Here are continued stories from Megan Meinecke- reporting from Thailand.

“One of our team members, Laurie met a woman at the bar. Her arms and legs were covered in bruises; it turns out that her husband beats her…she’s been at the bars for 3 days. After talking with Laurie she left the bar with the team and went to look at the house…she is considering moving in and leaving the bars forever.

We also met a girl named Dea* whom we met through a girl who had come to the business seminar the previous week (the most effective way to get a girl out is to connect her with a friend that has already left). Dea told us she hated working in the bars and was desperate to get out. We took her back to her apartment to grab her things and took her to the safe house. Once she got there she was very excited to see her new room. We introduced her to the program coordinator, Jantana, who gave her a hug…at this point Dea began to weep uncontrollably. She wept in Jantana’s arms for a solid 10 minutes….all I could think was “What did those men do to you?? You’re only a child.”

Another team member and I (Megan) went to Walking Street  to look for a woman we had met previously who has a young baby named Patrick. We found her, and she lives at her bar in this room with her two children: her 17 year old daughter who doesn’t work in the bar, and her young baby. She told us she doesn’t want to leave the bar because it pays good money. We run into this problem a lot, there is so much pressure for the women to provide for their families back home so they stay trapped in the sex trade.

I am reminded of another woman Pan* who I met tonight, she gave me a hug and I still smell like her strong perfume…I am hoping to connect with her further; the process sometimes takes several encounters before they are able to trust that you don’t want to exploit them like everyone else.

…As a side note my heart is starting to break for the men who are here, they are clearly so lonely…”

TO SEE MORE PICTURES FROM THIS TRIP CLICK HERE

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the women involved