Sihanoukville, November 2008: The MTV Exit Event and ChildSafe

In December 2008, M’Lop Tapang was invited to participate in the MTV Exit campaign to end exploitation and trafficking. A group of children from the dance and theater troupe at M’Lop Tapang took to the stage on Ochheuteal Beach in Sihanoukville in front of hundreds of people to perform a short skit about child exploitation in Cambodia and the role that the ChildSafe program plays in protecting kids. The kids were very excited to perform on a big stage in front of such a large crowd. The event was a great success both in terms of the excellent performance by the kids and the opportunity to promote the ChildSafe program and hotline in front of such a large crowd.

Sihanoukville ,November 2008: Srey Leak   Age: 16

In November 2008, the Sihanoukville ChildSafe Hotline got a call from a distressed girl who had run away from her home in Phnom Penh to work in Sihanoukville.
Srey Leak decided to come to Sihanoukville to try to find work, but upon arrival quickly realized that this would be very difficult for her. She has no education or training. With no friends, money or place to stay, she ended up in an area of town that is home to many brothels and massage houses. Many men in the area were harassing her and trying to solicit sex.

A ChildSafe moto driver met the distressed girl on the street and offered to help. He called the ChildSafe Hotline and a staff member immediately came to meet the girl and assess her situation. Srey Leak was given a safe place to sleep at the M’Lop Tapang Girls Night Center. The MT Outreach Team met with Leak to integrate her into the Girls Vocational Training Center, but Leak did not want to study Khmer and English. After a short stay at the Girls Night Center, Leak said that she would like to go back to her family in Phnom Penh. M’Lop Tapang staff contacted her family and ensured that she arrived safely at their home. Leak is now living in Phnom Penh with her family and maintains contact with M’Lop Tapang social workers over the phone.

Phnom Penh, June 16th 2008: On a Monday evening at 8.40 pm a journalist called the ChildSafe Hotline and reported that he had seen a foreigner who looked like he wanted to have sex with a 12 year-old boy who he met at a market. After the call was received, the team went out and observed this case until the foreigner left the child and went back to his house. The team met the child and tried to talk to him about this man, but he did not want to talk. The team then met the caller who informed them that he had seen this foreigner several times talking to the child and trying to make the child visit his house. We asked the foreigner’s neighbor and he said the foreigner loves this child, that he had given the child some money and wanted the child to live with him. The team discussed with the Child Rights specialist to get help to monitor the case. At 1.50 pm the next day the team got a phone call from the journalist again, who informed us that the foreigner had taken the child to his house. The team went again and contacted the anti-trafficking police to help. The case was referred to the police who are now investigating.

Phnom Penh, June 9th 2008: "One evening at 5 pm a staff member from the Child Rights team saw a woman with her two children sitting along the riverside. One of her children was a nine year old girl and the other a 20 day old baby. The staff saw the mother try to sell her baby to someone. She heard the little girl say “let’s go back, I do not want to lose my brother”. The staff from Child Rights team talked with the woman and convinced her and the children to come to the ChildSafe Center. They stayed at the center for several days, while the team did counseling, built a good relationship with them and tried to find a good solution for the mother and her two children. The ChildSafe team found out that the mother is HIV-positive and that the baby is given medicine to prevent the transmission of the virus. The mother is now getting treatment at Katamela hospital and a good caregiver for the baby was found to look after the baby while the mother is at the hospital. The little girl is studying at Mith Samlanh and staying at the translational home. The managers are now trying to find a good partner organization to work with this family after the mother comes out of hospital."

Phnom Penh, May 8th 2008: A Safe Migration Member at Pshar Doeum Kor called the ChildSafe Hotline and reported seeing a 16 year old girl from Kratie province. After he called, the team went out to meet her and brought her to stay one night at the ChildSafe Center. The social workers provided counseling and the housemother looked after her. In the morning, the girl was referred to Mith Samlanh’s case manager. Now she is studying and staying at Mith Samlanh.

Phnom Penh, April 27th 2008: On Sunday at 4.55 pm the ChildSafe Hotline got a call from a ChildSafe motodup member who had seen a 17 year-old boy who had arrived on a bus from Battambang. He wanted to go back to his home land at Prey Veng province. After receiving the call, the Hotline team went out to meet the child in front of the Young Migrant Center at Tmor Da. The team met the child and asked details about his situation. He migrated from his home town to find a job in Battambang but while he was living there he had financial problems and had no money to support himself. He managed to get on the bus and got a free ride to Phnom Penh. He stayed one night at the ChildSafe Center, and in morning he was referred to our migration team. Now he is studying and staying at Mith Samlanh’s vocational training center.