Children's Organization of Southeast Asia

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Children's Organization of Southeast Asia" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Children's Organization of Southeast Asia" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Children's Organization of Southeast Asia (COSA)^[1] was a nonprofit, non-government organization based in northern Thailand that worked to prevent human trafficking in surrounding regions. Established in 2006, COSA operated by developing relationships with outreach communities based on trust, cultural understanding and partnership with vulnerable communities to fight human trafficking at its source. The ultimate goal of this upstream approach is to promote long-term, sustainable social change.^[2]

In 2016, it was learned that COSA's Thailand foundation, operated by Mickey Choothesa, had directed funds that were raised through fundraising and from other NGOs into accounts unrelated to COSA. COSA's United States nonprofit then formed a new board of directors, that acted to terminated Mr. Choothesa, and to interrupt fundraising for COSA due to Chootesa's mismanagement. As a result of this action, Choothesa shut down the Baan Yuu Suk girls' shelter. Choothesa at the same time faced lawsuits in Thailand over his personal misdirection of NGO funds.

As a result of the actions of Choothesa, the girls at the shelter were displaced, and the American board stepped in, and with coordination with Thai authorities, immediately acted to place the girls with other schools and homes. COSA's USA nonprofit ended its operations after securing the safety and well being of the girls at the former shelter. As a result of the breach of trust by the Thailand foundation's director, a number of downstream effects occurred, one of them being the creation of a documentary by Shine Global. The film is titled "The Wrong Light," and has been distributed internationally, winning a number of film awards.