Written By: SOS International
Today, children are facing the harsh realities of exploitation and trafficking. Child trafficking is the fastest-growing crime in the world, but we see glimmers of hope through rescue initiatives with our partners around the world.
We see time and time again how effective it is to meet victims where they are at, and focus on their essential needs of at-risk children and their mothers, like nutritious food, education, relocation, and safe places to sleep.
Feeding outreaches:
A child’s world is secure when their basic needs are met. Food outreaches in communities where trafficking is prevalent are a key method in securing the lives of at-risk children. Providing nutritious and accessible food to children and their families in at-risk communities helps to protect them from traffickers who would try to exploit their food insecurity.
Education initiatives:
Education is a pivotal part of securing the lives and futures of at-risk children. Poverty and isolation are two risk factors often exploited by traffickers. Through education initiatives, you are providing at-risk children with the safety of a community today and the ability to build towards a better tomorrow.
Safe places to sleep:
For trafficked children or children of trafficking victims in red-light districts, there is a need for safe places to sleep. We provide that in our rescue homes, and through that, we can help ease the burden of safety on their mothers who are in the red-light district. By offering a shelter as a safe house for children, it gives a child’s mother, trapped in trafficking, the opportunity to ensure their child’s safety. This is available to mothers, even if they are not yet ready to leave the red-light district.
Relocation:
For a trafficking victim to be safe and fully heal, they often need to be relocated to a secure location that enables them to do so. As part of our rescue initiative, we help move girls to a place away from the areas where they were trafficked and into rescue homes where they receive medical care and counseling.
These components are vital to our rescue strategy because they significantly impact the parents who are victims of trafficking. These parents often hesitate to choose freedom due to the fear of being unable to provide for their families. By offering resources that keep their children safe, we create a crucial sense of security that empowers them to choose freedom. These initiatives not only protect children but also support their mothers!
