Rina*

AGE

18 yrs

Working

Cook

Reintegrated

in 2020

WILL RECEIVE SHE CARE

until 2023

THINGS SHE LIKES TO DO

Traditional Khmer Games

FAVORITE FOOD

Fish soup

AMBITION

Chef

Rina’s Reintegration Story

Rina* came to the SHE Rescue Home last year when she was just 15 years old. She left school in grade 8 so that she could start working at a restaurant in the city. Her boss began charging her all of her income for the cost of her uniforms and washing. He continued the exploitation by charging her for more and more things until she was told she owed $16000. He threatened her and ordered her to work to pay off the debt. Her mother was worried when she hadn’t heard from her in a while and called the police to find her. Once she was found and rescued, she was welcomed into the SHE Rescue Home.

Since being in the SHE Rescue Home Rina* has applied for, and has been approved for, a hospitality vocational training program. Covid19 has closed the training school for a few months but Rina* has been learning from the cooks and house mums as much as she can. She has enjoyed helping cook for large groups of people. Her mother has been encouraging her in her studies and is very proud of her for getting into the program. Rina* has been missing her mother a lot and has asked to be able to go home until her program restarts.

With Rina* wanting to return home and her mother being a safe and supportive person we have decided to reintegrate Rina* home until she can resume her training. We’ve had a wonderful party with everyone in the SHE Rescue Home and gifted her with a chest filled with gifts of clothing, make up and jewellery as well as a bicycle, phone and three 50kg bags of rice for her family.

Her plans for the future are to stay with her family until Covid19 restrictions ease and then she return to Phnom Penh and our SHE Transition Home to complete her vocational training while living semi-independently. We have also alerted local law enforcement of her return so they can respond if anyone related to her perpetrator visits the community. We are confident of her safety in the family home and community. We will continue to provide counselling and social work support for her and her family.

*names changed for privacy