Reintegration

One of the biggest problems confronting the shelters that rehabilitate survivors is that the survivors have no place to go. They are often not welcome back in their family or community, especially if they were sold into prostitution. Typically they were trafficked at a young age (average 11-12yrs) and have never lived independently. This not only means they don’t have good options for the survivors, but it also means that the shelters can't free up space to take in newly rescued survivors.

For successful reintegration survivors need counseling, medical care, legal aid, a safe place to live, education, job training, and finally job placement and assistance with finding a home or rejoining their family. 

Some survivors can safely return to their village of origin, if they were not trafficked by family members in the first place.  Others cannot safely return, at least until they reach adulthood, and many who were trafficked at a very young age, may not even remember exactly where they come from.  In this case, longer term shelter care is the best option.

For legal reasons, some survivors are repatriated to their country of origin soon after rescue.  In this case, we work with charitable organizations in their home countries to ensure they receive some services.

Finding a job is crucial, because otherwise the extreme poverty and desperation  that caused them to be trafficked in the first place, will render them vulnerable to re-trafficking. 

In addition to job training and fair trade employment, we help survivors with reintegration by helping them pay the first few months' rent, furnishing a simple home, micro-loans, or paying for a wedding if they so desire.