Back to life as we knew it...

After missed flights, a sketchy six hour bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and 26 hours of flying, we finally made it back to the States early, early Monday morning.

We are grateful to be home in one piece, but I think I can speak for the whole group when I say we left a piece of our hearts in Cambodia.

Thanksgiving!

The last three days have been a great reminder of the time we spent in South East Asia last year.  We are also reminded of what it was like to have a 56K dial up modem and the frustrations of trying to book a few simple airplane tickets.  It's been a busy, but very productive three days here in Phnom Penh and are heading out today to to spend Thanksgiving in another region.  Thanks guys for your thoughts and prayers.  Were out heading out to catch a boat that will hopefully take us to a somewhat faster internet connection.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Paradoxical Surprises

Some say Bangkok is a shock to your system. Others describe as a gateway to paradise where everything is permissible and everything goes. To the later, I have to agree. With it’s colossal economic chasm between the very wealthy and the very poor, Bangkok certainly is a paradoxical surprise.

Despite living in New York City for a number of years, never have I witnessed such blatant sexual propositions, lewd business transactions and nausea over salivating men, who haven chosen just mere teenagers for a night of "pleasure", than I did sitting in a ubiquitous Bangkok hotel lobby for a mere hour and a half.

At least four groups of men, both young and old, Asian and non-Asian, escorted their clearly younger and far more attractive, woman outside: feigning intimacy before living out what-ever perverted fantasy they couldn’t do within the confines of their own marriages with these young girls.

Out of the all throngs of mates (I mean, what’s sex between friends, right?) most surprisingly to me was the young, attractive American, who, after simple chit-chat handed his prized “non-person” (No need for names, right? Let’s not get too personal.) for the night 100 Baht (equivalent to about three U.S. dollars) in an effort to coax into a car already packed car of his fellow lads.

As sickening as it is to imagine this young women being shared among adults, who, clearly know better, and, oh-by-the-way, are clearly married, it is even harder to witness in person knowing that hundreds of thousands of girls are forced, raped and beaten into submission to live out the sexual desires of a man who thinks of them as no more than a common commodity- a drink during a night out on the town with the boys.

Granted, many of the so-called “call-girls” one witnesses, conducting business as usual in even the grimiest of Bangkok hotels, are there by their own volition, not with standing the events which led them into prostitution in the first place. Still, those girls help keep this already multi-billion dollar industry thriving among Asia's extraordinary economic boom.

Tomorrow we head to Cambodia where the dirty underbelly of this industry continues to flourish on girls as young as pre-schoolers.

We are overwhelmed with the enormity of this issue- still we press on- remaining confident in this, that He who has begun a good work within us will complete it.

In hope and prayer,

Jess

Eating beef and chicken....

Hello, we're on our layover at Taipei, Taiwan before our final destination!  

Somaly Mam & Guy Jacobson

Just recently we were invited to a event at the UN for the launch of Somaly Mam's organization here in the U.S. We have spoken about her before and if you haven't had a chance to check out their work I suggest you do. (somaly.org)

We were honored to have meet up with Somaly and a few of our team members got the chance to catch up with a couple of girls from one of Somaly's Cambodian shelters.



Also we at the event launch we screened Guy Jacobson's new film "Holly" produced by Priority Films. (www.priorityfilms.com) Guy has been working intensively on this film for the past few years and is an amazing depiction of what is still going on in South East Asia.

Re: Brand

We are currently rebranding tbp and updating our website in the next following weeks with updated content.

Things have been really busy but we are excited about a few collaborative efforts popping up and opportunities to partner with other people who have the same passions as we all do.

Thanks everyone + Godbless,

theblindproject

Restoration

Tonight we had dinner with Pierre Tami while he was visiting New York en route back to Southeast Asia. Pierre is the president and director of Hagar International, which is based in Cambodia. His organization restores exploited women and children into a life of recovery.

Hagar International is interested in helping abused women in Southeast Asia by reintegrating them into self-sustaining jobs. Many women in his organization are designing handbags and other accessories. Because the products are made by rehabilitated women, each purchase provides those Cambodian women with employment and a future.

You can learn more about Pierre's organization at HagarInternational.org

Hiatus

It's been quite a while since we last posted about theblindproject and just wanted to fill everyone in where we currently stand.

At the moment we're working on another short video using the footage we gathered while we were in Asia. We are also planning on a second trip to to collect more footage and help the people in need.

Personally, there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about child trafficking. It's been a bit tricky trying to balance theblindproject, a full time job, and a personal life here in NYC - but trying to make a change in the world is never easy.

We've crossed paths with huge organizations that deal with trafficking and injustice - who all had positive reactions to theblindproject. We've crossed paths with musicians and artists - who've been inspired to create awareness through music, poetry, and art. We've even crossed paths with people who've been affected by the sex trade.

Below is a note that I will keep anonymous...

"I'm from southeast asia and my mom spent most of her life there. When she was younger her mother helped her sell herself to men in order to have food on the table and a place to live. I've shown her the clip from your video and she wanted me to tell you thank you. You guys may not feel like you're making a huge difference, but you truly are. A group of people is all that's needed to make a change, as long as they are determined for it to happen. Just spreading the message of what is happening makes a difference."

Thanks for keeping the flames alive everyone.

All the best.