The work of Rapha International began as the vision of native Cambodian Christian leaders. These Cambodian leaders had repeatedly witnessed girls disappearing from their villages to be sold and exploited. They had the desire and the will to combat for these children, but needed the structure, programming and funding to do this work. After visiting with religious and community leaders in Cambodia and witnessing the nightmare of human trafficking first hand, Rapha's founders began to recruit experts and partners with a heart to combat child slavery. In 2003, Rapha International began their safe house program for children who had been rescued from slavery and sexual exploitation. After more than a decade of growth, Rapha International is now an international safe house program which has won the favor of the governments in the countries in which it works. It is an organization which practices excellence in the standards of caring for children who have been rescued from these traumatic situations. The Rapha International model is to find native people who are qualified and passionate about combating the issues of child slavery and sexual exploitation in their own countries, and equipping them to combat on behalf of these children. Rapha is a Hebrew word which means “healing.” And healing is the heartbeat of Rapha International.
