With more than 600,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in a country of just 8 million, conditions are ripe for exploitation in Azerbaijan. Though the government has taken several steps toward protecting vulnerable people in recent years, human trafficking remains a major issue.

WHI’s main work here is educational in nature. Our team travels to various trafficking ‘hot-spots’–mostly near large IDP populations–and delivers anti-trafficking presentations.

Our other work here of providing English and Computer classes goes hand in hand with our anti-trafficking work, as education is the single best trafficking prevention tool. The impact of these classes cannot be overstated. Every month we hear of more people who have found employment or otherwise been blessed by the programs.

In 2009 our team distributed 548 anti-trafficking booklets designed for children, 31 booklets geared towards adults, and shared their message with hundreds of others.