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 A 15-year-old girl in a tribal village in the remote North ofThailand confided in an older village woman recently that she is selling her body for cash. This  is her sacrificial attempt to ward off starvation for her family of seven, orphaned refugees from Burma. Most days they don't eat at all, and when they do, it is a small bowl of plain rice. As she confided in the older woman, tears spilled from her eyes. She  is selling herself out of desperation only.

                  
                                   Tribal village near the border

The other villagers help as they can, but the village itself is very remote, and they are mostly living at a very basic level, far from markets and towns. 

When we heard of this tragic situation, we felt we needed to respond. First, through intermediataries, we made contact with this family, and with the village headman. We received their permission to help.
                 
                 
                               The road going up to the village

 We weren't sure of how the road access would be, so we hired a large 4x4 for one day. Packing the vehicle with food, personal items, and other supplies, the eight of us headed up into the hills at 4am. It was a six hour journey. 

We met with the family. We will call the 15-year-old "Lek" (not her real name). She was very humble, and very grateful to receive the basic necessities of life. In all we stayed in the village about two and a half hours. We were able to check out this family's living conditions and state of health for ourselves.         
                               
                          
                                                Tut in a hut!

               
                     Our kids playing outside the house of "Lek",
                        the fifteen year old girl we aim to help.

                
                  The trip home - 11 hours on the road take a toll

In the short term we have committed to making return journeys on a regular basis to provide this needy family with literal life support, and the opportunity for 15-year-old "Lek" to not be forced to sell herself as a means of surivival.  Long-term we will be seeking to help this family become more self-sufficient.

PROJECT X: "Support a family, adopt a village".
Out of this trip has been birthed PROJECT X. [The 'X' was used by the early Christians as a symbol of Christ, from the Greek 'X' meaning Chi, or Christos]. 

Some of the things we purchased and took up to the village: 25kgs of rice, shredded pork, canned fish, dried shrimp, soup mix, rice snacks, salt, oil, noodles, eggs, watermelons, other fresh fruit, plastic bowls for washing up, washing powder, toothpaste, tooth brushes, soap, shampoo, dish washing liquid, school stationary & colouring pencils, etc, blankets, underwear, vests & bras, sanitary pads, etc.

COST OF A SINGLE TRIP:
Travel Related Costs:

Rental Hire                                                                       = NZ$90
Petrol costs                                                                       = NZ$65
Cost of food for our family of eight (1 day)                  = NZ$30
TOTAL:                                                                              NZ$185