Transcript Keep Girls Safe - Adventist Women's Ministries

Keep Girls Safe Project
ADRA Thailand
All Smiles….. All the Time
Unfortunately, Thailand’s slogan does not
represent the 800,000 girls and young
women under the age of 18 who work as
prostitutes in the country
(Source: Sorajjakool, Child Prostitution in Thailand)
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Sex slave trade in Asia
• A United Nations official has described the trafficking of
women and children across Asia as “the largest slave trade
in history”
• More than 30 million children have been traded over the
last three decades in Asia and the Pacific alone
(Source: BBC News, 20 Feb 2003)
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Life in the Brothel
Conditions for girls
forced into prostitution
are horrifying
“These girls, when sold,
are usually locked up in
the brothels, often not
seeing the light of day for
up to two years. They can
be called upon for sex 24
hours a day.”
(Source: Sorajjakool, Child Prostitution in Thailand)
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Child Prostitution in Thailand
• Sex traffickers purchase girls as young as 10
• Poor Thai families sell their girls as sex
slaves for approximately US$ 450
• Northern Thailand is the biggest problem
area, because rural families are poor and
many girls do not attend school
(Source: Reader’s Digest, May 2003. “School of Hope”)
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Ethnic Minorities
• Hill tribe villagers are
very poor and
especially vulnerable
• Girls from ethnic
minority groups are
sold for as little as
USD100
(Source: Reader’s Digest, May 2003. “School of Hope”)
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Effects of Child Prostitution
• Jan’s story: Began working in the sex trade at the
age of 12. She died of HIV/AIDS at the age of 19
(Source: Sorajjakool, Child Prostitution in Thailand)
• 40% of the prostitutes from Northern Thailand
have HIV/AIDS
•
(Source: Brown, Sex Slaves)
• Children forced to work as prostitutes become
outcasts and are stigmatized by society
• They often fall into deep depression and many
suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome
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Factors of Vulnerability
• Low educational level/School attendance
• History of prostitution in family or village
• Broken families (divorce, death, alcoholism)
• Poverty
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ADRA Thailand
• The Adventist
Development & Relief
Agency (ADRA) in
Thailand started a project
in 1998 to help girls at-risk
• The Keep Girls Safe
Project gives at-risk girls
educational assistance so
they can remain in school,
reducing their risk of
coercion into the sex trade
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Katima Leja
• Katima is 17 years old and
is studying in grade 9 with
the assistance of ADRA
• One of her friends from
the same village is working
in Chiang Mai in the sex
industry
“I want to work as a teacher in my village so more
girls like me can have education.”
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Puthra Kunsirejamras
• ADRA asked Puthra to
draw her future…
• “My dream is to be a
mathematics teacher.”
• Puthra is 9 years old
and is studying in 3rd
grade with the
assistance of ADRA
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Chanchiera Riebroi
Chanchiera’s mother is
dead, and her father is
addicted to alcohol.
“Thank-you for sending
me to school. I have
knowledge now. I
promise I will study hard.
May God Bless You.”
Respectfully,
Chanchiera
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Keep Girls Safe Project
• Goal: The reduction of vulnerability of girls
to commercial sexual exploitation
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Objectives of Project
• To facilitate the education of vulnerable girls
through the provision of formal and non-formal
learning
• To provide support for vulnerable girls through the
establishment of a shelter, meeting the basic needs
of village girls, and awareness raising activities
within the community
• To increase the capacity of vulnerable girls for
employment through the facilitation of skills
training and small enterprise development
activities
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Projects Achievements
Formal Education
The project will provide
educational support for at
risk girls in order to
prevent them from
becoming caught up in
commercial sexual
exploitation. The project
team will work closely with
trained professionals in the
community
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Project Achievements
Non-formal education
The project will provide assistance for non-formal
education for girls and young women who cannot
attend formal education. Many girls of ethnic
minority groups do not have Thai citizenship, and
cannot attend formal school. ADRA will keep in
contact with participating girls and their teachers,
monitoring each student’s progress
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Project Achievements
Refuge for girls and young women
Many of the girls at risk of commercial sexual
exploitation lack the basic needs to survive. The
shelter will be a place of living assistance for girls
who do not have carers, or anywhere appropriate or
safe to live. The shelter will provide food and
shelter for these girls, as well as supporting them
to attend local schools or appropriate levels of
formal education
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Project Achievements
Vocational training for young women
The project will
facilitate vocational
training for young
women, to engender a
livelihood and to
ensure that they have
the opportunity to find
a job
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Project Achievements
Small Business
A small business enterprise will be set up by
the project. Small business training for the
girls will prepare the girls to be involved in
the operations of the small business, thus
giving them a sense of ownership of
enterprise. This will make the girls’
transition into full time employment in the
community to be smoother
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Project Achievements
Life-skills Classes
The project will support the girls’ mental, spiritual,
moral and social development by engaging them in a
program to address and explore areas such as goal
setting, positive thinking team work, self esteem, trust,
communication, conflict resolution and anger
management
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Project Achievements
Girls’ Clubs
To create a community support system, girls’ clubs will
be established in partner villages. Through life-skills
classes, girls will become aware of the dangers of
prostitution and the associated problems such as
HIV/AIDS. These clubs will give girls the opportunity
to discuss issues with their peers, and become familiar
with where they can go for assistance
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Project Achievements
Community Education
Activities to raise awareness will ensure that the
girls, their families and the general community are
aware of the dangers of the sex trade and human
trafficking. This will assist them to make choices
that will reduce commercial sexual exploitation of
their children in Thailand
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Impact of the Project
• The construction of a refuge, small business center, and
administration office will provide a permanent facility
dedicated to at-risk girls and young women in Chiang Rai
Province.
• Those who receive educational assistance will be
empowered to find employment outside of the sex industry.
They will be the strongest voices for other at-risk girls in
the future.
• Communities will be aware of the dangers of child
prostitution. More importantly, the girls themselves will
fully understand their rights, the consequences of working
in the sex trade, and where to turn for help.
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ADRA Thailand
Helping Girls Smile Again
This project will enable ADRA Thailand to
empower at-risk girls and young women to
live a meaningful life
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