The need
Thailand is a picturesque country, a popular tourist destination for more than 11 million people every year! A nation with pristine coastlines, lush rain forests, a vast variety of foods, a country full of culture, known worldwide as "The land of smiles" due to the warmth and welcoming nature of its people...
But sadly this not all Thailand is known for... Thailand also has a reputation for sex tourism, with Pattaya boasting the title "The sex capital of the world" with over 1.5 million tourists annually. It is estimated that the annual income from the Thai sex industry is $4.3 billion dollars, which is about 3% of the Thai economy.
A significant percent of all prostitutes are from poor hilltribe villages scattered throughout Thailand. Young women who have little or no education, therefore they have no real job prospects that will bring in a decent income. It is estimated that there are 2,800,000 prostitutes in Thailand, with up to 800,000 of them being minors. Thailand is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Despite the ongoing efforts and suitably harsh penalties imposed by the Thai government for those who traffic children for sexual exploitation, children are still being prostituted.
Traffickers employ the help of "agents" and local villagers to identify vulnerable families. Many different tactics are used to lure these "at risk" children into their brothels. Agents often deceive parents with false promises of respectable jobs in cities, guaranteeing a portion of the child’s wage will be regularly sent back to the parents.
Another strategy is offering parents a loan to "help them" through the hard times, which in turn the parents give their daughters to the brothels to work off the debt. Unfortunately there are even times when parents simply sell their daughters, knowing full well the fate that lies ahead of them.
It is customary in Thailand for children to help support their parents. In fact, in a survey of prostitutes in Thailand it found 92% of them sent between a third and half of what they earned home to their parents. It is not uncommon for a young girl to leave their village hoping to find work in the city so she can make money to send back to her parents. Too often there is little scope for a young, uneducated hilltribe girl to get well paid work, other than working in brothels. Tragically rather than facing the shame of not being able to help support their families, these young girls will prostitute themselves to help their parents.
Another problem being faced is that Western materialism has begun to be a driving factor for many young girls choosing to prostitute themselves. The desire for a mobile phone or designer clothes has made prostitution the only way for these poor, uneducated and unskilled children to get these things they long to have.
What we do
Destiny Rescue undertakes a variety of projects in Thailand.
Rescuing and restoring sexually exploited children - Destiny Rescue has teams that regularly go into brothels and red-light districts looking for and rescuing children that are being sexually exploited. We then provide "Safe Homes" for these children, they each require very specialised and intensive care.
They are given one on one medical, psychological, emotional and intellectual care to help them heal and overcome the abuses of their past. We also give them the tools they need to integrate back into society.
Protecting "at risk" children i.e. preventing children being forced/lured into prostitution - Destiny Rescue focuses on hill tribe villages/slum communities identifying "at risk" families, i.e. very poor, uneducated, drug dealers/users, in debt or those with a history of previously selling their daughters. We provide education and awareness training to parents and village leaders, by making the parents aware of the unscrupulous practices of traffickers, the horrendous conditions the child would have to endure and the risk of HIV and other diseases their daughters would be exposed to daily. We offer to house and care for their daughters while we put them through school and give them vocational training so they can get a well paid job, thus giving them choices other than prostitution.
Alleviating poverty - Destiny Rescue assist these poor families through various development programs to help them become self-supporting, which removes the need for them to sell their daughters in the future and breaks the cycle of poverty for future generations. This is done by small business loans, pig breeding, micro fish farms, agricultural training etc. In addition to this we offer other practical assistance like addressing hygiene issues through toilet installations, supply of running water, health training etc.
How you can help
We need you!
Volunteer your time and skills to fight with us to end child slavey and alleviate poverty – forever! Whether it is finding sponsors for abused/poor children, hosting a fund raiser or giving a presentation at your church/work/youth group... To get involved - click here
Donate
To sponsor a "Rescued child" – click here
To sponsor an "at risk" child – click here
To sponsor a child in poverty – click here
To make a general donation – click here
