Rehabilitation

AFESIP's rehabilitation centres not only respond to the needs of sex trafficking victims by providing a safe refuge and psychological support, but also provide residents with the skills necessary to make a living for themselves.

Vientiane Centre

AFESIP Lao PDR opened its rehabilitation centre in Vientiane in 2007, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.

The centre, which can accomodate up to 16 residents at one time, aims to care for and prepare trafficking victims for reintegration by providing:

• Safe accommodation, food, clothing, hygienic care and necessary daily items
• Healthcare through clinics and hospitals
• Psychological and counseling services
• Educational and occupational training courses or apprenticeships (sewing, embroidery, hairdressing, crafts, electronics, cooking and driving)
• Life skills training

Savannakhet Centre

In January 2009, a new rehabilitation centre will open in Savanakhet to welcome women and girls from the central and southern provinces of Laos.

Through vocational training activities at the centre, AFESIP hopes to ensure victims are equipped with the necessary skills to integrate back into society.

To offer realistic aid, as the current level of development in many provinces does not require skills beyond agriculture and simple business management, training will be tailored towards

• Basic business management with a foundation on managing business finance
• Employable skills like beauty services and hairdressing (the tourism industry is in its infancy but it is definitely growing and there are very few beauty related industries in the country currently)
• Handicrafts such as silk/lotus fibre flowers to be sold at souvenir shops (this is currently being done in Vientiane with greqat success)
  
• Farming (this includes education on fishing, agriculture, market ventures, plantation, and more)
• Sewing (tailoring and producing blankets or quilts)
• Basic elementary education to provide the victims with basic reading and writing skills in the Lao language

The Beneficiaries

In addition to victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation, AFESIP's rehabilitation project hopes to benefit:

• young women in prostitution who are unable to leave without external assistance
• young women who are at risk of contracting aids and other sexually transmitted diseases
• young women in precarious situations who are vulnerable to being trafficked into prostitution
  
• the families of victims and their communities

AFESIP also hopes the rehabilitation of victims through vocational skills training will stimulate economic growth and capacity building in victims' communities.