A BRITISH couple have set up a foundation to ‘rescue’ Patong’s bargirls by teaching them new skills.

In only two years, they have already ‘saved’ more than 30 women from a life of prostitution.

“Many of these women are caught in the poverty trap and they have no alternative but to continue working the bars,” said Mark Biddell.

“We show them that if they want to get out of the sex industry, there is an alternative,” he said.

Mark and his wife Sharon set up the SHE (Self Help and Empowerment) Foundation, a non-profit organization, in 2002, and set about saving women who were trapped in Patong’s sex industry.

They teach the women new skills, such as jewellery making, to give them a new start in life.

The women work from 8.30am until 5pm, Monday to Friday, are paid a ‘fair wage’ and get two weeks paid holiday every year.

The jewellery is sold overseas, and the proceeds ploughed back into the foundation.
The training centre is staffed by visiting volunteers from Britain and the US, who pay their own living and travel costs.

There are currently 10 women on the program making jewellery, but the centre recently moved into new premises in Kathu which has places for as many as 50 women.

Five of the women live on the top floor, and there is room for another five.

Mark said the women often needed a safe place to stay.

“When they work in the bars, they aren’t paid a wage, but are given board and lodgings, and their only income is their commission on ‘lady drinks’ and from selling their bodies.

“That means if they want to leave the bar scene, they can’t afford to rent a place to stay.

“They are trapped.”

Mark and Sharon allow the women to live above the centre for up to three months while they save for a deposit on a room and a couple of months rent in advance.

Twice a week, the volunteers cruise the bars of Patong, making friends with the bargirls and telling them about the programme and what it offers.

If the girls are interested, the volunteers give them a card with the centre’s contact details.

“One girl kept our card in her wallet for seven months before she finally decided she wanted to quit being a bar-girl,” said Sharon.

Mark said there were more than 200 lady-bars in Bangla Road, and each one had at least six bargirls working in them.

“That means more than 1200 girls are working in bars on just one street every night.”

Mark said most of the girls came to Phuket from the rural areas of Thailand, mainly Issan, looking for well-paid work.

“They are told the streets here are paved with gold, but they quickly discover they need a good education to get a good job.

“They eventually drift into bar work which provides them with free room and board.

“Some of the girls want to stay working in the bars, but when we talk to those who don’t, we let them know that they have a choice,” he said.

Mark said he and the volunteers were completely non-judgemental.”

He said about 80 per cent of the women had children, which were being looked after by relatives back in their villages.

“They have to send money home for their children, which keeps them trapped in the poverty cycle,” he said.

Mark said the SHE Foundation had ‘saved’ a total of 34 bargirls in the past two years, ranging in age from 18 to 34.

“Most of them have gone home to their villages, or moved into new lines of work,” he said.

“We helped one girl to set up a roadside food stall, and she is now making a good living without having to resort to prostitution.”

Mark said SHE tried to create a stepping-stone into a better life for the women.

“Some of them save up the money they earn on the program and go back home to their families, while others use the opportunity to learn new job and life skills and move into other areas of work.”

He said the foundation also helped the women to set up their own small business after they left the centre, and gave them resources to take back home and make the jewellery from there.

“That way, the women can be at home with their kids where they belong,” he said.

The program has a high success rate, and Sharon said only one of the 34 women had gone back to work in the bars.

The centre helps the women for as long as is needed, but Mark and Sharon believe a maximum of two years on the program gives the girls plenty of time to re-adjust and prepare themselves for the next stage of their lives.

“We want to help these women learn new skills so they can make positive changes in their lives, which will hopefully, lead to financial independence,” said Sharon.

Mark said the centre was now looking for a local market for the hand-made jewellery, and was hoping local shops and hotels would agree to sell the jewellery for them.

“The Village at Laguna Resort started selling our products on Christmas Day,” he said.

“But we need more outlets.”

For further information, visit www.shethailand.org