About Us

The AFESIP Center

Heart Mothers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of over eighty women from across the world who write monthly letters and send care packages to a group of former child-victims of sex trafficking and exploitation in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Heart Mothers works closely with the AFESIP organization, which provides the care and services needed to successfully rehabilitate and reintegrate survivors into their communities.

In 2006 our founder, Ruth Williams, flipped through a magazine and a photo of a young girl caught her eye. The article accompanying it was about sex-trafficking in Cambodia. It never left Ruth's mind, prompting her to write to Somaly Mam, the woman in the article responsible for getting that young girl, and many more, out of sex trafficking. What began after that was a friendship between Ruth and Somaly, and the young girl from the magazine. Ruth and Somaly realized that all the girls at the center could benefit from having a loving care-figure in their lives, and Heart Mothers was born.

The Role of the Heart Mother

Ruth Williams

Heart Mothers Founder

Heart Mothers is a 100% volunteer run organization. Each one of our volunteers is matched with a young girl at the AFESIP center in Cambodia. Once a month, that volunteer writes a letter and sends photos to her Heart Daughter. The goal is to provide a safe, encouraging, and loving relationship so that we may foster the most supportive environment to allow these young girls to thrive and grow. Each and every one of our Heart Mothers is dedicated to treating her Heart Daughter as part of her own family. In addition to the monthly letters, several times a year our Heart Mothers send gifts or needed items to the girls. Annual trips to Cambodia are made to assess needs at the center, needs of the girls and staff, and, most importantly, spend time with the girls. A loving and supportive bond with the girls is our main goal, ensuring that no matter what they have been through or what lies in their future, they will always have someone in their corner. We would like to thank all of our Heart Mothers for giving their time and love to a well deserving young woman.

Our Beginnings

We work hand-in-hand with AFESIP (the French acronym for Agir pour les Femmes en Situation Précaire, or Acting for Women in Distressing Situations). AFESIP combats sex trafficking, slavery, and exploitation of women and children in Cambodia by removing them from precarious situations, providing care and rehabilitation, and if possible, reintegrating them into their communities. They provide counseling, healthcare, education, and vocational training to the girls so that they can live happy, healthy, dignified lives. Our main goals are to support this process by giving the girls a supportive figure to encourage her and love her unconditionally as well as fundraising to support the cost of the services provided to the girls at the AFESIP center.

Somaly Mam

AFESIP Founder