Project for At-Risk Girls in Northern Thailand

Whenever I presented on the issue of children and the sex industry in Thailand, the question that was often asked was, what have you done? It is difficult to answer this question because of the complex nature of the issue. Since 1999 I have been involved, one way or the other, in trying to address this issue. But I did not find any satisfying answer until December 2003. I was in Chiang Rai and met four tribal girls. All of them came from small tribal villages in Chiang Rai province. They came to the city in order to pursue their educational goals. I asked why they were so eager to get an education. Their answer was, “There is no future in the village.” If they were to continue to live in their villages, they would end up getting married at a very young age, having kids, working in the farm, and struggling with poverty their whole life. Obtaining an education was their only chance to help their family make a transition. All of them left their villages for Chiang Rai city when they were 15. Because of the level of poverty, these girls did not receive any financial support from their families. “My father told me that he would be supportive but he warned that I would have to support myself,” one of the girls stated. When these four girls left their villages they thought they could earn enough by working in restaurants. When they arrived and started working, they only earned $ 12 per month which was not sufficient to pay for room, board, uniform, and tuition (approximately $ 80 per month). And so they had to look for an alternative and ended up working in places like karaoke bars, cocktail lounges, night clubs, and café in order to survive. Their daily routine consisted of waking up around 6 in the morning to get ready for school. Returned at 3 pm during which time they had to clean, cook, and do laundry. By 6 pm they were out working at these high-risk places and returned to their dormitory around midnight or 1 am to study and work on their assignments. They were all proud of the fact that they were able to maintain a 3.00 GPA and above. Currently our project is providing scholarships for 10 girls who are pursuing their educational goals. Three of these girls have just graduated.

This project (Child Prostitution Prevention Project) is administered through the local church (Thai SDA Church of Southern California, 10855 New Jersey St., Redlands, CA 92373, 909-335-2272) in collaboration with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Thailand (Le Chateau Mansion #701, 55 Soi Ekamai 12, Sukhumvit 63, Wattana Bangkok, 10110, http://www.adra.or.th).