Andrew McBean, managing director of Microsoft (Thailand), said Microsoft's grant would provide financial support, IT training and networking to women and children in northern Thailand, through community technology-learning centres (CTLCs) in high-risk trafficking areas.

"Microsoft wants to help those people at risk use their IT skills and create new employment, plus help local businesses become more successful in support of their way of life. We also want to work against human trafficking," said McBean.

McBean also said the company would provide grants to the Mirror Foundation, since it had strong professional experience and a long-term commitment to the project.

With the UP Grants, the company has targeted the provision of IT training to nearly 1,500 people in the first year and more than 13,000 people in three years.

Sombat Boonngamanong, founder of the Mirror Foundation, said the organisation would participate with six non-profit organisations in setting up seven CTLCs in Bangkok and southeastern, northern and southern Thailand. Each one will have at least 10 desktop PCs to provide training to those who enter the programme. IT courses will cover basic hardware, Microsoft Office, publishing, digital media and ICT.

Sombat said human trafficking was a serious problem for those living in hilltribes, border regions and coastal fishing areas of Thailand, with more than 200,000 having suffered because of it.

"We know remote communities are high-risk trafficking areas. People living in these communities should have an opportunity to develop themselves, so that victims of trafficking will able to take care of themselves in the long term," said Sombat.

He said the foundation wanted to help those at risk understand technology, so they could improve their way of life.

"This will cause this serious problem to diminish among society at large," he said.

McBean added, "We want to train people to use Microsoft programmes as tools in their business and daily lives. It will solve social problems."

The United States government has spent about US$5 million (Bt193 million) since 2002 to assist the Thai government and non-governmental and international organisations with regional anti-trafficking initiatives.

Jirapan Boonnoon

The Nation