Philip, the ICCM Cambodia National Coordinator (pictured below) shared this in a text:
“The picture you used in Tuesday’s Child broke my heart. The girl (pictured here on the left) has left school. She is working in Thailand; she has a younger sister in the program, we fear for her future. We are all
praying for her.”
The fragility and vulnerability of the children in each of our ICCM programs, particularly our ICCM Cambodia program, has never been clearer.
Cambodia (CMB) is a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking. The traffickers have reportedly organized crime syndicates, parents, relatives, friends, intimate partners, and neighbors. Despite human trafficking being a crime in Cambodia, the country has a significant child sex tourism problem. Some children are sold by their parents, while others are lured into what they think are legitimate job offers. Children are often held captive, beaten and starved to force them into prostitution.
God has created every child with dignity. ICCM CMB, a holistic child development ministry, is committed to upholding and preserving every Cambodian child’s dignity. It is opposed to all forms of child exploitation and abuses that harm and affect a child’s development and growth.
The ICCM Cambodia Child Protection Plan states:
• We, the ICCM CMB together with our Free Methodist Church (FMC) leadership and pastors, firmly believe in and support the ministry’s values of respect and care for the children.
• We aim to focus on children’s protection in the weekly learning activities of children.
• We will provide intentional education about all forms of child abuse and exploitation to all CMB Free Methodist Church leaders, pastors and ICCM staff who directly interact with children and parents.
• We will educate village leaders in new church planting areas.