Gender Equality Lao People's Democratic Republic Project #14392

Protect Girls from Trafficking with Job Skills

by World Concern

Project Report | Jun 5, 2014
You, and a good friend, helped keep Khantin safe

By Cathy Herholdt | Communications Officer

Your gift helped keep Khantin safe with job skills

Your gifts continue to equip young girls near the Thai border in Laos with valuable job skills, keeping them safe at home, and safe from traffickers. With these new skills, they are able to earn income close to home and have alternatives to crossing the border into Thailand in search of work. Because of you, they’re also learning about the danger on the other side of the border, and telling their friends about it too.

One of those you’re helping protect is 18-year-old Khantin. She has become very active in World Concern’s program in her village where she met her best friend, Duangmany. The friendship turned out to be a vital part of keeping Khantin safe. After hearing about her friend’s experience in Thailand, she vowed never to go there herself. Duangmany, had had been offered a job serving beer to men in a restaurant… but it likely involved much more. She was forced to work such long hours, she eventually returned home, empty-handed and traumatized. She still won’t talk about what happened to her in Thailand.

Thankfully, she made it home. Many other young girls from their village never return.

Khantin learned from the World Concern staff about the danger across the border, and how to keep herself safe. She’s also learning profitable job skills, like making brooms and selling them at local markets. She has learned to sew clothing and to style hair – her favorite skill so far!

“I want to open a salon in the future because there’s no salon yet in our village,” said an enthusiastic Khantin. “But first, I want my community to notice that my skill in hair cutting and styling is getting better and better until they will believe in me, and then I will have more customers.”

Khantin is grateful for the opportunity to earn income close to home. She doesn’t want to be away from her family, because she now knows it’s safer to stay close to home. She’s also grateful for the many new friends she has made through her involvement with World Concern’s project, especially Duangmany. The two friends have a much brighter future to look forward to, thanks to you.

Khantin's friend Duangmany warned her about danger

Khantin and Duangmany earn income selling brooms.

Khantin hopes to open a hair salon one day.

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Mar 5, 2014
Because of you, Xayphin is safe from traffickers

By Cathy Herholdt | Communications Officer

These 12 girls learned job skills because of you.

With your help, 12 girls recently learned beauty skills and received business startup kits through World Concern’s Youth Center in the Champassak region of Laos, near the border of Thailand. Because of you, they are now equipped to earn income safely and avoid the danger of being trafficked into Thailand.

One of the girls is 17-year-old Xayphin. Like many young girls in her village, Xayphin was encouraged by friends to cross the border into Thailand, where many believe high paying jobs in restaurants are waiting. She had no idea that the friends – and even her own siblings – who had made this journey before her had likely become victims of forced labor or sex trafficking.

But Xayphin had a dream of saving money to open her own beauty salon in her home someday. She believed this could be a profitable business, knowing there are currently no beauty services in the area.

With her dream in mind, Xayphin put herself at great risk and crossed the border into Thailand last year. She found a job as a housemaid for a Chinese family about 300 kilometers from the border. But she became homesick, and being the youngest and the only unmarried child in the family, she felt responsible for her aging parents. So, after 3 months of working in Thailand, she returned to her village in time to help her parents with the harvest … thankfully, before being harmed or lured by traffickers.

When she returned, Xayphin learned that World Concern’s nearby youth center was offering job skills training – including hair styling and make up classes. She was thrilled, knowing this opportunity was a safe way to pursue her dream.

Not only did she learn marketable job skills, Xayphin met new friends, and was able to practice what she’d learned with these new friends. Xayphin received a business starter kit too, moving her closer to earning income with her new skills.

It wasn’t long before she had her first customer – a friend who needed her hair styled for a celebration. Her friend paid her $1.25 for her services. With this first job, Xayphin realized what was possible with her new skills. She told us she has decided not to migrate to Thailand, knowing it’s safer to be with her family at home.

You’re helping protect young girls like Xayphin with your gift. Thank you!

Xayphin practices her new skills on a friend.

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Dec 3, 2013
This young girl is back in school because of you!

By Cathy Herholdt | Communications Officer

Your gift helped Buonlong get back in school.

I want to tell you an amazing story of a little girl you’re helping protect from trafficking by enabling her to go to school. She’s barely 10 years old, and her name is Bounlong.

This precious little girl basically became an orphan when her mother and older sister left their village in Laos to travel to Thailand in search of work … but no one in the family has heard from them in three years.

It’s very likely that Buonlong’s mother and sister were lured by traffickers with deceptive offers of high-paying work.

Buonlong’s father suffers from a lung disease, but works hard to earn about $5 a day to support his family. Unfortunately this means he and Buonlong’s brother must stay in town all week to work, leaving Buonlong, her 14-year-old sister Ann, and their younger brother to fend for themselves. The children also take care of a 3-year-old niece, left behind by their oldest sister.

Can you imagine being a child and having this much responsibility? Needless to say, Buonlong wasn’t attending school, and she was at great risk for becoming a victim of trafficking herself.

With your support, World Concern intervened in Buonlong’s life, helping her get back in school, providing her with tuition, school supplies, and a uniform, and teaching her about staying safe. She’s thrilled to be enrolled in school, and says she will finish her education so that someday she can provide for her family. When she gets a little older, we’ll teach her job skills to earn income safely in her village.

None of this would be possible without support from people like you – thank you!

If you’d like to help protect more girls like Buonlong, I have some great news:

In honor of Giving Tuesday, the generous folks at Microsoft are matching all donations made to this project today!

That means your gift of $40 to educate a young girl like Buonlong becomes $80, helping two girls instead of one. Or a gift of $125 to provide an at-risk girl with job skills doubles to $250, equipping two girls instead of one.

I hope you’ll take advantage of today’s matching opportunity. Please give now – Microsoft’s matching funds will likely run out quickly.

Thank you for your support!

Buonlong and her siblings were unsafe at home.

Buonlong (left) spent her days working at home.

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