On Friday, October 2, as the light faded over New York, guests gathered on the rooftop of SOHO House for People of the Water, an art exhibition and live auction by Christie’s, all to benefit Hagar.
It was an evening of photographs, stories, and generosity. Every piece displayed and every bid in the room pointed toward one hope: that survivors of trafficking and abuse can be fully restored.
People of the Water is a photography collection about life along the Tonle Sap in Cambodia. Each wet season, the lake can swell across its floodplain for nearly 100 kilometers, and water levels can rise more than ten meters.
The photographs show families who build their lives around that rhythm. Titles such as Flood Waters, The Net, Mother and Child, and A Minor Benediction invite us into ordinary moments of resilience.
The water gives, and the water takes. Communities that depend on these seasonal cycles can face real vulnerability when the floods are too high or the catch is too thin. That vulnerability is often where exploitation finds its way in.
Commissioned by Hagar International, People of the Water is Paul Cox’s newest body of work. A multi-award-winning photographer, Cox is renowned for his empathic documentary approach and has exhibited internationally in support of charity fundraising and awareness campaigns, igniting his connection with Hagar eight years ago in Cambodia.
Hagar’s story began in Cambodia. For more than three decades, we have walked alongside survivors of human trafficking, slavery, and abuse, for as long as it takes to see their lives restored.
These photographs are a reminder that the people Hagar serves are not statistics. They are fishermen and farmers, mothers and sons, whole communities whose lives rise and fall with the water. When we understand the places survivors come from, we can better understand what puts them at risk and what it takes to make them whole.
All proceeds from the exhibition and auction support survivors in Hagar’s care, from the trauma-informed counseling and vocational training that help them rebuild their lives, to the case work and legal advocacy that holds perpetrators accountable.
Together, guests and supporters raised almost $63,000 for Hagar’s restoration and justice work.
Like the floodwaters of the Tonle Sap, change rarely comes all at once. It rises quietly, gift by gift and bid by bid, until it reaches further than any one of us could alone.
To everyone who attended, bid, gave from afar, or helped make this evening possible: thank you. You are part of a community that believes every survivor deserves the chance to heal and to be whole.
You can still be part of this work. Give today to support survivors on their journey of restoration.
