Help Prevent Human Trafficking

Around the globe, vulnerable people are targeted by traffickers every day. They are promised bright futures in foreign countries, but the reality is brutal abuse and exploitation. Oftentimes, men and women in poverty are lured into transborder employment, only to be taken advantage of and stripped of their dignity. Over 40 million people worldwide are victims of trafficking and slavery, with one in every four of these individuals being a child.

Samaritan's Purse counter-trafficking teams bring education, resources, and the healing hope of the Gospel to these vulnerable people in Cambodia, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Niger, South Sudan, and Vietnam.

In these regions, we teach at border crossings, offer critical support at migrant centers, provide livelihoods training to help lift families out of poverty, and train school teachers about safe migration so that they can in turn inform their students. Last year alone, Samaritan's Purse trained nearly 45,000 people on safe migration and trafficking awareness and served over 20,000 vulnerable migrants through our various projects.

For Timkaon, crossing the border from her home country of Cambodia into Thailand became a 10-year routine. Many impoverished families depend on finding a job to survive, even if that means crossing an international border and working for almost nothing in abusive situations. Samaritan's Purse staff in Cambodia talk with many people like Timkaon at the border and explain to them the risks of unsafe migration, as well as provide water, snacks, and clothes. We also provide transportation to local partners who can help them find short-term shelter and job opportunities.

In Vietnam, human trafficking to surrounding nations is prevalent. In response, Samaritan's Purse offers livelihood programs to help victims earn an income and rise out of poverty.

May* was trafficked at a young age from her home in northern Vietnam, sold several times, and sexually abused for 16 years. Upon returning home, May had no resources to earn an income, putting her in a vulnerable position to be trafficked again. As a way to rebuild her life, Samaritan’s Purse provided her a cow to start a small business. “I was deeply touched and excited to receive a cow,” she said. “We hope that she will stay healthy and give birth to a calf in the near future so we can earn more income.”

Pray for trafficking survivors, and for our teams as they demonstrate God’s love to the vulnerable.