Natlada lives in a town known for its illegal cultivation of opium. The poverty in this region of Southeast Asia is high, with rural areas lacking access to education and health care. Because of many families’ depth of poverty, children are sometimes subjected to forced labor. Children are also vulnerable to sexual exploitation and trafficking into the commercial sex trade.
Children like Natlada and her siblings, whose families are desperate for survival, are often the most vulnerable to this type of abuse and exploitation. Nared knew he couldn’t let that happen to them. He took the family to a local church where the Compassion center director, Saisiri, registered the children in the program.
“We just knew we needed to care for these three children,” Saisiri says.
Shortly after they were enrolled in the program, Natlada’s father died. The church has cared for the children since, housing them in their student hostel, ensuring the children are protected from those who would abuse or exploit orphans.
One way the church helps protect the children in their care is by teaching them how to protect themselves through an annual self-defense workshop. They teach children about internet schemes that could make them vulnerable to trafficking. They also teach them self-defense techniques in case someone ever tries to assault them.