Sponsor's shopping trip for 'Nat'

Suky took this student out for his ice cream treat, as requested, and you can see from the photo's how delighted he was.

Looking at the pictures, you can be fooled into thinking that the family is well off and that he maybe doesn't need financial help, but although they live in a big house there is no water or electricity and the very minimum of furniture. Mum has mental problems she is unable to hold down a job and they manage on something like 300 B per week from a son who lives on his own and makes living of sorts, painting/sketching portraits of tourists on the beach, mainly during high season and a government disability pension of 500 B per month.  They can't afford a regular electricity supply, but cook with gas and use candles at night time.

The boy also displays 'strange' (immature bordering on abnormal) behaviour, according to Suky and the school has trouble dealing with him. 

Apparently, when he got his ice cream he was so excited he was shouting to passersby to see what he had and you can see how every time she took a photo he was making a face of some kind.  (Mind you, his Mum used to be a fortune teller dabbling in the occult, so perhaps he thinks he's frightening spirits away.)

Seriously, I find myself wondering if this might be the result of having so little food, possibly.  300 B per week is a very tiny amount to feed them both.

I should think it was overwhelming for them to receive such a generous gift of groceries.  I can't imagine what Mum felt when she returned home.

I'm sure your sponsor will have been happy to know that his wishes had been carried out - especially as the boy was able to buy some shoes/slippers.  He wasn't wearing any shoes, and when he was taken  home Suky saw that the only shoes he had were so small he couldn't get them on his feet - heartbreaking.  It's a long time since we saw a kid without any shoes - they may have been ragged, old and ill fitting, but they usually have something on their feet.

This sponsor did a great thing and we can't thank him enough.

Registered Charity No. 1104335

100 Years From Today

It will not matter how big your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But the world may be a little better because your help touched the life of one child.

 www.slum-kids.org

Update on student bitten by a dog

A few weeks ago we posted about one of our scholarship students who had been attacked by a dog on his way home from school.

The boy had to spend a few days in hospital as the bites had become infected but is now home and has the seven week school holiday to recover from his injuries.

The boy's sponsor generously send a donation to take the boy and his siblings for an ice -cream treat which Suky organised in Svensons at Royal Garden Plaza a few days ago.,

Registered Charity No. 1104335

100 Years From Today

It will not matter how big your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But the world may be a little better because your help touched the life of one child.

www.slum-kids.org

Food for kids in the slums.

As part of our help program for kids from some of the worst slums in Pattaya we have continued our support for Kate's Project Trust by helping to finance the cost of the March food delivery to many of the families.

Registered Charity No. 1104335

100 Years From Today

It will not matter how big your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But the world may be a little better because your help touched the life of one child.

www.slum-kids.org

Austrian newlyweds visit to Pattaya

Austrian sponsors Melanie and Harry who sponsor sisters Wanvisa and Thipwun decided to get married on the islands of Ko Samui during March and the couple hoped that the girls would be able to attend the wedding as bridesmaids, disappointingly however owing to end of year exams at school and the logistics of taking the girls on the long return trip to the island this was not possible.

Instead after their wedding Melanie and Harry flew to Pattaya to meet the girls again. When the couple last visited we dropped them off at their hotel and showed the girls the swimming pool and Melanie promised them that the next time she visited they could swim in the pool. And so it was that yesterday the girls visited the newlyweds at their hotel and swam for the first time in a swimming pool. As can be seen from the photos the girls really enjoyed their swim taking to the pool like ducks to water.

Registered Charity No. 1104335

100 Years From Today

It will not matter how big your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But the world may be a little better because your help touched the life of one child.

www.slum-kids.org

Hong Kong sponsors' visit to Pattaya

It was so nice to have Sharon as our driver/translator on Saturday; we don't see her often enough, and she loves to have a break outside the House.

