Meet our Partners

Thailand



Pattaya Slum Ministries
Pattaya, Thailand, is a coastal town known worldwide for its rampant sex tourism. There are an estimated 40,000 people being prostituted in this city. The Freedom Stones project in Pattaya, Thailand, began in December of 2008 as leaders of Pattaya Slum Ministries (PSM) and Freedom Stones Founder, Leah Knippel came together with mutual concern for people in poverty and prostitution in Pattaya. PSM works with individuals living in the slums of Pattaya, those whose families are most vulnerable to trafficking. Freedom Stones offered a training session and out of this training came an ongoing program, as well as a mutual aspiration to develop a vocational and holistic training center that can be used by multiple organizations in Pattaya. Artisans from the slums of Pattaya are actively and regularly making jewelry for this project and have become quite skilled. We have seen significant transformation and growth in our artisans in Pattaya since the partnership's inception.

Current needs for FS in Thailand

 

Cambodia



Cambodian Hope Organization
Leah Knippel first began working with Chomno In, director of Cambodian Hope Organization (CHO), in 2006 while working for World Concern. Based in Poipet, Cambodia, CHO works in a notorious border town known as a major transit point for men, women and children being trafficked from Cambodia into Thailand. Villagers in this region are extremely vulnerable to traffickers who coerce or trick them into selling their children. Because most are living in abject poverty, they have very little means of making a living and are more vulnerable to promises of money from traffickers. Freedom Stones began our program with the teenagers living in CHO's Safe Haven in January 2011.

Current needs for FS in Cambodia

 

Ghana

Krobodan Beads
Empowering vulnerable single mothers is a proven way to prevent child trafficking. At Krobodan Beads, an NGO focused on training vulnerable mothers how to produce jewelry, the objective is to improve the lives of women who are economically disadvantaged and therefore vulnerable to traffickers' offers for their children's labor. Through the project with Krobodan Beads, these women are offered an opportunity to change their lifestyle, contribute to development within the community, and the ability to better educate their families and feed their children three times daily. Freedom Stones engaged Krobodan Beads during our work in Ghana in 2010.

Sun Trade
Creating sustainable employment for vulnerable individuals such as women and people with disabilities can reduce instances of human trafficking. By partnering with Freedom Stones, Sun Trade, an indigenous jewelry business in Ghana's capital city, Accra, is able to employ many urban poor individuals, including individuals that are physically challenged, who would otherwise be vulnerable to human trafficking. Sun Trade's founder, Kati Torda Dagadu, has also been an invaluable advisor to Freedom Stones since the inception of our work in Ghana in early 2010.

Touch a Life Foundation
Leah Knippel met Pam Cope, Founder of TAL, in early 2009. Children as young as 5 years old are often sold into slave labor on Lake Volta where at least 7000 children are working in slave-like conditions fishing Tilapia. These children may grow into their teen years working 14-hour days with very little food or shelter all the while enduring abuse from their slave masters. Touch a Life works to care for children that have been rescued from Lake Volta, and the Freedom Stones model has proved to be a valuable addition to their program to provide survivors with holistic skill training and an alternative livelihood. Freedom Stones began work with TAL in their Kete Krachi, Ghana, safe haven in 2010.


Village of Hope (VOH) - Vocational Training Center
Youth living on the streets of Ghana's capital city of Accra are vulnerable to human trafficking and exploitation. When teens on the streets decide to make something more of their lives and learn a trade, the VOH vocational training center in Ayawaso, Ghana, welcomes them. In addition to the Freedom Stones jewelry program, VOH instructors train these young people in tailoring, batik and tie-dye, kente weaving, leather works, and auto mechanic skills. By partnering with Freedom Stones, VOH is able to provide innovative income-generating and skill development activities to the youth to break the cycle of poverty and injustice. Freedom Stones engaged VOH early 2010.

Current needs for FS in Ghana