The victims of the child sex industry all have something in common: the poverty of their families. To put it another way: those who don't have the abilities and skills to find employment (and a fair few who do too) are unable to get a job. We try, by offering vocational-training and employment opportunities for the poor in Cambodia, to provide a means to an income for families and in doing so, a measure of stability. A stable income means that a child can go to school, free from the danger of being sold into prostitution. Specifically, we have been operating our PC school since 2004, and since 2006, a handcrafts center. We have been able to provide opportunities for learning and working for many many people. We try to obtain business costs for small companies which enable rural Cambodians to make and sell their products in the city.
The Kamonohashi Project is committed to pursuing a solution to the problems of child prostitution and poverty in Cambodia. We attatch great importance to helping rural Cambodians gain a measure of independence. Creating a dependence on cash handouts by sending money year after year is not our aim. We would prefer to encourage the abilities of these people and provide support for them to get going and keep going under their own steam. Another part of the Kamonohashi project is "expanding". There are an estimated 15000 victims of child prostitution in Cambodia, and not one of them should have to suffer. That is our goal. There might be people who tell us that "It's a completely unrealistic goal." But we see it as a challenge. It's vital that we work for a world in which all children can live with hope for the future. To this end, instead of resting on our laurels having established a PC centre in just one place, we need to think about establishing more all over Cambodia. We would like to see each center become self sufficent.
I first became aware of the child prostitution problem when I visited Asia during the summer of my second year at university. I went on a study tour with an NGO and met a little girl who was living on her own. She had AIDS, inherited at birth from her mother. I was told that her mother, coming from a poor background, had been sold to a brothel where she had contracted AIDS. That this 5 year old girl could be robbed of her mother, and cursed with this disease, left me angry beyond words. Upon my return to Japan, I, together with some colleagues, decided to start helping to bring an end to this situation. Our supporters were many and the help we received came in many forms. Starting from having nothing, we found ourselves with a base in Cambodia. Even now we continue to look towards a solution to the tragedy of child prostitution. We would like to increase awareness of this problem.
Feel free to contact us.
Kamonohashi Project
Web site: http://www.kamonohashi-project.net/en/
E-mail:contact@kamonohashi-project.net
TEL:+81(0)3-5454-3082
Address: 21-1 Nagata Building 2F
Shinsen-cho,
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
150-0045
JAPAN