Country: United States

Organization: Cents of Relief, Inc.

Innovation: Traffickers exploit poverty and illiteracy that are rampant in many parts of the world to buy children from uneducated and destitute parents. These naive parents believe that this broker will be able to provide their child with a better life, never suspecting that their child will become a sex slave. We present "Rx Healthy Solutions," a computer-based health initiative that will teach about hygiene, First Aid, and trafficking. This software will improve health literacy even among the uneducated and teach the computer skills demanded by many jobs. The technical skills acquired by using this program will give trafficked victims a better chance of leaving behind the red-light areas, while teaching parents the dangers of trafficking.

Impact: "Rx Healthy Solutions" has the potential to create change on an international level. Our program will work with trafficked victims who lack access to obtain basic knowledge on health care and computer skills. Through "Rx Healthy Solutions," trafficking victims will gain an understanding of how to take care of their health and how to use computers. The health education will be taught in a unique manner combining interactive quizzes with fun-filled games. In addition, the software will contain a lifestyle choices section educating the population on trafficking. NGOs will be able to utilize "Rx Healthy Solutions" to teach trafficking victims take care of themselves through computers and uneducated parents the perils of human trafficking.

Tipping Point: As a consequence of this software, trafficked victims will learn the skills of operating a computer, skills vital for obtaining a good job in this day and age. Many trafficked victims including children, who have been coerced to work as prostitutes, will learn the appropriate measures to take to maintain good health. The software creates a tipping point as it empowers trafficked victims with a larger set of skills that will help them avoid the traps of human traffickers. Using the lifestyle component of this program, parents can understand the dangers and dynamics of human trafficking. The gap in our capacity lies in our ability to develop high-powered graphics due to financial constraints and outmoded computers in NGOs.

Replication: Cents of Relief will enable the republication of "Rx Healthy Solutions." We will offer the "Rx Healthy Solutions" software to NGOs at no cost. The simplicity of our software application will allow for greater replication among NGOs that may otherwise lack the technical skills needed to implement software. Organizations will be able to distribute the software easily without any support from Cents of Relief. The program can spread health information independent of health professionals. "Rx Healthy Solutions" reduces the need to find health instructors to teach the population at-risk and possesses the ability to profoundly improve the overall health of that particular community.

Sustainability: Cents of Relief has spent a year developing the health content and games of the "Rx Healthy Solutions" initiative. We have developed this with the help of advisors and board members educated in health and technology. In addition, software companies delivering e-health in impoverished countries have helped. "Rx Healthy Solutions" reduces the need for qualified health volunteers because it does not require technical instructors. Our software is readily available where as health volunteers may not be. This allows for a substantial impact and increases the ability to reach a larger amount of women and children in prostitution. Aside from health content updates in future versions of the software; this program is self-sustainable for life.

Position in the Human Trafficking Mosaic of Solutions:

Factor: Vulnerability of High-Risk Populations

Principle: Creating Value-Driven Communities