Running for Their Lives

Remember this? “Imagine walking down an alley in the red light district of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city – filled with brothels, karaoke bars and massage parlours. Lined up on each doorstep are countless pairs of shoes belonging to the women forced to work inside. Looking closer you can see that a sickening number of these shoes are very small, belonging to the little girls who are either being raised by prostitutes or have been forced to become sex workers themselves.”

Viva posted that back in May. But long before that my heart was broken by the hundreds of thousands of girls in Cambodia who are in this exact situation. I don’t even want to imagine it. But child sexual exploitation in Cambodia is something the world can’t avoid imagining. We need to be confronted with it, address it, end it, and then help to heal the girls who have gone through it.

That’s why three friends and I are running the New York Marathon this November: we’re running for their lives! Here’s the scene: four business men are aiming to raise £52,000 for Viva’s Doorsteps programme by running this marathon… and honestly, the training is so hard that I’m going to ask for more if we ever do it again! We’re looking for people who will sponsor us £1 per mile (£26 total, for those who aren’t good at maths or don’t know much about marathons.)

We’ve got Adam, who works for a production company; Matt, who is studying youth work; and Keith and me (Ian), both of us working in the financial services sector. We don’t agree on lots of things, but we do all agree that child sexual exploitation in Cambodia needs to end. And as professionals we know the value of working together and investing in communities. The Doorsteps programme is a great way to do that in Cambodia. It doesn’t just help girls who have been trafficked – it stops them from being trafficked to begin with.

Doorsteps is a programme that creates opportunities in Cambodian villages so that girls don’t have to turn to prostitution – and their families don’t have to sell them into brothels. Traffickers know which villages have the least opportunities, and they know which families are worst off. They target these villages and families, either offering young girls sham job offers in the big city or else paying off family ‘friends’ to bring the girls to a brothel. It’s hard to keep traffickers away, but what we can do is help alleviate the poverty that allows them to operate!

Together we’ve been helping set up vocational training programmes to teach teenagers a skill that will keep them employed and out of the sex trade. Doorsteps is also funding community income-generating projects like fish farms and mushroom nurseries. These are raising the economy of whole villages and helping ensure girls and their families have a solid income to rely on. 

Part of the reason girls are targeted is their low status in Cambodian society. If someone has to make a sacrifice for the good of the family, it should be the least important person… right? Doorsteps is working with local churches, schools and community authorities to teach people about the intrinsic value of girls and help them learn that in a family, there is no least important person. These people are excited to learn how to protect their daughters from being trafficked into sexual slavery. Without the help and willingness of locals, Doorsteps could never work.

Adam, Matt, Keith and I aren’t all fit (though we’re getting there!). We’re running this crazy marathon because we believe Doorsteps is making a major difference in the lives of Cambodian girls. Where other projects focus on helping girls who have survived the trauma of Cambodia’s brothels and karaoke bars – which is a worthy mission – Doorsteps aims to break off the problem at its root. We all know that a goal is better achieved together. Ending child sexual exploitation is no different! 

That’s why we’re inviting you to partner with us, as we partner with Viva, and Viva partners with the projects and churches that make up the Chab Dai network, and those projects partner with locals with the end result of preventing girls from ending up in brothels. We’re doing the leg work, can you come up with £26 to help us along? 

To learn more or make a contribution, please go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=runfatboyrunmarathon&isTeam=true.

~ Ian in Belfast

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