ADAPT

PCC and Pacific Links Foundation members in front of the office: Our warmest welcome.

On October 17, 2007, the Pacific Links Foundation/ADAPT office in Long Xuyen had the great pleasure of receiving 16 visitors from halfway across the globe. Emerging out of the pouring rain, the visitors stepped into our tiny office, immediately filling the atmosphere with warmth and excitement. They came with bright smiles and infectious positive energy. We have a very small office space but the size of their hearts more than made up for the lack of room.

The 16 visitors are members of the Piedmont Community Church (PCC) that is based in Piedmont, California (USA). They, and other members of the church, have made a generous donation of $40,000 to ADAPT through the East Meets West Foundation, one of our partners in ADAPT, to support scholarships for at-risk girls over a three-year period. This contribution means a significant difference for many young girls between a life with an education and viable employment options and that of a life of poverty, chronic under-employment, and high trafficking risks.

In the past, our scholarship girls have expressed to us on innumerable occasions their gratitude for the support they receive. For us, it is moving to have 16 visitors, many of which have never been to Viet Nam, come all the way from California to An Giang Province. We, for the first time, get to meet these benefactors and pass on the gratitude that is long over-due.

PCC members also had the opportunity to visit girls in the vocational training and scholarship program and see for themselves, firsthand, the humbling impact their contribution has had on the girls' lives. The girls in our sewing class in Chau Phu and the scholarship recipients in Quoc Thai cherished the chance to meet and personally thank the PCC members face-to-face. We're sure PCC members were just as inspired and moved by the meeting as our girls were.

Of additional significance, we greatly appreciate the moral support of Piedmont Community Church members. Not only did these visitors travel thousands of miles to visit us and benevolently bring along new backpacks to donate to the students, Reverend Don Ashburn warmly stated that, "Visiting ADAPT is the highlight of our trip!"

Well, the feeling is mutual! As a small project team of only 9 members, 3 of whom are volunteers, ADAPT has taken on the fight to reverse human trafficking in the Mekong Delta. We are touched by the outpouring of support we receive from people from all over the world. The visit of these generous 16 guests certainly has left a memorable imprint in our hearts, reminding us that we are not the alone in this struggle.

Introduction: 20 people in a tiny meeting room. We never have had this many visitors before!

Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility
Pacific Links Foundation had the special opportunity to attend the 6th Annual Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility held this year in Ho Chi Minh City on September 27-28, 2007. The annual forum is used as a medium in which local and global companies can meet and share how best to integrate social responsibility into business processes and address corporate social responsibility (CSR) challenges. PALS’ participation in the Asian Forum was two fold: (1) as booth exhibitors in the CSR Expo showcasing creative and innovative socially responsible projects and (2) as finalists in the Banyan Tree Value Challenge (BTVC) grant competition.

As booth exhibitors, PALS had the wonderful opportunity of sharing our anti-human trafficking efforts, our ADAPT program, with hundreds of conference delegates and of making meaningful connections to companies that are excited to work together to help us further ADAPT's work.

In even more exciting news, PALS participated in the BTVC grant competition that called for NGOs to submit proposals on CSR projects in Viet Nam. As a one of three finalists, PALS was invited to make a competitive presentation at the forum to a panel of judges. By the end of the day, it was announced that PALS had won the grant competition! The judges were impressed by the scope of ADAPT's work and moved by the enthusiasm and passion of ADAPT staff members. As such, the judges decided to double the original grant amount of $7,500 and award PALS $15,000!

The happy results of the BTVC grant competition was not the only thing to rejoice. The sponsors at Banyan Tree were further interested in working together with PALS in the future to expand upon ADAPT's work! Exciting potential lies ahead to develop the vocational training and job placement component of ADAPT.

Pacific Links Foundation is thrilled at the overall success of our participation in the Asian Forum and energized by all the positive feedback and support received. This truly is a testament that bridges can be made between the non-profit world and corporations when both are invested in local change to make a global impact.

Award Ceremony: Michael Kwee from Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts hands Linda Tran from PALS the prize.

To raise international awareness about the plight of human trafficking in
Viet Nam, Pacific Links Foundation (PALS) will host two special screenings of ‘Holly’ on

Saturday November 24th at 1:50pm at Edwards Cinema 10 in Westminster, CA and

Friday November 30th at Kabuki Theater in San Francisco, CA

Saturday December 1st at Elmwood Theater in Berkeley, CA

‘Holly,’ first premiered at the UN Headquarters on November 7th and described as “hard to watch but even harder
to forget” by The New York Sun, is a highly acclaimed feature film produced by Priority Films. Shot on location in
Cambodia, including many scenes in actual brothels in the notorious red-light district of Phnom Penh, ‘Holly’ is a
captivating and emotional drama. Harsh, yet poetic, the film is dedicated to raising awareness of the epidemic of
“sexploitation”—child trafficking and the sex slavery trade. Garnering buzz and acclaim, The New York Observer
writes the film “shines a light on the perverse and sordid part of the world few people have ever seen.” Hampton
TV praises ‘Holly’ as “Spellbinding. A must see film!”

The movie follows the story of Holly, a 12-year-old Vietnamese girl (Actress Thuy Nguyen) sold by her
impoverished family and smuggled across the border to work as a prostitute in Cambodian brothels. Patrick, an
American man (Actor Ron Livingston of OFFICE SPACE), embarks on a frantic search through the beautiful and
sordid faces of Cambodia in an attempt to bring her to safety.

The problem of modern day slavery encompasses trafficking, labor export, domestic worker arrangements,
marriage arrangements. The United Nations estimates more than one million people, mostly young and innocent
born into poverty, are being enslaved against their will each year. Many Vietnamese American non-governmental
organizations have worked to help reducing the suffering and raise awareness about this tragedy. They need your
help in the face of immense difficulties both in funding and in getting authorities to pay more attention to protecting
the innocent, prosecuting the predators and assisting victims.
Started in 2005, ADAPT (An giang Dong thap Alliance for the Prevention of Trafficking) is a collaboration among
three Vietnamese American NGOs including Pacific Links Foundation, East Meets West Foundation and
International Children Assistance Network with partial support from USAID. ADAPT is based in the Mekong
Delta in Viet Nam and works to prevent the trafficking of young girls and women across the Viet Nam-Cambodia
border. ADAPT strives towards its goals through activities aiming at enhancing the educational attainment and
improving vocational choices for at-risk young girls; for trafficking victims, our efforts focus on their gaining a
solid and safe new leash on life through reintegration assistance. For more information on ADAPT, please visit:
www.adaptvietnam.org

Guy Moshe, Writer/Director of ‘Holly,’ Lead Actress Thuy Nguyen – a resident of Orange County, and Diep
Vuong of PALS/ADAPT will be in attendance for a Q&A panel after the film in Westminster. Guy Jacobson,
Writer/Producer of ‘Holly,’ and ADAPT representatives will be on hand for the Q&A sessions in Berkeley and San
Francisco.
We invite you to come to the screenings and join the movement to end trafficking.

Contact:
Diep Vuong - Pacific Links Foundation
510-435-3035
adapt@pacificlinks.org