Rio dream alive as
Helping out Thai kids lifts spirits
THE plight of sex-trafficked children in Thailand has given Daniel Smith a new perspective on life and reignited his Olympic dream.
More importantly to Smith, helping some of the most disadvantaged and abused children in the world has given him the tools to complete the next step on his journey to redemption after five years of drug and alcohol addiction.
Gold Coast swimmer Smith has fought his way back to the cusp of Olympic selection after a nightmarish addiction that cost him almost everything.
Now healthy in mind and spirit after kicking his addiction and finding the Christian faith, Smith has started to give back to the community.
After a hugely successful World Cup campaign, Smith stopped off in Thailand following the recent Asian leg of the series to volunteer with Destiny Rescue, a non-profit organisation dedicated to rescuing children from human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Smith learnt of the work of the organisation through a friend who volunteers for them and helped organise his Thailand visit.
“When I went over and witnessed it, that was when I actually realised how crazy that stuff is,’’ Smith said.
“We’re dealing with sex trafficking and kids as young as seven years old getting rescued out of prostitution.’’
Destiny Rescue operates programs in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines and India where it rescues children from red light districts, brothels and sexually abusive situations. “They go undercover and try and build some kind of relationship with the girls,” he said.
“They pay and instead of sleeping with them, they go out and do fun stuff – take them to the shopping centre or take them to get something