Welcome to the Thailand Rotary Action Group Against Slavery Team

Do you want to get involved in projects that will save the lives of children? Are you willing to put your heart and your skills into what may be the most heartbreaking and at the same time rewarding volunteer work you have ever encountered? Join Rotary, Join the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery and join our team!

Donate Today - Help Train 500 Children - Receive Your Shirts Soon

Why? Great question, here’s an answer: Peace Culture Foundation (PCF) is providing Grooming (and human trafficking) prevention training to middle and high school students. The purpose of this campaign is to fund the training of at least 500 children. We calculate the average cost is only ฿200 per child in groups of 80 or more. Bottom line our goal is to raise a minimum of ฿100,000 THB ($2,900 USD). If we raise more, we’ll train more children?

How? You are asked to buy shirts and pass this information on to your caring friends and family.

This campaign begins 1 December 2024 and ends 15 January 2025.

TRAGAST will collect the shipping information and donations. There are two easy ways to proceed:

Click here and fill out your order.
Send an email to treasurer@tragast.org

After your order is placed you will receive an email with payment instructions.

At the end of the campaign all donations will be transferred to PCF.

PCF is handling fulfillment. The shirts will be shipped around 1 February.

TRAGAST will report the campaign results in our 1 February bulletin.

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Signal for Help

Call 1387 - Child Line Thailand

Call 1300 - Social Assistance Center

Call 191 - Royal Thai Police

Call 1155 - Tourist Police

Call 1669 - Emergency Medical Assistance

The Signal for Help (or the Violence at Home Signal for Help) is a single-handed gesture that can be used by an individual to alert others that they feel threatened and need help over a video call, or in-person. It was originally created as a tool to combat the rise in domestic violence cases around the world as a result of the self-isolation measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The signal is performed by holding your hand up with your thumb tucked into your palm, then folding your fingers down, symbolically trapping your thumb in your fingers. It was intentionally designed as a single continuous hand movement, rather than a sign held in one position, that could be made easily visible.

The Signal for Help was first introduced in Canada by the Canadian Women's Foundation on April 14, 2020, and on April 28, 2020 in the United States by the Women's Funding Network (WFN). It received widespread praise from local, national, and international news organizations for helping provide a modern solution to the issue of a rise in domestic violence cases.

The signal has been recognized by over 40 organizations across Canada and the United States as a useful tool to help combat domestic violence.

Addressing concerns that abusers may become aware of such a widespread online initiative, the Canadian Women's Foundation and other organizations clarified that this signal is not "something that's going to save the day," but rather a tool someone could use to get help.

Instructions for what to do if an individual sees the signal, and how to check-in safely, were also created.

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Fight Child Human Trafficking and Compassion Fatigue

Below is taken directly from a Matt Friedman post on LinkedIn:

Compassion fatigue

About a year ago, I was on the metro train returning from a client meeting. While I was content catching up on some emails, I couldn’t help but overhear two loud men discussing a topic that clearly irritated them both. Their conversation went something like this:

First Man: “I really can’t stand it anymore. Just when I thought all those charity groups were done trying to get me to donate to Ukraine refugees, that earthquake hit. I’m so tired of people coming up to me asking for a handout. It happened in my office again today.”

Second Man: “Yeah, and if it’s not these new causes, then it’s the whales or the trees or some other lame issue.”

First Man: “I don’t donate to any of these groups anymore. Who knows what they do with the money?”

Second Man: “I don’t give either. I did for a while, but it just never stops. I work hard for my money. Why should I hand it over to someone else? They should go out and find a job like everyone else.”

After listening to them talk, I briefly considered saying something to these two men, but I stopped and asked myself, “Who am I to judge what they say?” The reality is that the sentiments they expressed are shared by many others.

What they described is often referred to as ‘compassion fatigue.’ We donate to some charities, and then more come along asking for help. Eventually, we become jaded and resentful.

Finding a way to overcome this feeling is one of the significant challenges of our times.

That morning, I watched news clips that focused on the victims of the earthquake. In addition to the 45,000 deaths and 300,000 injuries, over 5 million people were homeless. To support these individuals, an immense amount of food, tents, blankets, hygiene supplies, and much more were needed.

The faces of the men, women, and children haunted me all day. Their expressions were filled with grief, fear, sadness, and hopelessness. This is just one example among countless others of people in need.

The major issues facing the world are real and daunting. They won't resolve themselves; action is required, and extensive resources are needed to address them.

Perhaps we need to reconsider how we approach giving. I have two suggestions.

First, each of us might find it helpful to determine a specific amount to contribute on an annual basis and commit to that. I know people who do this: they identify a cause they care about and donate regularly. This method can alleviate the guilt often associated with being targeted by multiple fundraising campaigns.

Second, the amount chosen should be significant. Many of us have jobs that offer good salaries and enjoy comfortable lives, while so many others suffer. Given our blessings, we should be open to making generous contributions. This can help make the world a better place.

Who wouldn’t want to be a part of making this happen?

TRAGAST is a very small entity. Our focus is Training to Prevent Child Human Trafficking. Here is a list of reasons to support us and a list of reasons to not.

Support TRAGAST:

The prevention of child human trafficking is the right thing to do.Prevention is much less painful than rescue and restoration.What if prevention could remove or at least reduce the need for rescue and restoration? That would certainly help make the world a better place.
TRAGAST is an open book.We pride ourselves in financial transparency. We would be delighted to show you exactly where your donation would go. (At this point, 100% of our donations go to support Peace Culture Foundation training).
TRAGAST is comprised of Rotarian's who share the same passion. Our vision is to see a Thailand region free of human trafficking.
With your support, we can fulfill our mission to enable and assist our community to take action to eliminate human trafficking and human exploitation through awareness and specific projects, especially prevention!

Not support TRAGAST:

Donations to TRAGAST are not tax-deductible.
Not everyone thinks the prevention of child human trafficking is the most important cause. Many wonderful people support other worthy causes.
Not everyone sees the benefit of making altruistic gestures.

Gentle reader, I will ask you to finish this story as it applies to you. If you wish to support TRAGAST, please let us know at treasurer@tragast.org

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Last Update

Last Update January 13, 2025

A complete list of stories available on this website is available in the About Us section

Stop human trafficking now!

We meet In Person & Online

Mondays at 7:00 PM

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Zoom
Chiang Mai,
Thailand

We meet on Zoom every 2nd Monday of the month. If you'd like an invitation, please contact coordinator@tragast.org

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Jimmy Carter's vision for peace

This story appeared in the February 2018 issue of Rotary magazine.  It’s a crisp, sunny day in late October, and school groups are touring the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in

Espresso in a war zone