Programs
Global
Our Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (MNCH) Program addresses the overwhelming need to provide antenatal care and safe in-hospital delivery for pregnant mothers who are trafficked or in sex work. Many mothers who are trafficked or in sex work who are pregnant cannot afford the costs of antenatal care and in-hospital delivery, which includes: registration, transportation to hospital for antenatal care visits and delivery, antiseptic, razor, cloth, etc, and childcare for the mothers’ other children while they are in the hospital. Our MNCH Program facilitates safe deliveries for mothers in collaboration with our local partners in Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya.
The minimum cost for urgent maternal health care is $720, and comprehensive care (including nutrition) is $1320.
The vast majority of sexually exploited teens and mothers in sex work who are pregnant or have recently given birth are at high risk of depression and suicide. To address their mental health needs, we work with our local partners to convene a monthly mental health support group. These groups are facilitated by a trained counselor. We also provide childcare during the support meetings so the mothers can focus on their needs. As hunger and malnutrition greatly impact the mental health of the mothers, we also provide each mother who participates in the group a food basket that she can take home with her.
The cost for this program is $600/month to provide support to 20 mothers and their children.
Due to the global food crisis and rising inflation, many of these mothers struggle to feed themselves and their children. In recent field research, we have found that the majority of these mothers can only feed their children once per day. Reliable access to food is particularly important for mothers who are pregnant, have young children, or have HIV/AIDS. Mothers with HIV/AIDS who do not have food cannot take their antiretroviral medications to treat their HIV/AIDS due to the overwhelming side effects of the drugs when taken in absence of food. Our program provides nutritious food and cooking supplies for these mothers and their children in collaboration with our local partners.
The cost to support nutrition for a pregnant mom and her children is $180 per month, or $6 per day.
Education for children of mothers who are trafficked or in sex work is key in preventing them from being sexually exploited. We provided the funding to start the Early Childhood Development Center in Kampala, Uganda, during the pandemic when many of these children had no options for education. We continue to fund our local partner, Rhythm of Life (ROL), which operates the program in collaboration with a local school.
We are expanding early education for these children to other cities and countries. The cost for elementary education for a year is $600.
In addition, we are funding adolescent daughters to attend boarding schools in Kampala. This program protects these daughters from sexual exploitation and provides them with a quality education so they have better economic opportunities when they graduate.
The cost to support a daughter in boarding school is $520 per term, the annual cost is $1,560.
The vast majority of mothers who support their children though sex work want alternative sources of income, so we have created an a program to help them start small businesses or learn a trade. As one of our local partners stated, “This is the ultimate harm reduction program: the moms will not be at risk of HIV or violence that often leads to their death, and will prevent hunger among their children.” We work with our local partners to develop a business plan for each mom to start a business that can fully sustain her and her children.
In addition, this program is helping adolescent girls who have been sexually exploited and become mothers to start small businesses.
The average cost to support a new business for these mothers is $960.
Local
In Portland, Oregon, we have operated Our Mother’s House since 2007, a program for women who have been trafficked, who are in sex work and are pregnant, or who are mothers and their children. We help women to secure prenatal care, health services for their children, food, and clothing. Our objective is to empower and support women and their children in the Portland metro area, and to help create similar programs in other cities.
