Visayan Forum Foundation

Millions of people—most of them young and poor—are lured into human trafficking every year, and forced into prostitution, pornography or compulsory labor. This modern-day slavery is one of the fastest-growing and most profitable illegal businesses in the world. More than 300,000 of the victims come from the Philippines. But a scrappy and equally savvy organization in Manila, Visayan Forum Foundation (VF) is determined to bring an end to modern-day slavery not just in the Philippines, but around the world.

This eight-minute video tells the story of how VF is breaking the cycle of human trafficking through an innovative, multi-faceted strategy. Thanks to partnerships with the government, police, prosecutors, the port authority, shipping lines and private industry, VF has been able not only to intercept thousands of trafficking victims while they are still in transit, but has also given tens of thousands of young people new life-changing educational opportunities.

Testimonials

“The Uncommon Heroes Documentary created by Kikim Media for Visayan Forum had an unprecedented impact on the organization. When it first premiered at the Skoll World Forum, it was met with a five-minute standing ovation. It perfectly captured the essence and spirit of the organization’s dangerous work against human trafficking in the Philippines. However, instead of portraying the misery and suffering of the victims, it was able to highlight the hope in the girl’s lives and how they were healed and reintegrated. Since then, the documentary has been used on multiple occasions to raise resources and galvanize support for the organization. The stakeholders in our field draw inspiration from it. The girls felt they were well-represented and were proud of the finished product. We thank Kikim Media for providing us with wonderful material that we still use until this day to shed light on the reality of the issue but at the same time, provide hope and inspiration for a future free from slavery and exploitation.”

–Ma. Cecilia Oebanda, Founder and Director, Visayan Forum

“Time and time again, Kikim Media knocks it out of the park when it comes to crafting a succinct, impactful film for recipients of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. From story crafting to budget planning and execution, they are thoughtful and thorough with an exceptional eye to keeping a story engaging whilst covering a broad range of issues. Simply put, no matter how challenging the topic or film shoot, Kikim has always delivered.”

-Phil Collis, Creative Manager, Skoll Foundation