Imagine your 10 year-old nephew, your own daughter, or the first graders at your local school. 

Imagine.  Now imagine those same defenseless children being sold into prostitution because of extreme poverty or because of deception.   In the country of Thailand, as in much of Southeast Asia, the sex industry is a driving economic force.  Sadly, current statistics report that up to 35% of those involved in this industry are under the age of 18.  And while the statistics are  incomprehensible,  don’t just think of the facts.  Place that child you know in the same position thousands of children find themselves in in quieter corners of the globe.   When you picture your own son who plays soccer or your neighbor’s little girl who sells you cookies every year, suddenly a foggy fact becomes a sickening reality.     

Rescuing Them.  It has been found that one of the best ways to combat child prostitution in countries like Thailand is to fight it pre-emptively.  Once a child gets sold into the sex industry, it is very difficult for them to be rescued from that situation.  However, there has been great success in identifying girls who would become likely targets for human trafficking and rescuing them from their poverty before the industry captures them.  This is the goal and strategy of Breanna’s House of Joy, which currently is a place of refuge for almost 50 impoverished girls from the hill tribes of Thailand.

James tells us in the first chapter of his book in the Bible, “Pure and undefiled religion is this:  to care for the orphan and the widow, and to remain uncorrupted by this world.”  Time and time again in the Bible, we are admonished to look out for the weak, to care for the poor, to love the needy, to fight for the defenseless, and to give homes to the orphans.  This sanctuary in a Thai jungle serves as a conduit to do just that.

The Girls at Breanna's House of Joy Orphanage, 2009