How much are you worth? Have you ever asked yourself that question?

Girls at a local high school in Borneo, East Malaysia have set the price for themselves at three Malaysian ringgits – less than one U.S. dollar!

A youth ministry student at Malaysia Evangelical College (MEC) in Borneo said in one of the remote villages of the state of Sarawak in East Malaysia, high school girls willingly offer their bodies to anyone who will pay, for less than one U.S. dollar. Customers include fellow students and even some teachers.

During one on one interviews with these Malaysian girls the student discovered that, in this particular high school, there is not one single female student, Christian or otherwise, who has not taken advantage of this opportunity to make “easy” money. This is so incredibly heart-breaking!

How does the church respond to such a challenge?

Local leaders admit they have no idea. It would be so nice if there was a program that trained youth leaders to not only reach and disciple these students for Christ, but also equip them to deal with these difficult issues?

It would be nice if such a youth ministry training program also trained youth leaders in developing strategies for ministering to these girls on the local high school campus.

Youth Ministry International already offers two courses, Ministry to Troubled Youth and Campus Outreach, to accomplish these purposes. These two courses will soon be taught in East Malaysia. We are praying that churches in Borneo will respond by sending local youth leaders to enroll in the program and receive the training they need to meet this challenge head on.

In less than ten minutes of brainstorming with students who were in the introductory course about possibilities for bringing change to the ones that we came to call “The Three Ringgit Girls”,  ideas began to flow – assemblies, seminars for parents, campus Bible studies, and even begin mentoring programs. The list we came up with was quite impressive, but we need more youth workers to meet the challenge.

As incredible as the first five students were, imagine what could happen with twenty five? Or imagine what could happen if these same five students became the training professors who each graduated an additional 25 students each year. The impact on Eastern Malaysia would be immense.

This is the vision to train trainers.

There are other schools, other students, and many other issues that need to be addressed. Pray that, in cooperation with MEC, we can recruit the right students that will make the program successful. And pray that churches and youth leaders will cooperate to form a strategy to reach these vulnerable teenage Malaysian girls.

Asia Ministry Spotlights