Convicted drug trafficker Schapelle Corby has teamed up with Adam Whittington, the man caught up in the 60 Minutes botched child-rescue operation in Lebanon, to sell her parole papers for charity.
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Corby has donated the tattered paperwork to the new Australian branch of child-rescue organisation, Project Rescue Children to raise funds for the charity which claims to go undercover online and on the streets to rescue and care for children exploited by human trafficking and prostitution around the world, starting in Cambodia and Kenya.
Whittington launched the Australian arm of the charity, based in Queensland, at the weekend with Corby's parole booklet, which she held onto for her three-year parole period and used to chronicle her time spent outside after her nine-year sentence.
The collection of official papers was listed on eBay on Sunday night and bidding will be open for a week.
More than 50 bids had been placed by Monday morning.
At the time of publication the top bid was $5600.
"Schapelle Corby has graciously donated her parole papers, the only possession [besides a bag of clothes] that she left Bali with" a description of the "used" item stated online.
"I have been incredibly fortunate in my life to never have to experience the difficulties I see in the world every day. I have been part of many recoveries and rescues around the world of vulnerable children from horrific conditions, and I think it's a shame that more is not being done to combat this worldwide epidemic problem," Whittington said of his decision to launch a local bureau for the British charity.
Whittington was jailed in Lebanon for nearly four months after being detained over the failed abduction of Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner's two children.
Project Rescue Children is a separate entity to his other venture, Child Abduction Recovery International.
Corby was introduced to Whittington's new non-profit organisation by John McLeod, the man hired to arrange her Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego-esque repatriation to Australia last week.
"She has blown us away with this donation. It's basically her only possession and for her to surrender it, well the importance of that isn't lost on us," Project Rescue Children director Kylie Robertson said.
Robertson said she was made aware of Corby's donation "just minutes" before the launch.
Funds from the online auction will be allocated in the coming weeks for initiatives like a safe house in Cambodia to help children escape exploitation and be rehabilitated once rescued, the development of an app or sponsorship programs.
Since returning to Australia, Corby has used her infamy and new Instagram fame to highlight child advocacy causes such as Daniel's Law, legislation that would see a national online public register for sex offenders.
When leaving Denpasar, she carried a handbag with a photo of missing NSW toddler William Tyrrell stuck to it with the caption: "Where's William Tyrrell?" and later posted her bespoke accessory online for her 192,000 followers.
She has also aimed to raise awareness of Hayley Dodd, a young woman who disappeared in Western Australia in 1999 when she was 17.
