More about the children at DEPDC

I am finally back in Knoxville, and now I have time to update the events during my trip of a lifetime. My first post just outlined some basics of the first two weeks of the trip, but I want to talk more about the children at DEPDC.

**For anyone reading this who is considering going on an ISV trip, I would actually recommend bringing your laptop because most of the time we had access to Wi-Fi and I felt our things were kept safe and secure. I recommend contacting your Project Leader, because access to Wi-Fi and other conditions may be different depending on your country and project site. It would have been nice to be able to upload photos and keep in touch with friends.

The children at the site were a joy to work with and full of energy. The Half Day School has children from K-6^th grade, but there are older students who work there to help out in the classrooms, with cooking, etc. Classes consist of children of various ages because students join the program at different times, and some children are stateless and do not have a birth certificate so there is no way to know their age. Many of the children come from Burma and ride a crammed bus each morning and afternoon to DEPDC.

Though the students are mostly smiles and full of energy, there are various signs that reveal tough home lives or difficult pasts. One student came up to another volunteer and pointed to a scar much too large for a child of such a young age. Most of the students wore the same 1-3 sets of clothing. One of the smallest boy’s shoes broke during soccer, and the next day he came back wearing pink crocs that were much too small for his feet. Also, two of the students at the center cannot speak. This is likely due to a very traumatic past event they encountered. It is difficult to see because they are often bullied, or they lash out with violence such as hitting and yelling. Other students often display acts of violence as well. Luckily there are teachers at DEPDC who can provide a good role model for the students. Also, various long-term volunteers and short-term ISV volunteers can provide other positive role models.

It is impossible to know exactly what each child has been through, as each child’s past is confidential. We were very fortunate on our trip to hear from the founder of DEPDC. His story is very compelling and he expanded our knowledge of the human trafficking industry. As a small child, a Peace Corp volunteer took him in and taught him English, allowing him to go on to create several initiatives to help children at risk or rescued from human trafficking. Unfortunately, there is only so much room at DEPDC and other facilities to take in children, so only the worst cases are admitted to his programs.  The founder of DEPDC talked to us a lot about why human trafficking continues, which he attributes to what he refers to as the “Blood Sucker Cycle.” I encourage you to look at the details of this cycle and his target group at the DEPDC website. One of the most shocking details he provided to us was that clinic doctors benefit from the sex industry because they perform procedures on the young girls to essentially, sow them back up to be sold as virgins again. Human trafficking can come in many forms, not just sex trafficking, and can be found in many countries. People most at risk for trafficking in Thailand are the stateless youth because they cannot enroll in free government schools. Providing education and vocational skills to these children helps prevent them from being sold or coerced into human trafficking.

More info on human trafficking