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September 20, 2022 - No Comments!

Trauma-Informed Care

Being in Thailand helped me to understand a little bit more about trauma and the importance of trauma-informed care. I’m not a social worker or trained in any of that, but I think I understood for the first time, what trauma really is.

According to Peter Levine, “Trauma is in the nervous system, not in the event.”.

In his work “the body keeps the score”, Bessel van der kolk writes that “being traumatised means continuing to organise your life as if the trauma were still going on–unchanged and immutable–as every new encounter or event is contaminated by the past.”

I was really struck by this when I was in Thailand. Previously I had understood trauma as an event, but rather, it is the imprint of that event living inside the individual, carried within their nervous system.

Brandon, who oversees our vocational training in Thailand shared with me his heart for the young people coming through ZOE. I was moved by the intent behind the training. It provides young people with skills that they can take with them, but there is always this therapeutic aspect underlying the training that really speaks to their trauma.

For many of the kids who come to ZOE, their only experience of business and working is being exploited for someone else’s profit.

Vocational training flips this on its head. Vocational training is all about agency and self-determination… it's built on the knowledge that every child is unique and has different needs, dreams, goals and passions! The aim at the moment is to expose children who come to ZOE to as many skills and opportunities as possible. We run many courses including agricultural studies - so, running our pig farm, woodworking and construction, sewing and fashion design, nail painting, hairdressing, hospitality, cooking and baking, computer skills, multimedia and photography, art, design and even a little bit of electrical and mechanical engineering!

When kids come to ZOE and take part in our vocational training program, our team will ask them all about what they’re interested in and what they want to learn and see what we can offer them. Brandon told me about one girl who came to ZOE recently and discovered that she had an amazing passion and skill for woodworking! She wasn’t going to be staying at ZOE long and was preparing to go back to her family, but she really wanted to make something that she could take home with her. So she made this beautiful high table with stools and she was able to take it back to her family. And this is what many young people want - they want to make something that’s theirs, that they can take back with them, a new skill, or something tangible - something that reminds them of what they’ve learnt and the skills that they have. It reminds them that they’re not a victim of their past, but a survivor, who can go forward to make, create and flourish.

-Hudson

November 4, 2020 - No Comments!

Recreation Interview: Cissy

I first met Cissy at the end of 2010 when she and her family moved all the way from Hawaii to Thailand. Her life brings new meaning to the phrase ‘multi-tasking.’ Graduating with a degree in Marketing, she managed her family’s restaurant and catering business for 16 years. She then went on to become a successful realtor and property manager, but the career she is most proud of is homeschooling her two children. Since joining ZOE, she has become equally as passionate about her work here in Thailand, dividing her time between directing the English as a Second Language Program, instructing in the ZOE Leadership School’s business classes, establishing ZOE’s on-campus store, library and reading room, and consulting with ZOE’s kitchen!

What’s also very exciting is, because of Cissy’s ‘make-it-happen’ work mantra, she has also established an exercise program for ZOE’s children and staff. If there’s ever an activity happening at ZOE in Thailand whether it’s trampolining or swimming lessons, dance classes, English camp, sports competitions or reading challenges in the library, it’s usually Cissy who is behind it! Few people could achieve this much in ten years!

Recently as we talked about the gym, sports courts, pool and family area, I had the chance to ask Cissy why she feels that sports and recreation are so important to the children and teens who have come to live at ZOE.

“Since becoming a missionary, I have been able to use many of the skills and
passions that God has nurtured in me. I see the influence of both my parents on
my life: my Dad was a food and beverage consultant who had a dream to open
his own restaurant chain and my Mum was a social worker with a heart for foster
care children. My desire for the kids at ZOE is the same as for my own two: that
they are equipped with the skills and drive to reach their potential, achieve their
dreams and realize all that God has planned for their lives.”

At ZOE we never underestimate the social aspect of sports and recreation. Playing together helps to form bonds based on trust and fun. For children recently rescued from trafficking, socialisation skills can be enhanced through various games and activities.

*If you have a passion to end child trafficking and ideas on how you could use your interests, skills or hobbies to influence your sphere, then please reach out and discuss your plans with us.

August 4, 2020 - No Comments!

Mina’s Story of Survival

One Thai New Year's holiday, I went to stay at my aunt’s house. While I was there, my aunt asked me if I wanted a job working at a restaurant in the big city. I thought it sounded like a good idea and would be a way to earn money and help my grandmother, who I lived with.

I took the bus as my aunt had directed and, after many hours of travelling, I arrived at the restaurant. The city was so busy and very different to what I was used to.

When I got inside the restaurant, a few other girls were also waiting to hear about the job. That night a man met us at the restaurant to explain. He told us that our job was not serving food – but that we would be giving sexual services to men.

I didn’t know what to do. I had no idea how this promise of a “good” job had turned out like this. I didn’t even know where I was, or how I could escape to find my way back to my grandma’s house. Had my aunt known about this all along? I felt confused, alone and uncertain about what to do next.

I felt scared I was trapped.

Unable to escape, we were taken to another location where we started “work” the next night around 9pm and didn’t finish until 5am. Night after night, once the clients had all left, we girls would collapse exhausted and sleep upstairs above the club until it would all start again the next night. The owner forced us to work every day.

One night, the owner was very nervous and told us to stay out of sight. We did not know why but we heard shouting and the sound of police sirens. We were crouching down in a laneway just outside the back of the club when some of the other girls took a risk and ran away down the street into the night. I was too scared to run and remained hidden, my heart pounding.

All I remember next was that a bright light was shining on me and suddenly I was pulled up out of my hiding place.

I felt confused at first, but the reassuring voices of the rescue team were telling me that I was safe.

____

The ZOE Child Rescue team alongside local police, successfully rescued Mina and some of the other girls that night and brought them to a safe house.
The owner of the bar was successfully prosecuted.

ZOE was able to reunite Mina with her grandmother. Mina is now safe and working a job that she loves.

Mina thanks God, and ZOE, for giving her
"new life… life to the fullest"
which is what ZOE means in Greek.
____

*Based on real life events. In an effort to protect her identity, her name and the details of this case may have been changed.