<p><strong>The woman</strong><br />Laurence was only 18 when she first went to the Philippines to be a volunteer in a very poor community. It was the encounter of a lifetime. Postponing her legal studies, she returned to the area the following year for 4 months and learned how to speak the local dialect. She then spent 8 months in Panay island where she discovered the reality of children living on the streets.</p><p><strong>Her fight: « Caméléon »</strong><br />Officially created in 1997 after years of hard work, the association has two goals: to protect Philippino girls aged 5-16 and help them lead a normal life, with their family if possible or on their own with the opportunity to follow a training programme or further studies. In the case of sexual abuse, Caméléon is also there to support them in the legal process of bringing their attackers to justice and helping them to be recognized as victims.</p><p><strong>What about now?</strong><br />The association is now a team made up of the young Philippino girls saved from the streets, their mothers with whom they sometimes form a family again and the social workers who establish a dialogue with the young girls in need, helping them slowly regain confidence in themselves and learn to trust again. The older girls become the spokeswomen and models for the younger ones.</p>
