Happy Rotary New Year!   RY 2024-2025 was good but left me hungry to do a lot more.  My time as a director on the RAGAS board has come to an end, but I will remain as the Thailand Coordinator through RY 2025-2026.  During my final year as Coordinator membership and collaboration will be paramount.  We need more members and more collaborative organizations to facilitate more training to prevention training!   We will also sponsor several events to help raise awareness of child human trafficking in Thailand and the Mekong region.  

 

The 14 July TRAGAST meeting will feature Rotary Peace Fellow Jennifer Montgomery.  She is a subject matter expert on human trafficking and the founder of Magenta Girls Initiative.  You are invited to join us on Zoom.  The meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. Bangkok (UTC+7). Please contact me to receive the Zoom information. 

 

Perhaps 3 years ago I was speaking with my friend Stephan Turner, founder of the Gate Theater Group and suggested he write a play about human trafficking.   It happened!  The stage play “Restive Souls” has become a reality.  It will be performed in Chiang Mai 22 & 23 July 2025.   There are tentative plans to take the play to Bangkok and to the United States.

 

Through a Rotary Event I met Nathalie Laloue, a wonderful and caring human who is an incredible artist.  She told me she wanted to help.  That simple statement has turned into her involvement in 2 events and given TRAGAST ways to use Art to raise awareness!