Imagine being a young child living in a tribe in the hills of Southeast Asia. Now imagine being sold by your parents to become a prostitute. This is the reality many children in Thailand are facing on a daily basis. Many tiny villages in rural Thailand are facing an absence of children as young as eight, especially girls. These poor tribes see selling their children as a way to escape poverty or to pay off debt. The temptation of a better life outweighs the wellbeing of the children.
This is the terrible reality that organizations like Remember Nhu are working to prevent. Through child sponsorships, they are able to provide housing, schooling, and a better life for those most prone to child slavery. Parents and children are both interviewed and determined whether the child is “at risk” due to situations such as drug use, family involved in prostitution, jailed parents, or debt. Many agree to send their children to this loving environment instead where they do not have to worry about caring for them. This organization has homes for these children to live and provides the means for them to attend school. Most importantly, they share the Gospel with these children who would probably never here it otherwise.
Remember Nhu has homes in Thailand, Cambodia, India, Burma, and soon Moldova. Through relationships built with villages, two in Thailand have completely eradicated trafficking in their communities. My team was fortunate enough to visit one of such hill tribe. Though they are poor, the practice of gaining wealth in such a greedy, horrible fashion has ceased. We were given a tour of the community by the tribe chief who has forbidden anyone from his tribe to sell their children.
As we walked along dirt paths between the small wooden structures of the homes, we came across one house which was decorated far more elaborately than all the rest. We learned that it was owned by a family who had sold their daughter to a pimp in Bangkok before the chief outlawed the practice. The sight of this lovely home amongst such poverty was a stunning contrast. One could see the temptation of the wealth through every detailed carving of the structure. Previously, many in this village had looked to this family as an example, but today, their home symbolizes a shamefulness no one desires.
We get to interact with the children on nearly a daily basis eating meals and playing with them. It’s hard to imagine these little ones in a life of oppression as they laugh and run. The youngest child in the homes is only three years old. She was found when her mother, desperately searching for a means for living, tried to sell her as an infant to some people associated with the home as they walked down the street. Though below the typical entrance age, she was taken in, and now she gets to grow up with nearly 30 older sisters who love and care for her. When I gaze into her little mischievous eyes, it is hard to imagine anyone trying to harm her. Thankfully, she will never have to face what could have been had her mother succeeded in her quest. Pray that more children like her will receive the same destiny.
