DEPDC/GMS

The Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities Centre in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (DEPDC/GMS) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Chiang Rai Province, Northern Thailand. The community based organisation has a diverse 25-year history and currently works primarily to prevent and to protect children and youth from being trafficked into exploitative labo

ur conditions, in particular the commercial s*x industry. DEPDC/GMS’ programmes provide crucial preventative measures of education, vocational and life skills training, protection and accommodation, family and community outreach services, and leadership development to at-risk children and youth in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. The Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS) is comprised of the six countries through which the Mekong River flows: Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Guangxi and Yunnan Provinces in Southern China. Human trafficking in Northern Thailand is prevalent due to numerous populations of minority ethnic groups, many of which lack Thai citizenship. Historically, these people have suffered extreme poverty, because they lack access to formal education and health care and they have little political power. As a result, people from these marginalized groups are often compelled to seek financial alternatives in order to survive. Many families, therefore, resort to selling their children into exploitative labour conditions, frequently with the promise that their children are going to work in a decent, safe workplace. The human trafficking process is far reaching and its causes are deep. Thailand is a country of origin, transit, and destination for trafficking victims, and with the near future opening of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community in 2015, the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS) will inevitably remain a major hub for the trafficking of children. DEPDC/GMS aims to intervene to help at-risk children, families, and communities in order to free them from the conditions and factors which increase their vulnerability to the cycle of human trafficking. The organisation operates a range of programmes and projects which facilitate this mission at three distinct programme sites, strategically located throughout Thailand’s northern most province of Chiang Rai, in the districts of Mae Sai, Mae Chan, and Chiang Khong. Each program site functions differently, but all work toward the common goal of reducing the psychosocial risks which leave children and youth vulnerable to trafficking in the region.