Overview
Cambodia
has a huge population of over 30 million people,
35% of whom live below the poverty line. Poverty,
though not the sole cause, is one push factor
for human-trafficking. In Cambodia, at least
30,000 children are trapped in brothels in the
cities and tourist areas, raped for profit by
local and foreign men alike. These children,
mostly girls, are as young as four and five
years old.
World Hope International (WHI) is working to
prevent human trafficking and poverty through
education, rural development, microfinance,
and aftercare for survivors of human trafficking
programs.
Anti-Trafficking
The Assessment Center has cared for 261 girls
since its inception in 2005. During 2007, Center
staff cared for 139 girls and saw many make
remarkable recoveries as they progressed through
weeks of rehabilitation. Staff continued to
develop their skills through training opportunities,
some of which were very challenging and required
a high level of commitment. The government made
positive improvements, including the implementation
of a new Criminal Procedure Code, the formation
of the National Task Force to Eliminate Trafficking
in Persons, and the appointment of new and respected
leadership within the Ministry of Interior and
the Phnom Penh Municipal Police Anti-Human Trafficking
Department.
There was, however, an apparent decrease of
12% during the year in the number of children
being rescued from commercial sexual exploitation
and referred to the Center. The largest reduction
in referrals was for girls 14 years old and
under with a 48% drop from the previous year.
WHI does not believe that fewer children are
being trafficked, but rather traffickers and
brothel owners may be working harder to hide
young children.
WHI continues to fund and participate in Chab
Dai, a coalition of Christian organizations
dedicated to ending sexual abuse and trafficking
of children. A widely respected coalition of
more than 25 organizations, Chab Dai is the
leading public voice for public awareness and
education about child sexual abuse and trafficking
in Cambodia.
Microfinance
Cambodia Rural Economic Development Initiative
for Transformation (CREDIT) is a large
and very successful microfinance institution
in Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in
Asia. WHI is one of the three shareholders of
CREDIT, along with World Relief and World Relief
Canada. CREDIT has a strong client base, a huge
loan portfolio, and a very good business model.
It is generating enough income from its loans
to cover the costs of its operations, and also
to help further capitalize its loan fund. However,
CREDIT needs significant infusions of additional
capital to support the natural growth of its
loan portfolio to existing clients (after a
client repays a loan he or she is often eligible
for a successive, larger, loan), and also to
expand its client base to achieve the targets
shown in the performance indicators table below.
In August 2007, CREDIT became the first recipient
of a loan from the World Hope Micro Capital
Fund (MicroCap). The loan was for $150,000 and
CREDIT has made every monthly payment on or
before the due date. CREDIT will be eligible
for a second MicroCap loan in August of 2008.
Education
WHI is concerned when children and youth have
no opportunity to gain knowledge and practical
skills. This tragedy occurs most often in remote
rural areas where people are often illiterate
and in some cases do not even know how to speak
their own national language. They are cut off
from economic activity, easily fall prey to
unscrupulous middlemen and landowners, and have
no hope for a better life for their children.
As a result, parents and children can be duped
into human trafficking or joining rebel forces.
Schools play an indispensable role in fighting
injustice in ways that foster peace and national
stability. WHI works to develop schools where
none exist.
Rural
Development
WHI defines rural development as any project
that enables rural people to escape extreme
poverty. Most rural people in developing countries
routinely experience hunger and a high incidence
of disease. WHI’s water and sanitation,
agriculture, and animal husbandry programs give
Cambodians the tools to have better health and
food security.
Providing safe drinking water to a community
reduces disease and death. A sealed well and
pump keeps the water clean and a drilled well
keeps providing water through the dry season
when many hand dug wells dry up. Cambodia has
four drilled wells and one hand-dug well benefitting
379 people.
Proper sanitation is an important part of community
health, yet many people in under-developed countries
don’t see the connection. Therefore, WHI
staff is focusing on educating people about
hygiene while helping them construct latrines.
WHI constructed 24 latrines and conductednine
hygiene classes in Cambodia, benefitting 243
people.
WHI agriculture projects seek sustainable solutions
to food insecurity with projects from distributing
hoes to securing land rights. Seed loan programs
help displaced people or people who have experienced
crop failure due to drought, floods or pests.
At harvest the seeds are repaid and used the
next season to help other needy families. In
Cambodia, an irrigation project and seeds given
to an International Displaced Persons (IDP)
village has benefit 80 people.
WHI is helping with animal multiplication programs
where selected recipients must pass offspring
on to the next families in line. In this way,
people are held accountable and experience the
joy of helping others needier than themselves.
Six cows were distributed to six Cambodian communities
and one animal husbandry training class was
conducted in 2007.
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