Open Hand Corner

I wanted to share with you about the outreach ministry my friend Liz and i have been doing in the city with the "Flower Kids". we have been going to the red light district (beer bars/kareoke bars *different from Kareoke singing!) where many farang go for sex, etc and there are lots of young children wandering the streets trying to make a living by selling flowers and tribal handicrafts. it is not the place for a child to be, especially late at night. i mean, it's disgusting enough seeing these guys (sometimes sleazy, sometimes college kids) picking up women because they are lonely or just users...nevermind when they engage with these sweet and innocent little kids, in need of money. these kids are really at risk to be exploited and abused - and i know that in a lot of instances, if they are propositioned with sex for money, they feel they have no choice but to take it.

on a good note, alot of them go to school, but then they go to the streets until 12am working for their families. Liz and i decided that it was a population that needed some support, so we started to go down that area twice a week and talk with the kids (ages 4-15) and their moms/aunts. we started by buying flowers, then talking a bit with them, giving them snacks, then playing games in the street and even found a little corner of alley to play with them. they remembered us every week. the coolest thing was that we ran into the same little girl we met back in February, "Ahmmey"! :) i recognized the little birthmark on her cheek - it was so fun to see her again. she was very playful and seemed a little more grown up (sad for 7 years old though...)

so, we set up a schedule to play for an hour once a week with 2 boys and 2 girls (ahmmey's little sister). then one night, i walked past our little corner and found the kids in a storefront shop.
it was an outreach center for street kids called Open Hand Corner! :) i guess Liz and i weren't the first to think of helping out! hahaha. it is a cute little tribal clothes shop, where the owner "P" turned the front area into a 'center' for the kids to play, eat snacks, draw, and watch tv inbetween working. upstairs is a facility with desks and a computer for them to learn and study english/thai. they also try to teach about exploitation and sell some "stop selling children for sex" tshirts for profit for the center.
i guess groups have come in to visit and give/get trainings - it is a great little place and one of the 19 year old staff workers "N" (who happens to be a christian!) is so sweet with a huge heart for these kids! (and of course, like everyone i meet in thailand, wants me to teach her english!?) i'm really NOT a good teacher!

anyways, Liz and i decided not to 'reinvent the wheel' since they are doing some good work. it just seems that there are actually lots of outreach going on, but no one has enough time or money or adequate facilities...we need just ONE really really good one! :) maybe one day.... so right now, we'll work here with this group once a week. we have been providing snacks and toys for them to keep and use and will bring some toiletries to give out, as well as work on a curriculum to teach them lessons on: sharing, hygiene, exploitation/trafficking, strangers, manners, nutrition, respect, and values/bible stories. we are developing relationships with them and it has been great to get more perspective and info from others who know them better.

i would like to be able to help as a social worker/counselor if possible with the kids - or as a consult so it can be translated! :) there are already some stories we are learning of about a few of the kids with traumatic histories of physical abuse and sexual exploitation...as well as going without some basic necessities.

*on that note, i did also meet with a friend of mine (director of another local NGO) who is doing outreach with the bar girls on this same street (like i did in Bangkok in 2001). she also knows some of the "flower kids" - she and i were like magnets on the street - the kids were following us around to the bars...not really a good scene for them to be in, but they do without us too.... anyways, i guess she has some women she would like me to talk with - so i am looking forward to being able to be a support to some of these women needing guidance, as well as potentially helping them, through my organization's legal team, to get them out of the bars if we can.

I was so excited last week to have the opportunity to go with another worker and friend of mine to take 8 of the flower girls to the movies! we went to see "Khan kluay" - an animated story of a Thai warrior elephant (supposedly a true story!?)
it was a good movie - alittle violent for animated, but fun and such a joy to see their faces light up in the theater, seeing a big screen movie up close! very cool.

I was also able to create a BLOG for Open Hand Corner! i thought they needed a website to advertize their program and for people to get involved. i don't know if they will keep it up and work on it (i will probably be designated...so check it out)! www.openhandcornernews.blogspot.com

*so, please pray for Liz and i as we open our hands out to Open Hand Corner! specifically, as we figure out what to teach and how to be of service to them. pray that they will find a way out of this lifestyle and that they would come to know the Lord in it.