From a Mother's Nightmare to a Brand New Start

When *Phueng was around 18 years old, *Tansanee's boyfriend mentioned that he had a friend who was interested in dating her daughter. Tansanee innocently encouraged Phueng to go out with her boyfriend's friend, thinking it would be fun for them to have double dates together.

Phueng's date turned out to be a terribly abusive and jealous man who soon claimed the young girl as his and only his. Phueng became pregnant and his abuse only escalated. Several months into the pregnancy, Tansanee's daughter got in a fight with her controlling boyfriend and he killed her, and her unborn child.

Tansanee was devastated. She had lost her daughter and her granddaughter all at once.

Tansanee blamed herself for her daughter's death. She had been the one to encourage their first date. To only add to her pain, most of Tansanee's family blamed her as well. She wasn't even allowed to attend Phueng's funeral.

Heart-shattered and cut off from her family, Tansanee couldn't bear to stay in her home village. She felt the only option was for her to leave and try to start over. She boarded a bus for the city of Pattaya, where she had heard she could find work.

The only job Tansanee was able to find was at a brothel masquerading as a beer bar for sex tourists. She was in desperate need of money to live and had nothing left to lose, so she took the "job."

Tansanee had been in Pattaya for a year when our Not Abandoned team met her. Immediately, they could see that this woman was kind and energetic, but also that she carried a deep sadness inside her heart.

Tansanee began to attend classes regularly at our Employment Education Center. Here, Tansanee benefited from the free training, but it was the community, support, and hope that she received from the team which began to restore the deep desperation of her heart.

After 6 months of healing, and the team's encouragement, Tansanee made the courageous decision to leave the exploitive sex industry behind and find a job. She started working as a cleaner, but eventually decided that she would be better starting her own business.

And we agree.

Tansanee now has started her own food cart!

It has been inspiring to watch Tansanee heal, grow, and step out with courage and faith. Her journey is not complete, but the steps she has taken towards holistic health and sustaining freedom are an incredible feat to celebrate!

Thank you, for being a faithful advocate of freedom.



*All names have been changed for privacy. It's special to note that the name Tansanee was chosen specifically because of its Thai meaning: a beautiful view. This is our wish and prayer for Tansanee-- that from now on, after all the pain in her life, she will only have beautiful views ahead of her.