Daughters of Cambodia

A couple days back, I visited a cafe/shop/spa that one of the past students, Rithy, works at. It is run through the Daughters of Cambodia organization, which helps victims of sex trafficking start new lives through external support (learning life skills and training in a job) as well as internal support (counseling, art/singing/dance classes, discipleship). The cafe/shop/spa is staffed almost entirely by victims who are training to be able to transition to similar jobs. The shop has jewelry, clothing, pillows, etc... that are all hand-made by the girls. It is really coolll! :D

Reading about it, watching an intro film, and visiting was very encouraging! I usually don't like watching the films/clips about sex trafficking. I understand that their purpose is to make us cognizant of the sad reality out there - that slavery still exists; however, in the past clips I have watched, they mainly focus on the horror of the situation. There is very little shown on hope or healing. For me, sometimes watching also stirs impure thoughts in myself. At Daughters, seeing the film and the work there was so uplifting! Hope is something powerful!! It makes me think that just seeing the realities of evil cannot change the world, we need something (or someone!) else :)

If anyone would like to buy anything, let me know and I can buy it for you while I'm here and give it to you when I see you next :) I have one completely empty suitcase that needs filling :P