Yesterday I was reading the morning news and my eye caught the headline “Sex Trafficking: Lifelong Struggle of Exploited Children” on BBC.com. There was an accompanying article about trafficking of children becoming an “epidemic” across the USA, which is distressing. And the truth is the trafficking issue is much, much worse in places like Thailand. Even my own beloved Belize was just dropped to Tier 3 of the State Department list because of their trafficking problem.
It’s easy to read these depressing articles and feel powerless. But the truth is we can do something to have an impact on trafficking. And we should do something. So I’m going to suggest an idea — make a gift to The SOLD Project and D’Aun and I will match your gift up to a total of $5000. It’s simple, doubles your gift, and makes a huge difference.
The impact of prevention is huge. I admire folks who rescue trafficking victims, and I admire groups that provide after care services for victims. But if you want to make a real impact with your gift, support the groups like SOLD who prevent child exploitation from happening in the first place. I’ve been in Thailand and seen the impact SOLD has (and I’m going again in January if you’re interested). With just a small budget and a core group of highly dedicated people, they are redirecting the life path for hundreds.
Here’s how you can help expand the impact of SOLD. Go to this Global Giving page and make a gift. Then drop me a note — comment on this blog, send me an email, however you want — and let me know you made the gift. We’ll match up to a total of $5000. It’s that simple.
Below is a bit more about the program and the goal of this campaign to expand the impact of SOLD. I hope you take the time to read it and learn more, but I also hope you take action and have a positive impact on trafficking through your support.
Oh, and remember, no gift is too small. We will match gifts through the end of August or until the $5k is raised. Thank you!
Summary
SOLD has identified key factors that place a child at risk of exploitation – like poverty, lack of education, and the absence of positive role models – and has developed a holistic model to address those risk factors. We are now launching our second location to provide these programs to our High School and University students in Chiang Rai, a trafficking hub in Northern Thailand.
What is the issue, problem, or challenge?
When SOLD began in 2008 to prevent child exploitation in Thailand, the facts were dismal. The village has a long history of being a source destination for human trafficking and sexual exploitation, and the education levels are shockingly low. Nearly 50% of students were dropping out of school before grade 9, leaving them uneducated and vulnerable to traffickers. As our students continue to higher education they are moving away from the village and to the city, and we need to move with them.
How will this project solve this problem?
We want to grow with our students. Our radius has expanded from 2 KL in 2008 to 50KL in 2015. The majority of our students are now attending High School, Vocational, or University in Chiang Rai City. We want to grow with our students so that we can continue to offer the best prevention programs, the best mentorship, and the best resources for our students. Our goal is twofold: to continue providing mentorship and resources as well as to open a safe house for vulnerable children.
Potential Long Term Impact
We began in 2008 by offering scholarships, since we knew there was a direct correlation between education and vulnerability. Little did we know that over the last seven years we would develop a holistic prevention program that worked. In under a decade SOLD has seen the drop out rate decrease to 7%. Plus 98% of our students finish grade 9 to continue on to higher education. The expansion will ensure that we can continue to provide support for higher education and prevent child exploitation.
