Prevent Child Trafficking Through Education

Dear Friends,

During the past few months, both of our resource centers have been very busy due to March and April being summer break for our students. The beginning of a new semester in May also brought new scholarship students for The SOLD Project! The 20 new students that SOLD accepted into our program this year came out for a new student orientation in May. The new students watched the first documentary SOLD produced, learned the history of the organization and the details of their scholarships including expectations, processes, events, resources and activities.

Another exciting event that took place at the end of May was the parent meeting. Twice a year, all of our scholarship students and their families are invited to the Freedom Resource Center for a parent meeting. Here, the SOLD staff provides updates and information as well as hosts a workshop or speaker, collects letters and photos from the students for their sponsors. At the parent meeting, we also introduced new staff members to the students and parents, as well as a local police officer who came out to raise awareness of the dangers of online trafficking. Everyone enjoyed lunch together after the program. The afternoon was spent administering students surveys that were designed to measure their experiences with SOLD. The survey results will be a key and penultimate aspect of our first Social Impact Assessment — a detailed research project that SOLD began last year to measure our impact on the ground in Thailand.

Without you, our faithful supporters, the parent meetings, and The SOLD Project would not exist. We would also not be able to admit new students into our Scholarship program every year as the Freedom Project funds the resources for the scholarship students. Our students would be left on their own to navigate the obstacles that appear on the difficult road to higher education and success, especially when the road begins in poverty.

Thank you so much for making our work possible.

With hope,

Alaynah Fiedler