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| Our first well in Kenya, partnered with Freewaters to provide clean drinking water to those without, in hopes of preventing children from running to the streets. Woot woot! |
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
World Water Day
Sunday, March 6, 2011
traffic.
Last March I went to Thailand with an amazing group of women to witness and learn about something that I didn't understand. The trip was great, but then who wouldn't love 10 days of sunshine and a new culture? The after affect, even a year later, is damaging... part of my heart was destroyed in Thailand. [Albeit, if you've been following our blog then you know that a lot of things break my heart.. so its not so profound to know that my experience in Thailand wrecked me. But I'm going to tell you about it anyway.]
So you know about Until Then, the non profit we work with dedicated to raising awareness about street kids, like in Phil's documentary Glue Boys (follow those links to learn more). I went to Thailand on behalf of Until Then, to learn what the street kid population looks like there and more specifically to see what trafficking looks like with street kids. I'll tell you now, my experience and research has been that there are no street kids in Thailand, at least not a 'traditional' representation of street kids (which would be homeless children). There is however a huge population of commercial sex workers, also known as victims of human trafficking. You may recognize this population being referred to as prostitutes. My stance, and some of my friends and associates, is that no one grows up wanting to be a prostitute, so all prostitutes are therefore victims of human trafficking and the commercial sex industry.
Where street kids come in to this is that they are recruited, just as in the United States and truly all countries, within hours of being on the streets to work in a brothel, bar, massage parlor, or any other 'establishment' that offers sex at an hourly rate. Most commercial sex workers have an average age of 13 or 14, which makes them children... in all countries. I've written a lot about this topic, and if you'd like more information I'd be happy to direct you to some.
Last night I went to an informational meeting sponsored by Global Breakthrough, an organization that stemmed out of that Thailand trip last March. They are dedicated to abolishing slavery once again, this time in the form of human trafficking. They have put together an informational video, runs about 9 minutes, but I would like for you to watch it, and share it. You are now aware of this outrageous truth and now you have to do something about it. Education is the first step in ending slavery.
I hope you will join me in being a broken heart for the enslaved.
So you know about Until Then, the non profit we work with dedicated to raising awareness about street kids, like in Phil's documentary Glue Boys (follow those links to learn more). I went to Thailand on behalf of Until Then, to learn what the street kid population looks like there and more specifically to see what trafficking looks like with street kids. I'll tell you now, my experience and research has been that there are no street kids in Thailand, at least not a 'traditional' representation of street kids (which would be homeless children). There is however a huge population of commercial sex workers, also known as victims of human trafficking. You may recognize this population being referred to as prostitutes. My stance, and some of my friends and associates, is that no one grows up wanting to be a prostitute, so all prostitutes are therefore victims of human trafficking and the commercial sex industry.
Where street kids come in to this is that they are recruited, just as in the United States and truly all countries, within hours of being on the streets to work in a brothel, bar, massage parlor, or any other 'establishment' that offers sex at an hourly rate. Most commercial sex workers have an average age of 13 or 14, which makes them children... in all countries. I've written a lot about this topic, and if you'd like more information I'd be happy to direct you to some.
Last night I went to an informational meeting sponsored by Global Breakthrough, an organization that stemmed out of that Thailand trip last March. They are dedicated to abolishing slavery once again, this time in the form of human trafficking. They have put together an informational video, runs about 9 minutes, but I would like for you to watch it, and share it. You are now aware of this outrageous truth and now you have to do something about it. Education is the first step in ending slavery.
I hope you will join me in being a broken heart for the enslaved.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Freewaters
Remember when I had typhoid from drinking bad water, and then we worked on a well in December?
Freewaters is our partner with Until Then who is sponsoring building wells and other clean drinking water projects in Kenya. Support them by purchasing their awesome sandals, and then people won't suffer from typhoid anymore!
(video by Phil Hamer)
Freewaters is our partner with Until Then who is sponsoring building wells and other clean drinking water projects in Kenya. Support them by purchasing their awesome sandals, and then people won't suffer from typhoid anymore!
(video by Phil Hamer)
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