Dear Friends and Family,

Twice in the past two years, I’ve found myself sitting beside young men my own age. There was just one main difference between us: I was there as a law student offering legal help – they were there facing an uncertain future due to a crime they didn’t fully understand and with no other real access to counsel. Those faces and names have shaped the person and professional I’ve become, and this January, that impact is taking me to the other side of the world.

What’s Next

Earlier this summer, I received the call that I’d been hoping for: International Justice Mission (IJM) had selected me as a Legal Fellow in Cambodia. This January, I’ll move to Phnom Penh for a year-long fellowship protecting victims of human trafficking and ensuring their captors receive justice. Carly, my soon-to-be wife, will be joining me and supporting me in this next endeavor.

How I Got Here

As many of you know, I spent a good deal of my law school career in Africa. After my first year, I split a summer between the Supreme Court of Rwanda and Uganda’s largest prisons. For my final Spring Break, I went back to Africa, this time to Malawi, to help establish the first-ever legal aid clinic of its kind. I returned home from Malawi with an unshakeable calling I could no longer ignore: to keep serving the most vulnerable people in the places that need it most.

I’d known about IJM since the end of my first year in law school, but I repeatedly shrugged off any thoughts of applying or traveling across the world for more than a summer clerkship or spring break project. However, after long conversations with Carly and my family, careful prayers, and a lot of research, I decided to stop arguing with and start pursuing that voice that had been growing loud long before I had ever even thought about law school.

The Work

Although my work in Africa and what I will be doing in Cambodia with IJM are different, both missions stem from the same source: giving a voice to the voiceless and protecting victims of violence.

Cambodia is a source, transit, and destination for forced labor and slavery in Southeast Asia. Impoverished migrant workers are particularly vulnerable in a variety of industries, like fishing, domestic servitude, and child begging. After more than a decade of successfully working alongside Cambodian authorities to combat child sex trafficking, IJM launched a new project in 2016 to combat forced labor and slavery. Its team has supported cases involving victims trafficked to China as brides and factory workers, women trafficked to Malaysia as maids, and men trafficked to Thailand’s fishing industry. I’m honored to be joining that team.

At IJM’s Cambodia office, I’ll have two roles:

·       Strategy: supporting IJM’s Global Director of Prosecutions in planning, directing, and coordinating IJM’s prosecutorial strategy worldwide.

·       On the ground: working alongside Cambodian prosecutors, judges, law enforcement, and policymakers to prosecute trafficking cases, helping rescue and care for victims, and strengthening the justice system. That includes providing legal counsel to survivors, helping them through their cases, and ensuring their voices are heard.

IJM works in direct partnership with the Cambodian government, so the goal isn’t just individual cases but also lasting change in how the system protects people.

Why I’m Asking

This work matters deeply to me. Throughout law school, I chose to spend my summers on public-interest legal work rather than paid firm positions, serving disaster victims and supporting justice initiatives across Eastern Africa. I believe the law should serve those who are most vulnerable, and this fellowship is the next step in that commitment.

I’m self-financing this fellowship, including Carly joining me in our first year of marriage, so I’m asking for your help. We’re hoping to raise $35,000 to cover expenses like:

·       Travel to and from Cambodia

·       Room and board in Phnom Penh

·       Immigration fees, healthcare, and incidentals

·       Local transportation and groceries

Every gift matters, whatever the size. Every dollar goes toward keeping me in the field, working alongside people who are bringing traffickers to justice and helping survivors rebuild.

How to Give

·       Pure Charity (tax-deductible): you can make a one-time or recurring donation online here through Pure Charity. As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, any donations made toward my cause through Pure Charity are tax-deductible.

·       Check: via Pure Charity (also tax-deductible):

Payable to: International Justice Mission’s Fund at Pure Charity

Addressed to: PO BOX 1234, Searcy, AR 72145

Memo Line/Donation ID: FUN614545

·       Venmo (not tax-deductible): @Brandon-Rubsamen

If you can’t give right now, you can still help by sharing this letter with others who might care about this work. I’m incredibly grateful for either.

Staying in Touch

Carly and I will share stories and updates throughout the year, including a video blog (Carly will hopefully lead that effort), and I’ll be writing on Substack. I look forward to sharing stories and updates from Cambodia and showing you the impact we can make together.

Thank you for being part of this journey with me.

With gratitude,

Brandon Rubsamen

To learn more about IJM’s work in trafficking and slavery:
IJM on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn