SHOP — the goods back to the shop
Tees. Freedom for 24 hours for $24.
Red is White is proud to support Freedom 4/24. Learn more at Freedom4-24.com.
There are 1.8 million prostitutes in Thailand and 400,000 are children under the age of 16.
The mission of Freedom4/24 is to raise awareness of the sexually exploited women in Thailand, while simultaneously providing money to supply these women with alternative means of survival. Your tee purchase gives hope. Every $24 Freedom 4/24 can earn from tee sales purchases a night of freedom for a Thai prostitute, which may result in a lifetime of freedom. We reach prostitutes through our ministry in Thailand called Beginnings.
Mim’s Story: Mim was born into poverty in a rural province of northeastern Thailand. She attended school for six years until her younger brother entered education. Poverty was not the only harsh reality in her life. Her father routinely beat her until she bled, for minor infractions. Her uncle claimed her sexually and began molesting her at age ten. At age fourteen her parents sent her to work in Bangkok to help support the family. She began work in a factory and there met a man who would become her husband for five years. Together they could support themselves meagerly and send money to her parents as well. When her husband left her she became desperate to maintain support for herself and her family. She turned to prostitution because she was told she could find a wealthy Western man to marry. Despondent and sad, three months later she moved into Beginnings. There she found the love of Jesus irresistible. She has completed her grade twelve certificate and is now in her second year of Bible School. Her dream is to work with poor children, sharing the hope and new life that she has found in Jesus.
Pun’s Story: Pun was an unwanted child. Her mother gave her to her grandmother to raise immediately after her birth. When Pun was four, her grandmother died and Pun moved to her mother and step-father’s home. Desperate for her mother’s love, she would hide in the bushes by the rice fields waiting for her mother to come find her….but she did not. Pun often slept outside all night and would wander home the next day, only to be used, taunted and rejected by both her mother and stepfather. At twelve, she took the ten hour bus trip to Bangkok where she worked in a sweat shop for four years until she married a man who was never faithful to her. Together they decided to buy a motorcycle. Because the bank required only one signature, Pun’s husband generously allowed Pun to sign the loan. He left her soon after – on the motorcycle. Overwhelmed with debt, a friend introduced her to life in the red light district. She worked in a bar that required her to take ten customers a month. Weary, ashamed, broken and HIV positive, Pun came to Beginnings for safety, rest and a new life. There she met Jesus, a man who would not reject her, who would love her unconditionally. He became her peace, her rest, her Savior. She is currently finishing her high school certificate. She has a future and a hope!
Most people reading these stories will conclude there is too much tragedy for them to be real. While the name’s are changed and some of the relationships, these vignettes include only part of each woman’s pain. Their complete stories are even more heinous.
After being asked if she liked her work, a girl in one of the bars, grimacing, responded this way:
“I work for three months. The first two months I cry EVERY day and I think I cannot do this. Then one day I look in the mirror and I say, ‘You MUST do this. You are the only way your mother, your two children and your invalid brother can survive. You must listen to your head and NOT your heart!’” A common plight of thousands of these young women. Pray for them.