Blue Dragon founder on the freeze of US foreign aid funding
February 11, 2025
The US Government has put a 90-day freeze on almost all foreign aid funding. Here, Blue Dragon founder, Michael Brosowski, outlines the effect this will have on vulnerable people, the work of Blue Dragon and the world at large.
In recent years, up to 10% of Blue Dragon’s funding has been through an anti-trafficking agency of the State Department. As of January 24, that funding has been frozen for 90 days for a review to take place.
This means that a significant part of Blue Dragon’s work to protect rural communities from human trafficking is suddenly at risk. Children, families and communities who are already vulnerable because of their extreme poverty are facing cuts to the services they receive.
And it’s not only Blue Dragon. Other agencies have had to scale back operations significantly; some are closing their programs entirely.
In other words: most support for victims of human trafficking in Vietnam is now gone. The traffickers have an opportunity to take advantage of the situation to exploit more people.
But Blue Dragon is still here because of support from people like you. We’re not leaving and we’re not backing down.
In this moment when many services are being cut, we need to INCREASE our efforts to reach all who need help:
To rescue more people from slavery.
To keep more children in school.
To help more mothers and fathers start small businesses.
To strengthen more ethnic communities against the dangers of human trafficking.
This is a crisis for children and families who need protection. But together we can turn this around.
A donation to Blue Dragon means ensuring the safety and security of communities at risk of human trafficking.
Instead of laying down in defeat while the global aid sector struggles with these seismic changes, let’s put our humanity at the forefront and take a stand.
We won’t let the traffickers win.
Michael Brosowski
