Trafficked Children Get a Fresh Start

In Albania, USAID supports Tjeter Vizion, an organization that helps children who were being trafficked to other countries to resume a normal life. Some are reunited with their families, and some, particularly those who have suffered trauma, are placed under the organization’s legal custody. Tjeter Vizion runs a residential center, day care center, and secure apartments for trafficking victims and other at-risk youth. Staff members help younger residents with their school work while older children are trained in a vocation like plumbing or hair-dressing. Dritan was trafficked at age six, often beaten and forced to steal, beg, and sleep on the streets. Now 14, he has lived in a Tjeter Vizion secure apartment for six months and is training to be a car mechanic. USAID also supports Transnational Action against Child Trafficking (TACT), an organization that works to teach elementary school children about the dangers of trafficking before they are placed at risk. TACT visits schools to show testimonial videos of trafficked children and distribute pamphlets about kids who were made to beg on the street. Operating in half of Albania’s districts, TACT has reached some 25,000 children with its anti-trafficking message.

An elementary school student reads a brochure about the dangers of trafficking. Photo: USAID/Stephanie Pepi