Education Thailand Project #6718

Prevent Child Trafficking Through Education

by The Freedom Story (Formerly The SOLD Project)

Prevent Child Trafficking Through Education

Project Report | Oct 1, 2026
From Scholarship Student to Essential Worker

By Chealsia Smedley | Communications Coordinator

Jintara grew up dreaming she could care for the grandmother who raised her. You helped her build a career caring for people across her community, too.

Jintara lives with her 89-year-old grandmother, who can no longer work. Her monthly government allowance of about 600 baht (about $18) was the family’s sole income, making it difficult to afford daily expenses such as food and electricity.

With so few ways to earn a living in rural Nan, young people in Jintara’s situation are often pushed to leave school for unsafe work. Jintara had every reason to drop out, which put her at risk of being trafficked.

But thanks to supporters like you, she received a scholarship that allowed her to stay in school and pursue her dream of becoming a nursing aide. Along the way, she learned about trafficking and exploitation and became a leader who passes knowledge on to others.

“For me, this scholarship was not just financial help for my schooling,” says Jintara. "It was an opportunity to have a real future, to study what I love, and to gain a profession that allows me to earn a living and take care of my family.

Thank you to every supporter for believing in me, even when I did not know how I would reach my dreams.”

This summer, Jintara completed her nursing aide certification, and now she works at a local hospital.

“I feel so proud to have made it this far. Every time I cared for an elderly patient, I thought of my grandmother,” she says. “That made me work even harder to learn and practice, because I wanted to bring that experience home to care for her the best I can.”

Jintara’s story is proof that education never stops with one student.

When you invest in a young person, you invest in someone who carries knowledge home to her family, peers, and community. This year, your support is helping 464 scholarship students stay safe in school and build futures of opportunity and impact. Thank you for believing in students like Jintara.

*Name changed to protect the student's privacy.

Links:

Learn why education is effective prevention.

Permalink

Jun 8, 2026
Graduation Means Much More in Northern Thailand

By Chealsia Smedley | Communications Coordinator

Since 2008, thanks to donors like you, The Freedom Story scholarship students have achieved a 90% high school graduation rate.

A 90% graduation rate is an incredible achievement and a testament to your impact.

But to see that, we first need to understand the context:

50% of children in Thailand finish high school.
In rural areas, that number drops to 42%.
In the poorest communities, it decreases to 23%.

The Freedom Story selects scholarship students who are the most vulnerable in rural Thailand. Our risk factor analysis measures 7 key trafficking risks, including poverty, home life instability, and family histories of abuse or trafficking.

Most of our students’ families live on less than $1 per person per day. And only 4% of their guardians finished high school.

As soon as someone joins our program, they are 86% more likely to graduate from high school than their guardians. When students receive consistent support to stay in school, mentorship, and trafficking prevention training, their stories shift from vulnerability to possibility.

When you give to The Freedom Story, whether one-time or monthly with The Freedom Chapter, you give children the resources and tools they need to break cycles.

Every scholarship student leaves our program equipped to break cycles of poverty and exploitation and replace them with cycles of freedom and opportunity.

Since 2008, we have given more than 1,000 students access to education.

Every June, we welcome a new generation of students into our prevention programming. The impact extends far beyond these students when they share their prevention knowledge with families, peers, and communities.

One of our graduating students, Misu, put it this way:

“I used to be incredibly shy, but now I’m a leader who goes out with the Freedom Story staff to share the knowledge I’ve learned with younger students and friends.

I believe that, with all the support I’ve received, I will have a better life, be able to take care of myself, and contribute to others. May the opportunities you have given me return to you.”

Thank you for being someone who gives vulnerable children access to opportunity, freedom, and hope.

We couldn’t do this vital work without you!

Links:

Permalink

Apr 13, 2026
A Scholarship Helped This Child and Her Grandma

By Chealsia Smedley | Communications Coordinator

Happy Songkran from Thailand! Songkran, also known as the Thai New Year, is a time when many embrace renewal, washing away the last year and cooling off during the hottest part of the year with water fights and splashing buckets.

It’s also a time when the youngest family members honor their elders. In that vein, I would love for you to meet Fah’s grandma.

Fah has been a scholarship student for six years now. Since then, not only has she reduced her trafficking risk and started to thrive in school, but her grandmother also became a stable leader in their home and community. Their story shows how protection for one student spreads to impact peers, families, and communities.

Here’s her story:

As the sole provider for a family of six, Grandma Son needed a long-term path forward— one that would protect her four grandchildren from extreme poverty and trafficking risk.

When her granddaughter Fah became a scholarship student with The Freedom Story, she took advantage of our home visits and caregiver workshops, learning to manage her finances and eventually opening her own restaurant.

During breaks, instead of spending unmonitored time online, the children help at the restaurant, earning income, building responsibility, and staying connected to a safe, supportive adult. With both parents struggling with addiction, the children faced increased vulnerability to trafficking and online exploitation.

Now, Grandma Son earns enough to cover Fah’s siblings’ school fees. She even shares the knowledge she has learned with other families, helping them alleviate poverty and keep their kids safe from trafficking.

Thanks to people like you, whose generosity kept Fah in school, now she and her siblings have the stable support they need to build futures marked by freedom and opportunity.

Thank you for making this story possible. You can read Grandma Son’s story and much more in our 2025 Impact Report.

Links:

2025 Impact Report

Permalink

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ... 34 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.