SENGSAVANG offers protection and assistance to victims and girls at risk of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Laos. Our shelter in central Laos provides a safe home where the girls receive holistic care during their rehabilitation process and are given hope for a better future. Through education, vocational trainings and micro-business starter kits, we transform their lives and ensure a sustainable socio-economic reintegration as an active support for their families.
Many girls in poor rural areas of Laos are forced by poverty to provide income for their families at a young age. Desperateness for earnings and lacking knowledge of trafficking and migration issues make them vulnerable to false promises of traffickers. Plenty end up exploited in Thailand's commercial sex trade and in forced labour. Victims suffer severe forms of violence and extortion, resulting in psychological trauma, physical injuries and diseases (HIV and sexually transmitted infections).
Our shelter provides a safe home, food, clothing and other basic necessities. We offer health and psychological care, legal support, and recreational activities. To prepare the girls for their lives after leaving the shelter, we provide education and vocational trainings (sewing or beauty), including business management trainings. We also offer micro-business starting kits to set up a sustainable source of income, as well as long-term follow-up activities to protected girls from re-trafficking.
To date, we protected and supported more than 400 victims and girls at risk of human trafficking, mostly aged between 12 and 27 years, and realised prevention activities for more than 13,000 people. By taking actions to reduce social and economic vulnerability, we address the root causes of this issue and prevent situations of (re-)exploitation in the long run. Through securing financial independence and awareness raising activities we help cutting off the supply for forced labour and sex trade.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
