Sarah Turo-Shields’ Mission to Mending Human Trafficking
302 cases with 455 victims. This is the number of reported cases and victims of human trafficking in 2017 for Thailand according to their Report on Anti-Human Trafficking Response. Reaching far beyond the scope of the reported problem human trafficking is incredibly extensive.
The issue of human trafficking can be a complex one that touches on several areas of society from sex to work. To break it down, human trafficking is defined by the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
as, “…modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.” For those that experience human trafficking a lasting mark is left and can often cause psychological scarring which to resolve usually requires outside help. Sarah Turo-Shields is someone becoming involved in offering this outside help. Going to Thailand on a mission trip where she will be serving victims and survivors of human trafficking, Sarah will be able to learn and use that knowledge to benefit those suffering from traumas such as trafficking both now and in the future.
Sarah’s journey in helping human trafficking victims is through the Thrive Justice School, an initiative of Thrive Rescue:
“…an international anti-trafficking organization working to provide effective and restorative aftercare for survivors of child trafficking and exploitation through family-style residential aftercare and prevention programs.”
This program runs for a four-week period during the course of which Sarah describes her days consisting of a curriculum based morning, being educated on human trafficking and its damage, while the other half occuring out in the field working with the victims. The Office of Justice Programs Office for Victims of Crime reports: “Victims of trafficking often need psychological care…Providing culturally appropriate and trauma-informed mental health treatment can be challenging.” One such challenge is the “limited availability and access to appropriate mental health services.” With this difficulty of receiving help being the reality, individuals like Sarah who want to make a positive impact in the lives of these victims are a real asset.
As part of the Kenosis Counseling Center family, with her parents Dave and Christine Turo-Shields as the co-owners, Sarah received exposure to service at a young age and is inspired by her mother. Although far from local, the mission work she will be doing in Thailand is in line with her upbringing and future goals:
“I grew up in the mindset of a social worker and how you should just take all different aspects of a person to get an understanding of them…how they’re impacted by their surroundings. So I’ve grown up wanting to help out as much as I can…Thailand specifically I want to head in that direction and become a trauma specialized social worker.”
With her goal of becoming a trauma focused social worker, having this first-hand experience working with those suffering from the horrors of human trafficking will provide invaluable insight.
Each outreach offers new perspectives and learning opportunities, in comparison to the others she’s taken Sarah foresees Thailand being, “about education, meeting and understanding the culture, and then leaving Thailand to then continue what they have taught us.” Much of the information Sarah’s gotten has come from Meaghan Haines, a former participant of this program and anti-trafficking advocate who has also written an article on prominent sex trafficking myths. Meaghan regards her experience with Thrive as “one of the most eye-opening, life-changing experiences a person can have.” As one of the top cities for sexual exploitation with one of the most booming red light districts the program is based out of Pattaya, Thailand. A prominent activity Meaghan reflected on was one of their outreach activities:
“…we went to the one of the thousands of bars and played games with the women that are in the sexual exploitation industry. This was an opportunity to show these women that they have worth, they are loved, and they are beautiful children of God. This was probably one of my favorites activities! It was also difficult because there would be times that we would have men come up and buy one of the women for the night while we were trying to spend time with them… the whole trip is an amazing emotional roller coaster. There are times that you see the worst of humanity and the sex trafficking industry, but there are also many times where God’s love shines through the darkness.”
Not only an opportunity to make an impact on these people’s’ lives, as Meaghan proves here it provides an opportunity to expand your worldly outlook.
Here Meaghan is seen embracing a child survivor of sexual exploitation she met and helped during her time in the Thrive Program.
Apart from this information Sarah expresses, “I definitely think I will be going in completely blind.” However, entering in unknowing is preferable to Sarah who wants to avoid coming in with any assumptions or cultural expectations. Having blind faith is a saying Sarah finds value in, grown from her past in Uganda where observing blind kayakers conveyed “Faith is all about blindly accepting the circumstances and still following,” spoken about in her blog piece “I am the Blind Kayaker.” Important both to herself, faith is vital to the Thrive program trying to offer healing through God.
Sarah is entering into unknown territory in order to provide help to those suffering from the inhumanities of human trafficking. Her weeks in Thailand will consist of learning how to and also offering a service of healing from the pain these victims have endured. Not only that, but the knowledge that she will come to possess will allow her to help many others in the future and raise awareness. As Meaghan Haines said, “Sex trafficking is very prevalent all across our world today, yet it is an epidemic that many people don’t know anything about. Thrive does an incredible job of creating a foundation of knowledge and experiences to build upon for people who are truly passionate about ending trafficking.” This trip does not come without financial cost so if you wish to contribute to Sarah’s journey and healing of many faced with unimaginable torment you can reach out and donate below.
https://thriverescue.givingfuel.com/tjs-2019-sarah-turo-shields
Check out this interview with Sarah to hear more about her upcoming trip with Thrive Justice School and all she’s looking forward to and will be doing once in Thailand!