Hagar International

Hagar International is a Swiss-based[1] global humanitarian nonprofit organization offering services and assistance to people who have escaped sexual slavery and/or human trafficking in Cambodia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Singapore.[2][3][4][5][6] It is focused on helping victims with recovery,[7] and was founded in Cambodia in 1994 by Pierre Tami.[8] Hagar started providing services to Afghanistan and Vietnam in 2009. It expanded to Myanmar in 2014. Hagar International has been noted for working with male victims in addition to women and children.[9] A main goal is to help victims achieve stability and financial independence though skill-based training and job opportunity programs.[6][10] Hagar International recommends an ongoing process which starts with the victim, then the victim's family, and finally helps integrate them into the community.[11] The organization often works directly with local and federal governments to improve social services.[12][13] Several children from their special "catch-up" schools have been able to graduate and go to university.[14] They have a legal protection unit, which was established in 2011, and helps provide legal services and representation in court.[15]

Hagar International was named after the biblical character Hagar from Genesis 16-21. Hagar was an Egyptian slave woman to Sarah – Abraham's wife. When Sarah was unable to bear a child, she gave Hagar to her own husband to bear him a child. But yet when Hagar became pregnant, Sarah turned jealous and mistreated Hagar severely. In a personal encounter with God when she ran away from her mistress, God comforted Hagar that her cries have been heard. In her brokenness, Hagar received a promise from God that she will bear a son; his name shall be called Ishmael whom God will make a great nation from his descendants. Representing the outcast of society and object of exploitation and abuse, Hagar International's goal is to help the "Hagars" and "Ishmaels" of the world regain dignity and live empowered lives.[16][17]