Volunteers For Children's Development Foundation (VCDF): Street Children
There are thousands of children sleeping on the streets in Thailand. Due to lack of options, most are in survival mode, forced to sell their bodies in hopes of getting big money from tourists. They are controlled by those who beat, manipulate, and steal from them, and police who throw them into jail every opportunity they have. They are the scorn of society and are looked down on from all sides. They have no future. Many are sexually abused by tourists, and nearly all end up with HIV. They die young, alone in madness, sickness, and despair on the streets.
The SOLD Project met countless organizations full of heroes fighting for these children: some working in prevention, some in rescue, and some in recovery. Of these organizations, they were most moved by the efforts of VCDF, a Thai-run orphanage surviving without much funding, and in desperate need of help to keep their doors open. VCDF buys children at the border, pulls child sex workers off the streets, and provides shelter, food, and education to each child. The SOLD Project has partnered with VCDF with hopes of allowing them to take more children off the streets of despair and into a life of hope. As part of their recovery program, the children at VCDF are encouraged to create.
VCDF has established a sponsorship program that helps to meet the basic needs of each child. If you would like to sponsor a child through VCDF for $40 per month please email us at vcdf@thesoldproject.com. You can visit VCDF on their website www.vgcd.org.
Home of New Beginnings: Red Light
Beginnings is a residence located just three blocks from one of the three major red light districts in the heart of downtown Bangkok. Twice weekly visits to the bars and morning English classes serve as the major outreach to our friends.
When a young woman decides to leave the trade and move to our residence, she joins our family. At Beginnings we believe that internal transformation is superior to external conformity.
The Home of New Beginnings is a holistic relational ministry that seeks to address the spiritual, emotional, physical and educational needs of women and children who desire to leave the sex trade. It is a place of safety and hope. Our focus is creating family and education.
You can visit Beginnings on their website, www.homeofnewbeginnings.com.