Free to Shine & Kobomo
Free to Shine is an organisation very close to our hearts here at KOBOMO because women and education are two things we believe in very strongly!
Free to Shine operations aim to take down the act of sex trafficking in Cambodia. Sex trafficking mainly occurs in the most underdeveloped communities where families are desperate for money, for food for their family. More common than not most families believe that sending their young daughters off to the cities with these "business men" is going to result in work and money and ultimately a brighter future than theirs for their daughters. A portion of the work that Free to Shine do is with the families of girls as well as girls themselves to help educate and prevent a situation from occurring in the first place.While root causes of children being trafficked for sex are complex the main contributors include poverty and gender inequality.
The introduction of education to these girls, however, is proving to be to the detriment of sex traffickers. Furthermore the 2006 United Nations Secretary-General’s study on Violence against Children made numerous recommendations on how best to prevent violence against children addressing the immediate risk factors for these children as being a lack of parent-child attachment, family breakdown and abuse of alcohol and/or drugs, stating that attention on policies that address poverty and gender inequality are of paramount importance. The fundamental belief of Free to Shine is that prevention is key, and that if girls are in school, they are far less likely to be trafficked for a number of reasons. Free to Shine seek out those at the highest risk of being trafficked and support them through education and their presence in the community.
Profits from forced commercial sexual exploitation are calculated at roughly 27.8 billion dollars US each year! Trafficked children are subjects of rape, torture, starvation and threats. We are deeply connected to this cause, most of us being mothers ourselves, we are concerned with seeing a brighter future for as many of these kids as we can! For them to have their lives flipped around and reshaped for the better! Education is at the core of this social restoration that needs to occur to keep kids safe!
Free to Shine truly do beautiful and wonderful work with educating girls, rescuing girls and being ever present for them to thrive in their very unlucky circumstances. We are honored to be supporting Free to Shine and contributing to the bettering of the world through the sale of fabulous dresses!
‘All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.’ - Edmund Burke
Karen & Kobomo
Karen has played out many different roles in her life, from studying psychology at university, to a being a career woman in the corporate world of recruitment. In the end, it was the allure of being her own boss with her own creative direction that lead to the conception of KOBOMO. Karen’s perspectives on life are filled with the refreshing clarity of someone who loves what they do. . Karen has a spirit of generosity and has truly exhibited her essence in so many aspects of KOBOMO and it’s culture. To a large extent KOBOMO reflects it’s architect– a bit of this and a bit of that, a lot of colour and a lot of heart all strung together quite unconventionally.
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“If it really doesn't make you happy, don't do it. If it really makes you happy do more of it. And get paid for it.” - Karen