Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. (Source: The UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress trafficking in Persons)
How would you like your daughter to earn $40 a month making rugs in our factory? the smooth-talking trafficker asks a poor illiterate family in the mountains of Nepal. She can send half the cash back to you. He offers a sly smile.
Most trafficking of children happens through coercion or assurances backed by lies. Children ages five to fifteen are usually promised better jobs or opportunities and their family concedes, hoping for a better life. Most times, though not always, their parents have no idea what awaits their child.
ServLife has several projects underway that address the tragedy of child trafficking. We focus primarily on helping young Indian and Nepalese girls who have been affected by the sex trafficking in these regions. We’re working with and through indigenous Christian workers in these areas:
1. Prevention – By offering education and a place for the orphaned, our children’s homes and programs in Nepal and India are preventing girls from being trafficked. In addition, we’re helping educate poor families who remain naive to the false claims of traffickers. Through our ServLife Hope Fund, we’re able to offer these at-risk families economic opportunities that reduce the likelihood of turning to trafficking for monetary support.
2. Intervention – Our network of churches in regions where trafficking is prevalent work to stop children from becoming victims.
3. Recovery - We help young girls heal from the trauma of trafficking through recovery and counseling programs.
