The An Giang / Dong Thap Alliance to Prevent Trafficking (ADAPT) is a comprehensive community based prevention program to combat sexual trafficking of Vietnamese children and young women from the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. In the two provinces of An Giang and Dong Thap in Vietnam along the border with Cambodia. These sites were selected on the criteria of high poverty level, high risk and high potential impact to prevent trafficking.

Key Program Services

ADAPT aims to:

• Engage community leaders, parents and educational leaders
• Invest in the education of girls at risk
• Provide income-generating options for young women
• Educate Vietnamese about the health concerns surrounding human trafficking

ADAPT components
Vocational training and job placement
Train the young women to do basic computer data entry, sales, child care provider, cut hair, sew clothes.
Foster entrepreneurial ambitions
Provide job placement services
Follow-up with job placements to ensure stable and safe employment.
Visit and support trainees and their families.

Vocational Training / Public Health Education
Recruit and train young women to become public health workers.
Provide a forum for these girls to travel and education the villagers about public health issues surrounding sexual trafficking of children and young girls.

Scholarships (modeled after EMW's SPELL program)
Direct payment of tuition, health insurance, parents association fees.
In-kind donation of uniforms, books and school supplies.
Mandated after-school tutoring for scholarship recipients.
Follow-up with families and schools to ensure that the child is in a nurturing environment to continue her schooling.

Reintegration and support of returnees:
Physical, mental health and support services.
Vocational training, job placement, and follow up.
Additional income earning opportunities with microcredit support.

Identifying at risk girls
The target population for ADAPT is:
• 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.
• Poor families with member who is handicapped or has a long term illness.
• Returnees who run a high risk of recidivism.

Accomplishments

Assessment of Mekong Delta region conducted in 2004-2005.
Education scholarships for 478 at-risk girls ages 7-14
Training by Xuan Sutter for a group of Vietnamese professional home-visitors
Family visits to the homes of all 478 girls to discuss the importance of education with parents and local officials.
Systematic visits by trained professionals to 5 communes at risk
Public Health Education Campaign:

Partners

The An Giang / Dong Thap Alliance to Prevent Trafficking (ADAPT) program is a collaborative effort of three Vietnamese-American Nongovernmental Organizations:

Pacific Links Foundation
East Meets West Foundation
International Children Assistance Network.

Local counterparts include the University of An Giang, The Vietnamese Women’s Union and The Association to Promote Education. ADAPT is also partially funded by USAID (United States Assistance for International Development).

For More Information

To donate to ADAPT through EMW, please contact:

East Meets West
1-800-561-3378
info@eastmeetswest.org

For program information about ADAPT, please contact:

Pacific Links
Diep Vuong
adapt@pacificlinks.org