Four Oxfordshire schoolgirls are back home after spending a week at an orphanage in Thailand.
Rebecca Cook, left, Leah Marron, Camilla Concannon and Adele Broughton,
The 14- and 15-year-olds -- Rebecca Cook, Leah Marron, Camilla Concannon and Adele Broughton, from Blessed George Napier School, Banbury -- spent the week with teacher Susan Moss decorating a drop-in centre at the orphanage in the seaside town of Pattaya.
The centre is a half-way house between the streets and the orphanage, and will be a safe haven which will offer the children a way off the streets and a route back towards a normal childhood.
It might save some Thai children from prostitution.
Mrs Moss said: "There is a massive problem in Pattaya. It is commonplace to see middle-aged men -- some westerners -- with young Thai girls and boys. Pimps can be seen outside the orphanage looking for children to take into prostitution. It's quite an eye-opener and the police turn a blind eye to the problem."
She said: "Despite all that, we felt safe when we were there. It was an amazing opportunity for 14- and 15-year-olds and they experienced the contrast in Thailand between wealth and extreme poverty."
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