The option to stay

Mai and Peng are proud of their small family.

Raising two children, a girl and a boy, high up in the mountains of northern Vietnam, their lives have never been easy. Mai and Peng married young and, like many of their H’mong neighbours, grew maize for a living.

But as their children grew up, so did their costs. School fees. House repairs. Medical bills for Peng’s elderly mother, who lives with them. The future looked uncertain.

When Blue Dragon first came across this family, their mother Mai was deeply worried. She was having to choose daily between sending the kids to school or providing enough food for them all to eat. At times, they would go to bed hungry.

It looked like they would have to leave their mountain home to find work. And for families like theirs, that path often leads somewhere dangerous.

Out of school

In mountain villages like Mai and Peng’s, for young people to earn an income means one thing: migration. Leaving home to find a job that pays.

Mai and Peng didn’t want to take the kids out of school. Aged 11 and 14, they were still so young; but poverty robs you of choices, and it looked all but certain that their education had come to an end.

What Mai and her husband Peng didn’t fully comprehend was the risk involved in leaving home. By far, most Vietnamese people who are trafficked are those who have dropped out of school early and migrated for work.

This was a family at high risk.

Options

Once we knew of this family and their situation, the question for Blue Dragon was straightforward: What do they need to keep the kids in school and stay safe from the risk of human trafficking?

Mai and Peng didn’t want a handout. They needed an income. So we talked with them and their village leaders to develop an idea.

In the end, it was simple: if families could earn a living at home, they wouldn’t need to leave. A decision was made that ten of the poorest families would be given a grant to start small farms. The selected families received training and veterinary support, as well as the money to buy animals or crops.

Mai and Peng opted to buy three pigs. The total investment, including setting up the pigpens and getting a supply of food ready, was a little under $400. A small fortune for this family.

Where are they now

Fast forward a few years, and Mai and Peng have a completely different outlook.

Their kids are still in school: the son is in Grade 11 and the daughter Grade 8.

Their pigs are thriving. They now have a herd of 8, which they trade for food or raise piglets to sell.

And as a family, they have an income. Last year, they earned about $1,500. They are far from rich, but they have the one thing that keeps them and their children safe from trafficking: stability.

In the coming years, their children will finish school and then will head off for further studies or for decent jobs. Now that they are no longer desperate, they have choices.

A village transformed

It’s not only Mai and Peng’s family who have turned around their fortunes.

All of the other families in this pilot group have used the opportunity to create their own income streams. Some have earned enough money to repair their house, or build a toilet and install electricity. They have worked hard for their success, but just needed a helping hand to get going.

The impact has been so positive that now the community leaders are preparing to expand the idea around the region. What began as support for a few families is now something the community owns.

Recently, the local government raised funds to support 11 more families in the same village. The original group of 10 are now teachers and mentors to the new farmers.

And those who have benefited from these small grants have committed that as they succeed, they will each give an animal from their farm to another family who also needs help to get started.

Prevention

When people talk about preventing human trafficking, the focus is often on awareness – warning people about the risks.

For Mai and Peng, being aware of risk was never going to keep them safe. They needed practical assistance.

They were vulnerable to being trafficked because of their family circumstances. To end their vulnerability, their circumstances needed to change.

And now they have.

Beyond that, their whole community has learned a new way of looking out for each other. The program we put in place can easily be copied, replicated and scaled up.

Traffickers who may have preyed on them before really have no chance now. This is a community that is busy with their farming and no longer need to take risks just to get by.

When people have real options, traffickers have no power over them. Because the most effective protection for vulnerable people isn’t awareness; it’s opportunity.

Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation is working towards a world where we are all free from exploitation and slavery.