David shares a moment with youngsters from the Rescue Mission for Children in Thailand .
David also planned to scope the work necessary to finish the centre ’ s extra classrooms and the facilities needed to accommodate more children .
“ At the moment the 37 Akha children at the centre are from villages in Myanmar . And the reason for that is that , in recent times , Myanmar has opened its borders to economic development from the Western world ,” he says .
“ Unfortunately , when you ’ re dealing with the industry of child sex slavery , what we ’ ve seen is an absolute spike in the demand for child prostitutes and sex slaves , because you ’ ve got a lot of Western businesspeople now going there .
“ That ’ s one key focus for us – to see the potential of the vocational training facility . We need funds to get that finished , to get the rest of those classrooms done , so we can take in more at-risk kids . So , when we get back to New Zealand , we can go : ‘ Right , how do we make this happen ?’”
David emphasises Project Starfish is not out to replicate the work done by the agencies and organisations that specialise in tackling trafficking and slavery , but , rather , it ’ s designed as a vehicle to bolster their efforts and provide help and support where it ’ s needed .
And , while he may be giving a group of younger Rotarians a rare humanitarian and educational experience , it ’ s not all one-way traffic .
“ Oh , it ’ s been one heck of a steep learning curve for me ,” he laughs . “ I ’ m used to dealing with email , and these guys are saying : ‘ Oh , we ’ ve got all these things
going on ’, and I ’ m saying : ‘ But , I haven ’ t seen an email on that ’, and they say : ‘ On no , that ’ s a Facebook event , and that ’ s on Instagram , and this is on Twitter .’
“ At the end of this experience , these Rotaractors are going to have seen and heard and done some amazing things that will hopefully fan the flame , and then it ’ s up to them what they do with it .
“ I want them to use their social media networks – any way to get the story out globally through Interact networks , through Rotaract networks , to contact clubs and say : ‘ Look , share this on your Facebook page with your Facebook friends , get them to like it , so they can share further information ’.
“ And , if you ’ re in an Interact or Rotaract club , go and have a mufti day , a work day – even if it ’ s just some small thing to raise money .
“ That ’ s why I developed Project Starfish . It ’ s not just to support the Rescue Mission , but to support all the non-government organisations that are working in this area . They ’ ve got the experience , they know what they ’ re doing . The more support we can lend them , though , the quicker we ’ re going to get to our goal of a slave-free world .”
MANY of the thousands upon thousands of hours David has dedicated to this cause have been spent speaking to his
Page 18 | In Gear - Rotary in southern New Zealand - District 9980 | www . rotarydistrict9980 . org