What a Dream Can Do: An Interview with James Pond from Transitions Global

We’re thrilled for the release of Trade of Innocents in the fall and want to invite you into our excitement. We’re interviewing people and organizations on the subject of human trafficking in preparation for the movie. Perhaps you’ve heard of some of our friends. Maybe some of these names will be new to you.

Today, we want to introduce you to our friends James and Athena Pond from Transitions Global, a unique restoration organization based in Cambodia. Be sure to check out Project Every Girl—you’ll see what the power of a new dream and future can do:


1. What exposure to human trafficking led to the formation and your involvement with Transitions Global? 
  One evening in early 2004, Athena and I watched a NBC Dateline special called “Children for Sale”. This was one of the most impacting pieces of television we had ever seen. It really hit us. Young girls being sold for sex. It was horrifying. I have two daughters of my own that are precious to me, and the thought of this happening anywhere in the world was too much not to act. 

  How did you find out about the needs and how did you know where to start meeting them? That next week, I contacted the US State Department and asked to speak with the (then) Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking, which was run by John Miller. He put me in touch with his assistant, who had just returned from Cambodia – she told me that there was a critical need for victim services and gave me a list of about fifteen organizations she felt best represented the state of care for victims. She told me that they ranged from good to awful, but that we needed to go and see for ourselves how we could best help.
  So, I planned a trip and we went for two weeks to meet with organizations on the ground. The number one thing we heard over and over was ‘we need quality aftercare.’ 

  When I arrived home, back in America, I walked through the door determined to do something awesome for girls in Cambodia. Athena greeted me at the door and said, ‘I know we are moving to Cambodia…’ This led to conversations with our three children (then 15, 12, and 8). Within 10 months, we had quit our jobs, sold our home, and were standing in the airport to embark on a life changing moment.
  Transitions was born out of a need for innovative programs to help girls heal and find a new dream for their future. We did not want to recreate the wheel and do more of what was not working. Rather, we wanted to create a better wheel and create something that we would do for our own daughters.

2. How would you describe the role of Transitions Global and its impact in the fight to abolish trafficking? 
  Our mission statement is to ‘restore the lives of young girls rescued from sex trafficking through the power of a dream.’ This has driven Transitions to develop unique programs to answer the big questions of how we can truly help survivors in the process of healing and re-engaging the world as a healthy young adult.
  The programs we run, including the Dream Home, Bridge Project, and Shine Career School are holistic responses to ending child sex trafficking. We are providing girls with programs that help them, their dreams for the future, their families, and communities; creating solutions that are aimed at the immediate needs of survivors, with a long-term trajectory toward strengthening families and communities, and preventing trafficking before it happens.

3. What surprised you the most in learning about human trafficking? 

  What surprised me most was the lack of asking one of the most critical questions –  ‘what does success look like?’ So many reactions to human trafficking have been projects based on activities – which is focused around what you do rather than results – which is based on the effect of what you do. Big hearts and good intentions are not a replacement for the hard work of being intentional, focused, and constantly adapting to the needs of the survivors we are serving. 

4. How has your vision been shaped in this process? 
  We have learned that we cannot look at what other people are doing. The counter trafficking field is exploding and each year there are more and more organizations starting. It has the propensity to dilute the efforts of great organizations and focus attention on flashy marketing and sensationalism. We have to focus more on our mission, programs, and what we are doing to help girls and grow our work than to look around. 
  The result of this attitude and approach has been that we have a great reputation for having one of the most high-quality, efficacious programs globally. Since 2007, we have consulted in India, Greece, Indonesia, and the United States. 

5. How can the average citizen get involved with Transitions Global or help in the fight against human trafficking? 
  One of the most powerful things a person can do is to sponsor a girl through Project Every Girl. Sponsoring a girl is a tangible and direct way to give a girl hope, healing, and the opportunity to discover a new future for her life. 
  We have established a wonderful program that connects people to our girls in a safe and private way, so that our girls and people sponsoring can share encouragement, stories, and progress as girls go through our programs. Giving a girl a new future – I don’t know of anything more meaningful than that!


6. What is one of your favorite memories from your time with Transitions Global? 
  We have a lot of meaningful memories, so picking a favorite would be hard. Doing what we do can often be thankless. It is hard work, with lots of emotional highs and lows. You don’t do this for the recognition; you do it because it’s a long fight that requires perseverance. 
  But, not long ago, I received a call from two of our graduates that were employed as a teacher and a counselor for an organization helping survivors in another province in Cambodia. They asked if they could meet with us and they traveled several hours to Phnom Penh to see us. They had taken time off from work to come and tell us ‘thank you.’ One of the young ladies said, “I wanted to thank you for all Transitions did for my life. I am helping others because you helped me.” 


7. When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up? 
  I was not a typical kid with a typical upbringing. I had lots of hard knocks and a pretty tough life from my early adolescent years into adulthood. As a result, my aspirations in life were to survive in the world, period. 
  I think this time in my life created the foundations of what would later become Transitions. As I grew up, I had a strong desire to make a difference in the world – to do something remarkable. I saw an opportunity to help and shape the lives of girls so that they can do more than survive – they can thrive and find a dream for their own futures.


Thank you, James and Athena, for sharing Transition Global’s dream to create dreams for others!


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