It started with one girl: A documentary about one girl started the whole organization
THE BEGINNING
The Freedom Story was birthed from a documentary film called “The SOLD Project.” When our founder, Rachel Sparks, learned about child sexual exploitation in Thailand, she decided to expose it through the power of film. After interviewing dozens of sex workers, common themes became apparent: poverty, a lack of education, and a lack of options. Sparks responded by providing a scholarship to an at-risk student named Cat.
When Cat met Rachel Sparks, she was only 9 years old, and her father had already passed away. Her mother passed just a few years after that, leaving Cat an orphan. Opportunities for a girl like Cat were extremely limited, and all indicators pointed to a high risk of endangerment and exploitation. The scholarship and the community at The Freedom Story have helped change Cat’s prospects in striking ways.
“I can still remember that day like it was yesterday. It was the day I could start to think about my future, and I was very happy. The Freedom Story has completely changed my life,” says Cat.
“This place is my family, my best friend, my counselor, and a reason to try something new. Together, The Freedom Story and I have grown so much, from a small project with only a few students to a foundation with over a hundred students. I’m so glad to see how far this place has come. Without it, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
TEN YEARS LATER
Ten years later, Cat is in her first year of study at Rajabhat University in Chiang Rai. She is working towards a degree in education and dreams of teaching English at the university level because she is excited about the complexity of language, speaking, and conversation that can occur there. She is no longer “a child at risk”: she is a poised, elegant, and articulate young woman making her dreams a reality.
OPPORTUNITY IS A REALITY
When Cat was little, “opportunity” sounded like something others bestowed upon you. Now her message is one of empowerment and self-determination. She has come to believe that opportunity comes from within: that all the raw materials and everything one has learned in life reside within us. We don’t have to wait for opportunity; we can make it ourselves. She says that when she was young, she used to believe she couldn’t do anything. She knows now that, as you grow, your world and your perspective grow bigger.
When she was little, she dreamed of being an airline hostess or working in the airline industry. Her dreams changed as she grew older, and she says this is a good thing. She says,
“Sometimes we want to do something, but we cannot, and that is okay, because you learn from that. I have to study and work, and that’s a good thing. Experience has taught me more than I have learned from any other teacher.”
A TRUE INSPIRATION TO OTHER STUDENTS
She has set a stellar example for our other scholarship students who follow in her footsteps. When asked what she would like to tell them, she says, “You should smile when you see a problem. If you pass that [obstacle], you should say thank you for it, because [the experience of overcoming] will make you grow up, stronger, and more adult. Don’t think you have to face things alone. You have family, and you have [the people at] The Freedom Story. When I have problems, I know my parents are watching from heaven, and I know that I am not alone. You don’t have to be what others would think is the best example of anything. But you can try hard and do the best that you can, and that will be the most important thing for you.”
