Our History

Pierre Tami opens the first Hagar shelter for women and children, launching Hagar Cambodia in the nation’s capital, Phnom Penh.

Twenty-three women are employed by Hagar Crafts, earning income as they live at the shelter.

Hagar opens a foster home in Phnom Penh to serve abandoned/orphaned children in small, family-like groups. Through Hagar Catering, women begin learning to cook while living in the Phnom Penh shelter — gaining important skills to help launch them into independence after they leave.

Hagar responds to the lack of services for children with disabilities in Cambodia and opens House of Smiles.

The U.S. Department of State recognizes Pierre Tami as one of six worldwide heroes in the fight against modern-day slavery.

Hagar Cambodia establishes an Aftercare Center to serve survivors (ages 4-14) of sexual exploitation and trafficking. Hagar Catering is now a full-scale commercial operation, serving nearly 50,000 meals each month. Hagar USA is established with an all-volunteer board of directors.

Hagar builds a Community Learning Center in Phnom Penh, providing “catch-up” education for children who never before attended school. In attendance are children in Hagar’s programs as well as children from the surrounding community. Hagar International is formed, to begin planning replication of Hagar’s model beyond Cambodia.

Hagar Cambodia establishes its Career Pathways program, a six-month program teaching job-readiness skills, career exploration and vocational training.

Hagar Afghanistan is fully registered with the Afghanistan government as Hagar’s first expansion beyond Cambodia. The first shelter opens in 2009, in Kabul.

Hagar Cambodia establishes pilot program to serve boys who have suffered sexual abuse, the first specific program for boy victims in the country. Hagar Vietnam is launched, serving women from backgrounds of sex trafficking and domestic violence at two shelters in Hanoi.