Openaid 1000 Villages is a unique organisation in Australia and Thailand that works to empower girls and young women who are vulnerable to, or have experienced, trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Openaid was founded in 2002 by Justin Whitecross, a Christian pastor who had for over a decade worked in Australia and overseas with adolescents and young people most at-risk. He starting taking steps in Thailand in 1996 to know more about young people most at risk of being trafficked and lured into commercial sex work, and started to create new approaches to better protect young girls from abuse. Justin is a strong leader, very compassionate, and importantly, highly experienced in this work. He finished pastoral work in 1996 and studied psychology at Melbourne University. Justin and his wife, Rattana, continue to live and work between Melbourne and Thailand with their beautiful family.

We continue to build relationships with villages and communities across Thailand, as well as support work in Burma and Laos. This work enhances capacity to both prevent the recruitment of girls into the sex industry, as well as supports those already in it.

Over a decade we have worked with thousands of families and helped hundreds of adolescent girls and young women (mostly 8- 25 years) most vulnerable or abused and alone.

Our Mission

Openaid 1000 Villages' mission is to empower girls and young women, aged 8–25, who are vulnerable to trafficking and sexual exploitation or have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking, to develop to their full potential. Openaid is committed to ending commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of girls by empowering individual lives, transforming community perception, and changing the systems and policies that drive sex tourism and abuse of young girls in Southeast Asia.

Our Vision

Our vision is to see the elimination of exploitation and abuse caused by the sex industry in Southeast Asia, empowering girls to lead safe, healthy lives.

Our Philosophy

We believe that all girls and young women have intrinsic worth, and the potential for leadership and success. The voices and experiences of girls from rural villages and survivors of abuse are integral to the development and implementation of all Openaid programming.