Pascale Tournier, journalist for La Vie, came to meet our team and our local partner in Cambodia at the end of June. In a 6-page feature published on newsstands on July 25, she gives a detailed account of the oppressive atmosphere in Poipet, a town on the Thai border, where we support Damnok Toek's social workers in the prevention and care of child victims of human trafficking and exploitation.
" A boy of about ten walks alone, barefoot, on the sidewalk still glistening with rain. In his hands, two plastic bags almost as big as him, filled with cans, no doubt collected on the street. Sameth knows him. He knows that his grandmother regularly asks him to beg until late at night... "(excerpt from the report in the weekly La Vie)
By 2023, 1 in 2 Cambodians will be living on less than 4.5$ per day. Household over-indebtedness is widespread in the country, and the pandemic has encouraged negative coping strategies such as child labor, sexual exploitation and early marriage, as well as human trafficking.
Many Cambodians decide to migrate to areas that appear to be more prosperous, such as the Thai border. On arrival, these families and their children find themselves isolated and all the more vulnerable to traffickers.
Planète Enfants & Développement launched the Pegase program in 2023, in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and in partnership with the Asmae Sœur Emmanuelle association in the Philippines.
This program works to prevent violence and the risk of exploitation by helping families in precarious situations to build a more decent life, and supports existing structures to care for children who are often isolated.
