Service in Action—Investing in Lives—Building Connections – Ad Astra Radio

Listen to Ad Astra Radio’s Interview with Dr. Lara Vanderhoof here

Service in Action. Study Abroad with a Mission Focus to save lives.

Thailand is known as The Land of Smiles and in partnership with Bread of Life/Paladin Rescue Alliance, NGO (Non-Government Organization), Tabor College, Central Christian College of Kansas, Sterling College, and Calvin University collaborated to pull off this mission. Dr. Lara Vanderhoof, Associate Professor of Social Work with Tabor College, Hillsboro, KS led the students from Tabor College and Central Christian College of Kansas on this trip.

The focus of the mission took place at a government-run free boarding school of 600 students located in the mountains of Thailand and situated in a very impoverished area. We shared a common goal: the pursuit of knowledge and the desire to serve. We made a promise to the students, staff, and teachers at the school that as their guests we would listen respectfully, learn with humility, and act with kindness. Education was a common root between our college students and the K-12 students, but we were aiming for the fruits of character building and shining the light of Christ.

This experience was three-pronged as we focused on three distinct components at the school: swimming, ESL (English as a Second Language), and Anti-human Trafficking Education and Prevention.

Drowning is the number one cause of death among Thai youth so one of our foci was swimming, which included Swim Lessons and Swim Safety for both students and teachers. When students and teachers came to the initial swim lesson many were scared and fearful to get in the water let alone participate in the swim lessons. It took time to build trust with us as swim instructors, practicing basic skills of blowing bubbles, going under water, floating, learning freestyle and the backstroke and culminating with the ability to swim across the width of the pool then the length of the pool. The excitement grew, the skills developed, and the students and teachers now have the skills to save their own lives and others. The students learned how to rescue another individual with simple items like a water bottle. During the rainy season the flooding is great, the river is nearby, which provides a great opportunity for the risk of drowning.

ESL (English as a Second Language): learning the alphabet, sounds, simple words to more complex words, everyday words around school, home, and leisure activities were the focus of these class sessions. The students rotated between these as they moved from the swim lessons and human trafficking education.

Anti-Human Trafficking Education and Prevention is a critical knowledge base for students in Thailand due to the high rate of individuals being trafficked from this country. These lessons were filled with information, videos, and activities where the students learned the signs of human trafficking, how to ask for help, and how to process their emotions and feelings associated to human trafficking. Language did not keep us from educating the children on how to prevent themselves from being trafficked. We were able to teach the universal sign of help, which is open hand, thumb closed under your four fingers and making this motion to others as often as you need to until you are rescued. For context here is one lived-experience that helps shed some light into the realness of the risk of human trafficking. This is a true story of a young girl who lives by the Myanmar border—the journey to get to this boarding school is a two-hour walk, then she takes a boat for another hour and half, meets up with another student to finish the trip by truck for another 1.5 hours. I spent time talking with this student at length regarding safety and her welfare on these long journeys to help prevent trafficking.

Relationship Building—with students and the teachers—Of interest there were many students who were very curious and would ask many questions about the United States, American culture, and simply working on strengthening their English language acquisition.

Outside of the time at the boarding school, we entered the Brothels—the opportunity to take time and go into the brothels was impactful—the images are embedded—the humanity and the needs were so real. Walking the streets were seemingly safe and like any other community until you look a bit closer—human trafficking hidden in plain sight—traffickers walking alongside us and individuals trafficked.

Ordering a meal at a restaurant inside the brothel provided much needed revenue to the establishment while we also filled the restaurant limiting the trafficking for a time. During our visit to this restaurant, a game of billiards was played as a social connection and human engagement. Quickly passing through the restaurant appeared to be a human trafficker who preyed on a young lady, but distant enough that I was not able to intervene. As the evening grew dark, more people show up: some young, some older, some to watch a boxing match (a lure to the brothels), others for drinks. At the various establishments there are opportunities to order a beverage or a woman, which is noted on the menu. I was asked by a lady if I would purchase her, rather, I purchased the ladies soda beverages, and we played tabletop games like Jenga and numbers in a box game. Language was a barrier so translator Apps were used so individuals could easily communicate We learned about their lives, what brought them to the brothels and spent time showing dignity, worth, compassion, and care in the middle of trafficking. Did we rescue these individuals? No, but we did bring hope and care to them just as Jesus would. We did this through our words, actions, and behavior. Mission accomplished, lives saved through swim skills, English skill development, and anti-human trafficking education.

Lara can be reached at [email protected] for more information