Child Protection Thailand Project #28056

Prevent Trafficking: Educate 130 Thai Children

by Global Relief Association for Crises & Emergencies, Inc.

Project Report | Dec 8, 2025
Thirteen Years of GRACE in Thailand: Dr. Jon's Message

By Jonathan Sullivan, Ph.D. | Founder

The GRACE organization began in the early 2000’s as I traveled the globe and witnessed some of the most vulnerable among us being exploited to the benefit of others. In my circle, there was nothing being done to address the problem of exploitation. Granted, it is dirty work and far from the comfort of which most are accustomed.

That experience was enhanced as my travels became more extensive. I saw exploitation in several cultures and in varying contexts. One of those destinations was Peru. In a small village in the Andes mountains I was accused of being a trafficker. I was sharing with some teenagers in the village about a youth event taking place that weekend. In the midst of our conversation, a mother came running out of her house crying and shouting. Her tears and words were directed at me. She was telling the teens to stay away from me as I had plans of taking them back to America to sell them.

The fear and terror in the eyes of that mother humanized trafficking for me. For some time I had heard news of trafficking rings and arrests being made in various parts of the world. Until then, to me, trafficking was something that happened in another place. Trafficking was more theoretical than reality—until I looked into the eyes of that distraught mother and began to see the impact the problem has on families.

October 2012 proved to be a pivotal year as the Global Relief Association for Crises & Emergencies was incorporated in the state of Georgia, USA. Today, our home office is based in Millen, Georgia, and the work was started in Thailand. Today, we have a Family Resource Center operating in Pattaya, Thailand. We have had over 200 children come through the sponsorship program, many of which still stand in need of a sponsor. The future is bright and the vision is clear to take this work deeper into Thailand and also globally. There is no limit.

What began with one moment of fear and truth has grown into 13 years of serving children and families, building hope, and working to end exploitation.

Back to all project reports

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.