All over the world, men and women are struggling every day to provide a better life for girls and boys who have been abused through sex and human trafficking. Somaly Mam is no exception. She herself was sold at the age of 7-8 into prostitution circles. Without a passport, without ever knowing her real name, her parents, and her date of birth, she arrives by chance to escape the brothel when she is approximately 17-18 years old… And instead of complaining about her fate, the former victim who was helped in between by a man whose name she does not wish to name, takes the pilgrim’s staff in hand and sets out, so that what has happened to her, does not repeat itself. And to date, we are still talking about 7,000 people she has helped from near or far.
Somaly has been fighting for 30 years, taking one little girl after another out of parents in the most extreme poverty, ready to sell their children to pimps, or victims of sexual abuse, sometimes children of one year of age !!! In its Afesip centre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 70 children are welcomed, cherished, educated, loved and accompanied by 32 most caring people (and more than 300 have already been reintegrated into society). People who also go out in the field and who are in charge of, among other things, going around the brothels of Phnom Penh in Cambodia to inform women that there is a life outside this, and that they are always there to guide and help them.
Untiringly, the work continues, the stories Somaly and her team are living are experienced all over the world, on a daily basis.
In Switzerland, Somaly has found enormous support on behalf of the Solyna Foundation. 1 x in Lausanne and 1 x in Geneva, Solyna organizes support dinners, which benefit Somaly’s actions all year round, and above all, which offers a LIFE to all these girls, who only ask for one thing: To find the smile again… Together, now.
The next two support dinners will be held Friday, May 17 at the Royal Savoy in Lausanne and May 24 at the Hôtel Président Wilson in Geneva. Registration for the support dinner HERE >> https://www.fondationsolyna.ch/events and donations >> HERE.
Gratitude to all those beings who give all they can to this cause and for all the financial support, too…
