Education Programs:
Anti-Trafficking Initiative

East Meets West is a partner in the An Giang / Dong Thap Alliance to Prevent Trafficking (ADAPT). ADAPT is a collaborative effort between three Vietnamese-American nongovernmental organizations: Pacific Links Foundation, East Meets West Foundation and the International Children Assistance Network. 

ADAPT is a community based prevention program that combats the sexual trafficking of Vietnamese children and young women in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. The program operates in the provinces of An Giang and Dong Thap in Vietnam, which sit on the border with Cambodia. These areas were selected based on the high risk to the girls there, as well as the incidence of extreme poverty and the potential impact to prevent trafficking.

Key Program Services

ADAPT works in the following ways:

• Engaging community leaders, parents and educational leaders
• Investing in the education of girls at risk
• Providing income-generating options for young women
• Educating the community about the health concerns surrounding human trafficking

Components of the program include:

• Vocational training and job placement
• Job training and job placement for young women in areas such as basic computer skills, sales, child care provider, sewing.
  
• Fostering entrepreneurial ambitions
  
• Oversight and follow-up on job placements to ensure stable and safe employment
  
• Visiting and support trainees and their families

• Poor families with women as head of household.
• Poor families with women as main wage earner.
• Poor families with daughters in the high-risk age group as identified by our assessment.
• Returnees who run a high risk of recidivism.
• Poor families with a member who is handicapped or has a long term illness.

The education component of ADAPT is modeled after EMW's SPELL program, which provides direct payment of tuition, health insurance and parents association fees in order to remove the barriers of impoverished children attending school.  ADAPT also arranges for in-kind donations of uniforms, books and school supplies, mandates after-school tutoring for scholarship recipients, and follows up with families and schools to ensure that the child is in a nurturing environment to continue her schooling.

ADAPT has a direct tie-in between vocational training and public health education. ADAPT recruits and train young women to become public health workers while also providing assistance for these girls to travel and educate villagers about public health issues surrounding the sexual trafficking of children and young girls.

ADAPT also works in support girls or women who are returnees from trafficking. Helping them reintegrate into society is a crucial part of preventing them from returning to the sex trade industry. ADAPT offers physical, mental health and support services, vocational training and job placement, and additional income earning opportunities with microcredit support.

ADAPT is partially funded by USAID (United States Assistance for International Development).

For More Info

To find out more about ADAPT, visit ADAPT's independent website, email EMW for info or call 1-80--561-3378.