Seeing transformation in Thailand and around the world through She Has A Name – Andrew Kooman
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THE YOUNGEST GIRL WAS TRAFFICKED FOR LABOUR AND THEN SOLD TO A BAR WHERE SHE WAS FOUND. SHE HAD NEVER ATTENDED SCHOOL BEFORE. THE NOW 15-YEAR-OLD GRADE 10 STUDENT HOPES TO BECOME AN ENGINEER.

For me, this is what’s it’s all about, seeing stories of despair being transformed into stories of hope. It’s been a great privilege of my life to get to know and now partner with the incredible people at Home of New Beginnings in Thailand and A Better World Canada, based in Central Alberta.

When I wrote the play, I simply needed to confront, for myself, the terrible reality of human trafficking. To humanize it. To examine it, and to find a way to try to understand the world of just one of its victims.

Of course there was the hope, as a writer, for the work to be produced and for audiences to similarly grapple with the subject matter. My intent was to bring the reader or viewer to the same place I came to when I first encountered the shocking truth that children around the world are brutally, mercilessly commodified in the sex trade.

The transformation that takes place at the Home of New Beginnings is truly amazing

While I hoped the work would be produced and find life, I didn’t know She Has A Name would Premiere, or tour Canada, be produced outside the country or be made into a film. Professionally, this is extremely satisfying.

On a personal note, though, what’s most meaningful and significant is how the work has opened doors to discomfort, compassion, conversation and action. What a thrill, as a writer, to see the work touch audiences in small and significant ways to be a catalyst or conduit for people to give toward such transformational work.

Through the play, we partnered with A Better World Canada to help fund the work of Home of New Beginnings in Thailand which helps to restore young women who leave the sex trade, bringing them through counselling and into their true purpose.