am I doing in Phuket, Thailand?!
A: My World Race team has joined efforts with the organization SHE (Self Help &Empowerment) for our month in
Thailand.
in Thailand. They are dedicated to providing employment, vocational training,
and counseling for women who want to
help themselves out of the commercial sex trade industry in the Phuket area. SHE
works to provide community, friendship, restoration, and above all restoration
of self value.
http://www.shethailand.org
My DAYS are spent
teaching the Thai girls, providing childcare, or helping out with the thriving SHE jewelry business. We are also doing
community outreach and breaking ground at a land site for a new SHE building
location.
My NIGHTS are spent ‘out’
in the bars. No we are not drinking, & No it is not fun. There are thousands
of girls that have come to this area with no other option but to work the
bars and sell their bodies night after night. We go in these bars with positive
spirits, understanding hearts, and are able to make relationships with the
women working them. We don’t just bring kind words and encouraging smiles, but a
solution. If they want to get out of ‘the industry’, SHE provides the
way. As long as they want to help
themselves, SHE will get them off the streets, & give them the hope for a
future they deserve.
The inhumane things
that are going on in this populated tourist area of Phuket, Thailand
will blow your mind. I am still a little too overwhelmed at what I’ve been
exposed to to put it into words just yet. But soon. In short, there are deeply broken
girls and families counting on them, with nowhere to turn and no one to help (until
now). Portrayals we’ve all seen of women in ‘The Industry’ do not even come
close to meeting them face and getting to know them and their stories personally.
Much is continually
being accomplished by the amazing people at the SHE organization and I am so
proud to be a part of it right now.
