The Forgotten International - South East Asia

In 2008, The Forgotten International volunteers made exploratory visits to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Tom Nazario had made several trips to Bangkok years earlier for the U.S. State Department as a legal expert in children's rights and wanted to do something more for these children. The trafficking of children for the sex industry is a major issue throughout South East Asia, and the most vulnerable children are those from the poorest families. Parents from outlying rural areas often unknowingly send their children to the big cities for better work opportunities and typically never see them again as they are lost to the brothels or are trafficked out of the country.

TFI supports schools and orphanages which offer academic education to children and vocational training to young women who are trying to escape the life of prostitution. Of course one of the devastating consequences of the sex industry is the high rate of HIV/AIDS. Orphanages throughout South East Asia take in children whose parents have already died or are too sick to care for them. Sadly, sometimes the children themselves are born with the disease.

We will continue to support these organizations and others as we make additional trips to the region in the years to come. If you would like to make a change in this area of the world, please donate today. If you know of an organization who could use some help, please contact us. Thank you!

The Programs We Support - South East Asia

Suan Lahu

Northern Thailand
www.suanlahu.org

Suan Lahu, meaning "Lahu Orchard," is an organic farm project located in the highlands of Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. The project supports ethnic Lahu people as they make their way through the challenges and opportunities that occur when they intersect with the lowland (Thai) culture. Suan Lahu grows and sells Arabica Coffee to provide income for community members applying and developing organic, sustainable and traditional cultivation methods. The Forgotten International supports Suan Lahu by providing tuition and boarding fees for older Lahu children to be able to attend secondary schools. In addition, TFI recently helped fund the Daveyo Bamboo School, which serves to educate local children in their own language. The self-governed learning center offers classes on medicinal herbs, cultural history and knowledge on sustainable, organic farming, among other skills. Presently around 30 children come regularly to learn about subjects of local importance. These classes are offered in addition to their regular academic education at the Thai schools. You can view the video of the community members building the bamboo school for their kids here.

Working for Children

Siem Reap, Cambodia
www.wfc-kh.org

Working for Children is an organization dedicated to assisting vulnerable children, orphans, their families, and the rural schools in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia. At there Orphan Center, there are presently 34 children living in two rooms, one for boys and one for girls, ages 5 to 15 years. Some of the children do not have parents and some are from families who are too poor to care for them. Children at the orphanage are given the tools they need to grow into self-sufficient adults, including state school education and extra-curricular English instruction, school uniforms and books, clothing and shoes, vaccinations and medical checkups, as well as boarding and daily needs items. They rely on volunteers and donations from abroad to provide for these children. Working for Children also provides vocational training and other life skills to he older students. Their website lists their current programs, as well as new projects they would like to fund to help the most vulnerable in the community. Because their needs are great and their resources are so limited, we are one such funder who has decided to help.

Baan Mitratorn Orphanage

Chiang Dao, Thailand

The Baan Mitratorn Orphanage in Chiang Dao, Thailand, is run by nuns mainly for HIV-infected children or children whose parents have died from AIDS, as well as children of broken homes or other troubled situations. At present 62 children from different backgrounds live here, ranging from 3 to 17 years of age. Doctors and nurses come here to treat the children who are HIV+, and the sisters also provide outreach support and HIV/AIDS education to the poor who are sick in the surrounding community. All the children go to the nearby Princess Ubolratana School run by the sisters, along with the children from the district. They are provided kindergarten through secondary education and beyond, according to their ability, or until the child can care for himself/herself out in the world. The younger children stay at the orphanage, while the teens board at the secondary school. All the children help maintain the orphanage by doing chores. They have created fish ponds and a vegetable garden so they can save money on food. The dormitories, playground equipment and other facilities are all paid for by donations.

The Christian Foundation for the Blind

Lop Buri, Thailand

This organization's mission is to provide training and education to children who are the blind, and or physically or mentally challenged. The organization assists them by improving their quality of life and helping them to lead an independent existence. Over 100 students are trained in daily life skills, reading and writing Braille, and various vocational skills. Some children have severe and multiple disabilities, and as a result their families are unable to care for them at home. In some cases, children have simply been abandoned at this Center and the child's parents are never seen of again. Here, however, the children are cared for by the loving staff who seek only to bring some dignity, education, and comfort to their lives. Our grant last year paid for a year's supply of rice for all the children. With the cost of rice skyrocketing over the past year, this became the school's number one priority. Our small grant helped keep these children alive.

Good Shepherd School

Bangkok, Thailand
www.goodshepherdbangkok.com

The Good Shepherd School is a residence and educational center for children, teens, young women and young mothers. They provide basic education for children, including English language classes. For young women, their vocational training includes classes in cooking, sewing/dressmaking, handicrafts and beauty school. The crafts and clothing are sold at the Fatima Self-Help Center, the proceeds of which go towards the school. They currently have 130 young women in their job training program. They have a Mother and Baby Home for single mothers and provide nursery care for women with young children. Sister Louise, the school's director, established the Center years ago to educate some of Bangkok's impoverished slum children who would otherwise be on the streets and vulnerable to the sex trade. Also, skills are provided to the older girls in the hopes that they can find safe and dignified employment and will be able to escape the world of prostitution that so many of Thailand's children get caught up in. Our funds are helping them in this mission.

School for Life

Chiang Mai, Thailand
www.school-for-life.de

"School of Life" in Chiang Mai, Thailand, provides shelter, basic education and vocational training for 140 children from various backgrounds, with the goal of alleviating emotional suffering, while instilling and fostering an entrepreneurial spirit so the children can become self-sustaining in life. Many of the students are AIDS-orphans, tsunami survivors, abused and neglected children, and children who were forced into child labor. Additionally, there are increasing numbers of refugees from Myanmar whose parents were murdered by the military or Thai police. The School for Life's curriculum is very diverse, encompassing kindergarten through secondary school, as well as various vocational programs focused on bicycle repair, agriculture, ceramics, traditional medicine, and cooking. The children have "house mothers" and live in home-style settings rather than dormitories. All the kids do chores at their homes, as well as on the grounds of the school. The philosophy here is that all children have the right to be happy! We believe in their work and in the hopes these children have to succeed in life.

Green Bamboo Shelter

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Green Bamboo Shelter in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, focuses on helping street children learn the basic skills they need to become independent. It provides access to education, French and English language classes, and both short and long-term housing. The shelter always tries to place the children back with their families; however if this is not possible, long-term accommodations are available. Younger children receive food and boarding in exchange for attending school, and older children can stay for up to two years while they undergo vocational training. There are currently 20 children from a variety of backgrounds living in the shelter. The shelter also helps over 100 children in the community annually, and is in the process of building another dorm and classroom to accommodate another 20 needy children. Our funds at this shelter were primarily used to provide the children there with their first medical examinations and longer term health care if needed. We are also considering assisting the shelter in building a new classroom for the increasing number of street children who can be found on any given day walking the streets of Ho Chi Minh City.

Suan Lahu Working for Children Baan Mitratorn Orphanage The Christian Foundation for the Blind

Good Shepherd School School for Life Green Bamboo Shelter