For the past 6 years, our Employment Education Center has been providing practical support and unconditional love to thousands exploited by the sex industry. The capacity of our current center has been maxed out for some time now and recent sky-rocketing unemployment has only increased the vulnerable population's need for services. We need to expand.
Now is the time to take hope to a new level! Because of the generous support of individuals, foundations, businesses, and churches we have been able to purchase a brand-new set of buildings to host a massive program expansion: the Freedom Center.
This new facility will allow us to reach 4x the number of students with empowerment resources. The next steps are to remodel the space and to equip it to meet the unique needs of classroom, business, residential, and community programs. Explore details of each of the new center's rooms below and pick a special area that you'd like to sponsor, or make a general donation to the Freedom Center below. Together, we can unlock the doors to hope!
"Do you have another job for me? If you had a job, I would leave (this brothel) with you right now. I just don't have any other option. I have to take care of my family."
a women our founder met during outreach
Each of the future Freedom Center's 12 new rooms are available for sponsorship. With your help, we can see doors our open in 2021!
This is a space for our students to feel at home. Often ladies will hang out with us outside class, invite their friends for one of our game nights, and access extra times of guidance from our staff in this more relaxed environment. A community space free for their use is vital to building strong relationships with those we serve.
Total Needed $7,850
First impressions matter. We want ladies to feel at home and at ease from the minute they walk up to our building. A welcome courtyard is vital to ensuring there is no shame or stigma in walking through our doors for support. Here students and workers will be greeted by an Instagram worthy cafe setting to have private conversations or a relaxing cup of tea.
Total Needed $7,300
Food is the number one way to make friends in Thailand (and of course it is, because the food is delicious!) We regularly host community meals for our students, workers, and their friends who might also benefit from our services. We have far outgrown our current kitchen and can't wait to welcome in our students to make some bigger and better meals together!
Total Needed $7,400
Most of our students are quite versed in using mobile technologies. However, it's common that their traditional computer skills are limited. In this lab, students will learn practical skills, such as professional emailing and the Microsoft Suite, to help them obtain jobs. They will also learn to utilize in order to start and grow their own businesses in fields such as e-commerce.
Total Needed $13,350
Even though our most student-requested class is Beginner's English, we know that we're teaching so much more than language skills in this classroom. Here, our newest students learn to believe in themselves, through the confidence gained in returning to a safe, yet challenging classroom. This learning space is filled with the laughter of learning games and the excellence of passing on a variety of practical skills such as English, personal budgeting, and CV creation.
Total Needed $5,300
This residential care component of the Freedom Center is a practical short term resource for some of our students. Perhaps they are recovering from an illness or need a safe place to stay as they break away from an abuser for the first time. Maybe they are afraid to go home, or have no home to return to. Regardless of the situation, this corner of our center is theirs as a stepping stone as we help guide them towards sustaining freedom.
Total Needed $5,650
We incorporate trauma-informed care into all aspects of our programming and group and creative counseling activities are wonderfully effective within the context of Thai culture. However, there are also necessary times when one-on-one conversations need to be held in a more private setting. This designated counseling space will allow are team to chat with students and those in need without losing face in a group setting. This space will secondarily serve ancillary purposes to host private staff meetings, video recordings, and as quiet study space when not in use for times of counseling.
Total Needed $3,350
One of the features that makes our new Freedom Center so special is that it will provide in-house jobs for our students. This employment will not only pay our students both monetarily and educationally, but it will do so in a trauma-safe environment. In-house businesses such as our bakery will provide students a softer transition as they move out of exploitation and into healthy forms of employment. As students are ready, they will transition to working externally with one of our local partners and a new spot will become available at our bakery for the next transitioning student. (As a bonus, we also happen to sell the best brownies in town!)
Total Needed $11,550
Here our students will learn how to start their own business with lessons and coaching ranging from ideation to execution. They will learn about creating a business plan, budgeting, utilizing technology, sustainability, best practices, etc. These classes will also be paired with our microloan program to help launch the small businesses developed through these trainings.
Total Needed $7,050
Sometimes there is no better strategy to process though emotions than through working with your hands. Guided creative activities allow for a therapeutically gentle, yet effective way, to express even the most confusing emotions and traumatic memories, which can then be safely worked through with our trained team. It's also simply a beautiful way to allow our students, young and old, to reclaim some of the play and fun so often robbed from their lives.
Total Needed $4,600
This multi-purpose space is perhaps one of our most valuable additions to the entire center. With this room, we will finally be able to host large gatherings on-campus rather than renting spaces for every large group training or conference. This space is all about fostering holistic heath: exercise classes, job fairs, movie and game nights, church gatherings, and even opening up the room for the needs of community partners will help us foster quality connections like never before.
Total Needed $7,900
Our staff's current office space is shared in our shared classroom space. We love this opportunity to give them a dedicated space to work, meet, plan, and dream. In addition, we will also now have room to host our treasured volunteers as they continue to join us to teach classes, support outreach, and bring in guest seminars for our students.
Total Needed $4,700
Not Abandoned is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization
EIN # 91-1470478
PO Box 3263
Kirkland, WA 98083, USA
info@notabandoned.org