CDA did not have the funds for a full fledged media campaign. Instead, we used this opportunity to harness a low-cost medium unique to our city, Massage Parlor Cards. Found across car parks, they advertised barely legal dubious massages. A medium everyone hated was made into an ally.

5000 cards were re-created to look like massage parlour cards. However, images of skimpily clad women were replaced by those of young children. Messages at the back spoke about the issue, and gave details of the helpline. Over 21 days, CDA volunteers placed these cards on cars in parking lots, next to other, regular massage cards. The effect was a card no one threw. As people removed the usual cards from their cars, they stopped. The shock of seeing children on these cards left them emotionally vulnerable.

We had a message they could not overlook.

For $1000, 5000 cards were printed and left on cars across the city over a 21-day period.

This was initially run as a pilot scheme to test feasibility in a conservative society that had an amalgamation of almost 192 nationalities and sensitivities.

But with the overwhelming positive reactions we saw, hundreds of calls to the centre, people pocketing the cards instead of throwing them away, we soon moved to more and more parking lots, reaching across malls, prominent business districts, residential areas and even the 'Sand-Park' - impromptu car parking lots within Dubai.

In a manner of months, calls to the helpline showed an increase. Mainstream media expressed an interest in supporting this activation further. For a total budget of $1000, a medium everybody disliked has now become a powerful tool against child sexual abuse.

Till date, there have been 1678 calls received. 1400 cases are still open. The ratio of locals to expatriates was a 60:40 142 children have been rescued. Other government bodies have expressed an interest in helping CDA with more card printing and distribution.