In partnership with Million Kids, Senhoa opened a preschool and community center as a preventative project of human trafficking. The Lotus Kids' Club is located in the Banteay Chas area, on the outskirts of Siem Reap, where families in residence predominantly earn a living by collecting recyclables from local garbage disposals. With average daily incomes of 5,000 riels ($USD1.25), the community lives in a dire state of poverty, leaving them vulnerable of selling their children in desperate attempts of financial alleviation.

Objective

The Lotus Kids' Club aims to:

• Engage with children and youth in the community and their families
• Advocate the importance of education
• Advocate the detrimental effects of domestic violence
• Advocate the dangers of human-trafficking

Services

The Preschool Program provides:

• A safe and secure play and learning environment
• Daily nutritious snacks with multi-vitamin supplements
• An early-childhood development program for children aged 4-6 years to facilitate their learning through play
• Basic Khmer literacy and numeracy
• Preparation for and enrolment into Khmer public schooling
• Quarterly medical check-ups with Angkor Hospital for Children

The Afternoon Community Program provides:

• A safe and secure environment for children of all ages
• Engaging activities to promote community bonding and communication

The Food Program operates monthly to:

• Reward families for successfully sending their children to the Preschool Program by providing food packages of rice, oil, sugar, salt and basic hygiene supplies
• Provide workshops on water sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, relationships and community issues
• Build bridges and strengthen relationships between the Khmer and Vietnamese families

The Jewelry/Life Skills Program is a holistic rehabilitation program that prepares survivors of human trafficking for reintegration. We offer two components of training: Jewelry Vocational Training and Life-Skills Training.

Objective

The objectives of Jewelry/Life Skills Program are to:

• Provide our students with income generating opportunities
• Work with survivors of human trafficking, as well as those who are vulnerable to sexual exploitation
• Develop our students into desirable employees and productive members of society
• Instill our students with an in-depth sense of self-worth
• Assist in job placements post-graduation

Jewelry Vocational Training

Our students are trained to produce beautiful statement jewelry pieces that make up the exclusive Senhoa collections available at the Senhoa Boutique, available online at Senhoa.com. Jewelry making was selected as a vocational skill due to its multi-faceted purpose:

• It is an easily acquired skill that can be delivered in a short period of time. The immediate sense of success of satisfaction builds confidence in our students who have had very little or no success in their own lives.
• It provides students with a means for creative therapy. They can materialize ideas they have in their heads directly into their hands.
• The students can associate themselves with beauty by working with beautiful materials and creating beautiful products. This is a platform to help them rebuild their self-worth.

Life-Skills Training Program

All of our students have been deprived of basic primary education due to their tragic situations, leaving them handicapped of critical thinking and practical skills required for sustainable freedom.

The Life-Skills Training Program provides:

• A thinking curriculum based on the 16 Positive Habits of the Mind
• Khmer, English, mathematics and computer classes
• Excursions to farms, local museums and galleries
• Guest speakers with different career backgrounds and life stories
• Health and physical education
• 2-month workplace internship with local businesses and NGOs