Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities
Encyclopedia
Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities (DEPDC) is a non-profit, community based NGO (non-governmental organization
) working in Thailand
to prevent child exploitation and prostitution and defending vulnerable minor's rights. The DEP, later the DEPDC, was originally founded in 1988 by Sampop Jantraka, as a response to the practice of selling young children into the sex industry. Women and children of Thai nationality are being increasingly victimized, but additionally and especially vulnerable to this type of exploitation are children of refugee, or "stateless", status, who have no citizenship and therefore no access to education, health care or legitimate work opportunities. The DEPDC offers free education, vocational training and full time accommodation for young girls and boys, and helps combat human trafficking
in the Mekong Sub-Region.
Founder Sompap Jantraka has been twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. He grew up impoverished in Southern Thailand. In 1988, while working to identify why women and children went into prostitution, he decided that working to eliminate this epidemic was to be his life goal. He used the money that he earned as a researcher to pay families of girls that would have otherwise been sent to a life of sexual slavery, but instead were allowed to stay home and obtain their education.
The DEPDC's stated mission is to "aim to instill self-confidence and positive attitudes among the children as well as improve the material, social, and spiritual quality of life for these children and their communities."
The projects of association are sponsored and supported by ILO
, UNICEF, USAID, Oxfam Netherlands
and others. In addition, The Thailand Project: Higher Education as Humanitarian Aid proposes to partner non-governmental organizations with American universities with the goal of offering educational opportunities to stateless young women like those who attended DEPDC in order to give these individuals the tools to return to their home country and work to combat the conditions that cause child exploitation and prostitution.
DEPDC originally started in 1989 by helping nineteen girls; their program has now expanded to helping over 400 girls find alternatives to entering the sex trade. DEPDC works with community leaders to identify which girls are going to be at a higher level of risk to enter the sex trade, they then work with the family to gain their trust and support. Gaining the family’s trust and support is crucial to the success of the girls; however, they program does offer alternative living arrangements for girls that are not allowed to stay with their family.
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
) working in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
to prevent child exploitation and prostitution and defending vulnerable minor's rights. The DEP, later the DEPDC, was originally founded in 1988 by Sampop Jantraka, as a response to the practice of selling young children into the sex industry. Women and children of Thai nationality are being increasingly victimized, but additionally and especially vulnerable to this type of exploitation are children of refugee, or "stateless", status, who have no citizenship and therefore no access to education, health care or legitimate work opportunities. The DEPDC offers free education, vocational training and full time accommodation for young girls and boys, and helps combat human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
in the Mekong Sub-Region.
Founder Sompap Jantraka has been twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. He grew up impoverished in Southern Thailand. In 1988, while working to identify why women and children went into prostitution, he decided that working to eliminate this epidemic was to be his life goal. He used the money that he earned as a researcher to pay families of girls that would have otherwise been sent to a life of sexual slavery, but instead were allowed to stay home and obtain their education.
The DEPDC's stated mission is to "aim to instill self-confidence and positive attitudes among the children as well as improve the material, social, and spiritual quality of life for these children and their communities."
The projects of association are sponsored and supported by ILO
Ilo
Ilo is a port city in southern Peru, with some 58,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the Moquegua Region and capital of the province of Ilo.-History:...
, UNICEF, USAID, Oxfam Netherlands
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
and others. In addition, The Thailand Project: Higher Education as Humanitarian Aid proposes to partner non-governmental organizations with American universities with the goal of offering educational opportunities to stateless young women like those who attended DEPDC in order to give these individuals the tools to return to their home country and work to combat the conditions that cause child exploitation and prostitution.
DEPDC originally started in 1989 by helping nineteen girls; their program has now expanded to helping over 400 girls find alternatives to entering the sex trade. DEPDC works with community leaders to identify which girls are going to be at a higher level of risk to enter the sex trade, they then work with the family to gain their trust and support. Gaining the family’s trust and support is crucial to the success of the girls; however, they program does offer alternative living arrangements for girls that are not allowed to stay with their family.