Thailand

J471 Klong Toey Community Centre

This Klong Toey Community Centre project is led by a dedicated Australian couple, Ashley and Anji Barker, who live and work in the Klong Toey slum in Bangkok. Klong Toey is the largest slum community in Bangkok with some 80,000 residents.

Unemployment, poor housing conditions, over-crowding, flooding, drugs, gang violence, AIDS and other health problems are just some of the difficulties faced by this impoverished community. Many families in the slum cannot afford to send their children to school. Some children are orphaned and are in the care of relatives. These children are at great risk of being involved in drugs, crime and prostitution.

A multi-purpose community centre, which provides education and training, recreation, family support and community development, is a lifeline of support to families residing in the slum.  The Foundation is currently supporting the pre-school education program, which is providing learning opportunities for 40 'children at risk' from the slum. The program runs five days a week and is focussed on assisting children with special needs, especially those with mild disabilities, troubled backgrounds, AIDS, or learning difficulties.

J497 Khom Loy Foundation Childcare Centre

Along the Thai/Burmese border live an estimated 550,000 ethnic minority people and Burmese refugees who have migrated from different countries to the north (most recently Burma) to escape civil war and military persecution. These people live in poverty. These families typically speak their own ethnic languages and their children find it hard to make progress in the Thai schooling which is available to them. These groups suffer from high levels of human trafficking, involvement in drug-smuggling, HIV/AIDS and social problems. The project aims:
To increase the number of places in preschool education centres children from Burmese or ethnic minority backgrounds who can speak Thai at age 6 by a further 200 places by the conversion of 8 village day care centres/kindergartens to Montessori-based literacy centres
To provide education at the new preschool education centres to 200 Burmese or ethnic minority children during the period May 09 – Apr 10
Planet Wheeler is the major sponsor of this project.

J493 Grace Children’s Project

Remote hill tribe villages in Thailand face specific and complex challenges. Founders, Abe and Ana decided to try and assist children in this area, and as such began Grace Children’s Home and Preschool. The project has established a home for boys and girls to care for children who have been displaced or affected by civil unrest from Myanmar and from the Lahu Hill Tribe people group. By providing a “home” environment, with quality accommodation and total care (food, clothing, education, and medical) the project aims to support the most vulnerable of the community. Also employing, training and utilising local staff, the project facilitates the promotion of local capacities. Identifying education as fundamental to the needs of this community, the project will establish, maintain and equip preschools in the area.

J204 Samuels House

This is a pilot project in North East Thailand. It is a family run home for children who would otherwise face life on the streets. Samuel House encompasses a vision to educate and empower the children to reach their full potential in life and provides a loving family environment with; academic opportunity, literacy classes and micro-economic enterprise to try and achieve this.

J009.1 Maesai Girls Safe House

This project is to help the Akha girls of North Thailand. The Akha people are disadvantaged and there is a high probability that their children will be used for prostitution and drug dealing. This is a sub project where three objectives include:

• Provide life skills and potential working opportunities
• Supply needed equipment for vocational needs
• To transition the girls into the workforce.Project Manager: Riverview Children’s Foundation/Doug Higgins

J452 Yua Hang Dong

The main component of this project is community health education program which is implemented in eight very poor ethnic minority villages near Nan town in Thailand. The Thai staff formed a training team supervising the work in the; village and voluntary community health educators. Micro projects are encouraged to be started by the villagers themselves, aiming to improve the standard of living.. We look forward to seeing the communities being transformed and the whole program is aimed to empower the people to take a full ownership of the project in due course. This sub project is concentrated on Yua hang Dong.
Project Manager: Erik Klar

J078 Caring for People

Payas Refuge and training centre is for girls abandoned, orphaned or neglected in the Payas region of North Thailand. They are victims of AIDS, abandonment, abuse and poverty. This project aims to rehabilitate, develop and educate these girls to become functioning and contributing members of society.
Project Manager: Doug Higgins

J110 Gain Win Lahu

Provides facilities for the poor children of the Lahu Nyi minority to enable them to receive education living in poverty conditions in the hills and mountains of Northern Thailand.

J168 Refuge Ministries

The initial project is a house in Chiang Mai that will be available for rent by adoptive parents as they come to pick up their new child. The house is in close proximity to a number of foster homes.. The desired goals are:

• To provide opportunities that will allow relinquished children to learn to bond with their new parents
• know as much of their background and heritage as possible
• maintain important relationships
• develop strong relationships with others.

Project Manager: O’Neill Foundation-Amanda Slinn

J578 Mercy International Phrae

This project is the general development for construction of the Ban Meata Children’s Village located 12kms from the township of Phrae, North West Thailand. The following buildings have commenced and are at various stages of development. 4 Children’s Houses have been erected – one house is expected to be 90% complete by mid August and additional houses have walls and roofing

• 4 Guest Accommodation Houses - various internal tasks still required to complete
• Workshop – is at stage of locking securely, various internal tasks still required to complete, exterior painting required
• Kitchen/Dining/Laundry Facility - The foundations have been laid with the concrete slab and structural pillars in place.

Project Manager: Rob Dunk/Pawinee

J280 Destiny Rescue Thailand

This project seeks to provide support for children and families assisting them to acquire the skills to become self reliant and productive members of the community. This is being achieved by providing: opportunity for education to needy individuals

• emergency aid to those deemed to be at risk
• skills training and financial support to individuals desiring to start their own business
• job skill trainings to beneficiaries within the program. Project Manager: Tony Kirwan