by Mary Manning, Heidelberg IWC
Target Project 6–Power Her Path: Empowering Trafficking Survivors & Vulnerable Migrants to Thrive
Organization: Pacific Links Foundation
Location: Vietnam, focusing on Northern provinces bordering China
We are thrilled to announce Power Her Path as FAWCO’s Target Project 6.0, selected by FAWCO Member Clubs to advance the Human Rights theme: Advancing Dignity, Equality, and Freedom for Women and Girls. Working together with Pacific Links Foundation, FAWCO’s support will deliver trauma-informed, survivor-centered reintegration support to women and girls who have survived human trafficking, forced labor or forced marriage, as well as those at risk of exploitation.
Context
Vietnam remains a significant source country for victims trafficked to Asia and Europe. Marginalized women in Vietnam, particularly ethnic minorities, face compounding vulnerabilities—limited education, few economic opportunities, proximity to trafficking routes—and today, over 70% of survivors report being recruited via deceptive social media posts.
Even survivors who are formally identified often receive only short-term support. Without sustained reintegration, many face the risk of re-victimization.
The Project
FAWCO will have clear ownership of several activities and innovations that will produce unique impact and success stories:
- Survivor Support Line: Ensuring survivors and loved ones can reach out for help at any time.
- Stakeholder Training: Training responders like border guards, police and community members to identify potential survivors and refer them for services.
- Innovation: Fully Community-Based Model: Establishing a network of housing providers, as requested by participants, where they can access services, rather than a shelter-based model.
- Innovation: Establishment of a new consultation room, Rise.Hub Drop-In Center
- Innovation: New Entrepreneurship Pathway: This will include business training, mentorship and seed grants for survivors to launch small businesses.
Beyond these activities, Power Her Path funds reintegration services, such as RISE care packages and immediate safety support for returning survivors; wraparound health, legal and psychosocial services; as well as vocational training and economic resilience programming.
SDGs addressed
About Pacific Links Foundation
Pacific Links Foundation was co-founded by Diep Vuong, a Vietnamese-American activist whose personal history is inseparable from her work. In 1980, she fled Vietnam as a refugee, escaping by boat with her family. She grew up in the United States, working multiple jobs, and went on to earn degrees from Harvard and San Jose State University.
She returned to Vietnam in 2001, co-founding Pacific Links Foundation in the communities she had come from, determined to break the cycles of poverty and exploitation that had shaped her own early life. In 2018, she was named Global Citizen of the Year for her uncompromising advocacy against human trafficking.
For additional information, you are invited to learn more about the organization:
Pacific Links Foundation Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
Activist Diep Vuong Named Global Citizen of the Year for Work to Fight Human Trafficking - Saigoneer
Human trafficking - dreams and realities: Diep Vuong at TEDxSanJoseCA 2012
A special thank you to LAUNCH Education Advisors, our Target Program sponsor. Their generosity will support Target Program education and awareness.
* None of the LAUNCH monies will be used as donations for the chosen Target Project.
