Spotlight on: Hagar and IJM

Here is an email update I received from Hagar International:

As many of you know, we have been anticipating an NBC Dateline program featuring Hagar's Aftercare Program for several months. The program was planned as a follow-up to a 2003 raid on Phnom Penh brothels, which was led by International Justice Mission and which NBC Dateline accompanied undercover. Girls rescued at at very young ages have been in Hagar's care ever since. Four girls in Hagar's care were interviewed by NBC's Chris Hansen in January.

NBC has posted a segment that includes Hagar footage on their website. The eight minute clip first highlights another organization in Cambodia, and the last half includes the story of 'our' four girls, and their recovery. Entitled "New Hope for Rescued Girls" the piece includes interviews with Talmage Payne, Hagar Cambodia CEO, and Sue Taylor, Senior Manager of Hagar Children's Programs. As you will see, it is a story of hope and resilience, and we admire the girls's willingness to share their stories. (If the clip doesn't start automatically for you, go to 'Dateline' at the bottom left, and scroll through the options to select 'New Hope for Rescued Girls.')

You can see other footage and read the program transcript elsewhere on NBC Dateline's website. We appreciate the network's attention to this egregious human rights abuse, and we hope it inspires a new level of awareness, concern, and generosity across American viewers.

Hagar's work is made possible by charitable donations, contributed by those who share our passion to serve girls like Tieng, Yau, Loeum, and Tau. These are girls who share the darkest of pasts, but who now face the future with dreams and plans. If you share our passion to serve the exploited, destitute, and rejected, you can make a difference. Donate now to help us restore more broken lives.

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I can't help feeling like the man in the video who felt like he had to do something.