Project: The Chab Dai Study on Reintegration), and paired the text with art. Girls living in shelters were also asked to artistically express their hopes for the future, and how they would define “freedom.”

“Freedom is not abusing women, giving value to women, giving chances for women to share ideas,” said one female staff working to end trafficking.

In total, fourteen pieces of art hung beneath trees for event attendees to view throughout the evening. And we hope that it demonstrated the resilience, courage, dreams, and value that all women everywhere possess.

To read more about The Asia Foundation's counter-trafficking work in Cambodia, click here.