Supporting victims of trafficking in Moldova...
Thanks to funds from the EMEA region of The Body Shop International, raised through sales of the "Bag for Life", Children on the Edge has established an effective partnership with the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) in Moldova and is able to help support and rehabilitate some of the most vulnerable victims of trafficking.
Such help is targeted to the most vulnerable, those who have dependant children or who are under 18 years old themselves. The following account is an example of such help.
S is 25 and comes from Chisinau. She was trafficked to Turkey in 2001 and exploited for five years. For the first two she was sexually exploited and during the next three forced to work unpaid as a domestic worker. During this time she gave birth to two children and became pregnant with a third. Finally she found a way to escape and IOM Turkey helped to get her home safely. In May 2006, after she had been missing for five years, S and her two sons (then aged 3 and 4) finally came home.
Initially they went to the Rehabilitation Centre in Chisinau, where S was diagnosed with psychological problems necessitating a stay in a psychiatric hospital. Follow-up treatment was given at home and in June 2006 she gave birth to her third child.
Legal documents were organised for S and her children, as she was forced to leave these behind during the family's escape. She was also helped with food and hygiene products for all three children during the period after the birth. S and her children now live together with her elderly mother who is a pensioner. Their living conditions are extremely basic, with old and broken furniture. S and the children sleep on the floor and she washes all of the family's clothes by hand. This takes a lot of time and means that the children are often left unsupervised, without the attention that is so important for young children. In this case an added complication is that the two older children speak mostly Turkish.
With support from Children on the Edge, IOM was able to buy basic furniture, a carpet, a washing mashine, refrigerator, cooker, kitchen supplies, and a television. Now that they have all of the basics, S's life is much easier and she is able to give her children the attention they really need.
If you would like to help support our work in Moldova and around the world, please donate here.
Such help is targeted to the most vulnerable, those who have dependant children or who are under 18 years old themselves. The following account is an example of such help.
S is 25 and comes from Chisinau. She was trafficked to Turkey in 2001 and exploited for five years. For the first two she was sexually exploited and during the next three forced to work unpaid as a domestic worker. During this time she gave birth to two children and became pregnant with a third. Finally she found a way to escape and IOM Turkey helped to get her home safely. In May 2006, after she had been missing for five years, S and her two sons (then aged 3 and 4) finally came home.
Initially they went to the Rehabilitation Centre in Chisinau, where S was diagnosed with psychological problems necessitating a stay in a psychiatric hospital. Follow-up treatment was given at home and in June 2006 she gave birth to her third child.
Legal documents were organised for S and her children, as she was forced to leave these behind during the family's escape. She was also helped with food and hygiene products for all three children during the period after the birth. S and her children now live together with her elderly mother who is a pensioner. Their living conditions are extremely basic, with old and broken furniture. S and the children sleep on the floor and she washes all of the family's clothes by hand. This takes a lot of time and means that the children are often left unsupervised, without the attention that is so important for young children. In this case an added complication is that the two older children speak mostly Turkish.
With support from Children on the Edge, IOM was able to buy basic furniture, a carpet, a washing mashine, refrigerator, cooker, kitchen supplies, and a television. Now that they have all of the basics, S's life is much easier and she is able to give her children the attention they really need.
If you would like to help support our work in Moldova and around the world, please donate here.
