Childrens saved from the prostitution in Cambodia

Twenty kilometers from Phnom Penh, a former French television star saves poor girls from prostitution to offer them a high-end education ... French NGO “Toutes à l’école” (All to School) was created in 2006 by former journalist Tina Kieffer, then director of MARIE CLAIRE magazine in Paris and ex-television star and this year celebrates its tenth anniversary. In 2004, Tina Kieffer is on vacation in Cambodia. By chance, she visits an orphanage and "meets", as she says herself, a little girl who will become her 5th child. Indeed, moved and touched down at heart by this girl named Chandara, she adopts her and brings her back to France. Affected by the catastrophic situation of the little Cambodian girls, often left to themselves or used by their families to work in the fields when not simply sold to child prostitution, Tina decides to act and come to their help. Certainly, Cambodia is less affected by sexual trafficking of children as neighboring Thailand, but the numbers of UNICEF are chilling. With an estimated 50 to 70 thousand prostitutes in this country in which one third are children. Often trapped by touts, some girls are even sold by their own families who prefer to sacrifice a girl to live decently for a few months. Children, often from ethnic minorities and slums are found in some 3000 bars, karaoke, massage parlors and brothels of Phnom Penh and throughout the country. It is noticed in recent years that children are increasingly young and it is not uncommon to find girls from 4 or 5 years sold very expensively to customers eager for their virginity. The local political laxity and corruption, non-repressive laws, particularly the staggering poverty and lack of future have caused statistics to explode for several years. Poverty is huge and many parents often have no choice but to let their daughters work at a young age. Many families live in very great precariousness: poor housing, overcrowding, very low incomes (resulting in food shortages, addiction problems or acts of abuse). Public schools are overcrowded and offer courses at halftime. Girls are often forced out of school by the end of primary to help their families. Today, 30% of older Cambodian women aged 15 and more, can neither read nor write (to 15% of men). Girls account for only 36% of school children in Cambodia. Only 21% of legislators, officials and managers are women. 40% of the women are living in rural areas and have poor access to medical care. Tina Kieffer moves heaven and earth to find money, patrons (L'Oréal, Clarins, Marie-Claire, but also Christian Lacroix, Chantal Thomass, and television stars Michel Drucker and Claire Chazal, godmother of the association, gave her a boost), and sponsors, and within two years, she created her first school named "Happy Chandara", by the name that started it all. Less than a third of school children worldwide are girls. Faced with this terrible situation, Tina Kieffer founded the association whose primary mission is to provide a high-level education to poor girls and to lead this to a trade that will bring them freedom and dignity. The school, located 20 km from Phnom Penh, now educates 1080 students and 100 new girls are enrolled each year. A vocational training center has also been opened in September 2013. The girls are accompanied throughout their academic or professional training to their first job. Finally, a boarding school with a capacity of 130 seats welcomes the poorest girls. The aim of the school is to train young women in positions of reflection and decision of tomorrow. Some will become doctors, teachers, judges, entrepreneurs... When I met Tina Kieffer at the beginning of 2016 in Nice, I was convinced by her story and I proposed her to visit Happy Chandara to do a photo reportage. The desire to help, at my level, to tell her story, to testify to make known her action, and to sensitize other sponsors for her small protégés.