This time there was no problem picking up Tom and Ubie from their hotel.  All the communications worked well althouugh with the Music Festival being on and a Red Shirt rally planned, we were a bit concerned about traffic in the later part of the day.  Consequently, we collected them at 11.00am, and went to Tesco Lotus North for lunch.  Imagine our surprise to learn that the children wanted K.F.C!

Tom and Ubie had had latish breakfast so it was decided to get a bucket of chicken and one large fries between us all, and it was plenty.  However, all through the meal the children were looking outsideand pointing  to a vendor selling guava and green mango, so Ubie went out and got a bag of each for them. Although the guava  was a bigger hit than the mango (which was a bit sour), it was actually the strange mix of salt, sugar and chillies which was THE hit of the day, as Art dipped his finger in and ate it rather as we used to eat sherbet as kids. Boy, that child must have a stomach like asbestos.

Lunch over we went upstairs to buy a new pair of  Barbie sandals, underwear and a pretty pink  dress for Ploy (who was wearing a hand me down from China), and a T-shirt, pants and Ben 10 sandals for Art.  Then it was off to deposit them in the Playhouse for a while.  We sat nearby so we could keep an eye on them and have a cold drink, and then they called us when they were ready to be collected. Art had been eyeing some of the machines earlier, so they were allowed to try a couple before going home.

It was good to see that now they're getting to know their sponsors, they are less shy than before and seemed very much at ease in their company.

Registered Charity No. 1104335

100 Years From Today

It will not matter how big your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But the world may be a little better because your help touched the life of one child.

www.slum-kids.org

Life Takes An Unexpected Turn, But Her Schooling Stays On Track

The names have been changed to protect the privacy of the people in the story.

Submitted by a Californian sponsor.

Life Takes An Unexpected Turn, But Her Schooling Stays On Track

 

Noy's story has reached past the umbrella of coverage that the PSKSP's charter covers, but since she was beneath that umbrella for years it seems fair to share an update... especially since it's such a good example of determination and growth.
Noy, her mother and her younger sister (still sponsored through PSKSP by a very good-hearted man) were just moving into a home closer to a proper building when I began sponsoring her, and it was quite a step up for them (the home, that is).
It's still a simple, single room building off the paved road and beneath some evergreen trees, but it has four solid walls and a good roof - something not many who are living on the fringes have.

As she neared age 18, Noy was on course to come out of school with a trade. Like many her age, she'd changed her mind a couple of time while deciding what it is she wanted to do with her life, and, again like many her age she declined the
suggestion to become a beautician and decided to become an accountant. That was a rather nervy decision, since math wasn't her strong suit, but she applied herself and dove in head-first. I applauded the effort while visiting there, and continued to do so from the other side of the world.

 

Part of her schooling involved an internship, and she began working after school and on weekends a government office. She liked the job, and they all liked her. Not much NOT to like, actually... she's been a delightful, bright, upbeat person every time I've been around her.

 

While on the job she met the son of a man she worked with, and a friendship began. That friendship bloomed into romance; he a bit older and doing his obligatory time in the Thai army, but they were together often. With hormones sometimes winning out over sense, Noy found herself pregnant.

It's seemed to me that Noy and Ton might have married and raised their family, but his family felt that Noy, as a "slum child", was of a lower caste than they were, and they refused to accept her. Ton tried, but his family was firm on the point: he could not marry Noy.

 

When Em was born, everyone involved celebrated the joyous event. I first saw him at about eight months of age, and he was quite happy to try to laugh and grab at my face while I held him in my arms. Noy and her mother were both beaming with pride, and her little sister was quite happy to have the new little brother as an oversize living doll. She doted on him. She did stop her Monday to Friday school, but found a way to continue.

When I was next able to make it back to visit them this Spring Noy was just shy of 19, and Em was 20 months old. The admirable part is how Noy didn't simply give up on her dream or educational foundation... she's still in school. Not on a Monday to Friday schedule, but on Sundays, when everything is crammed into a single day. The other six days a week she's gaining credit for work experience by working two jobs: selling clothes and souvenirs, respectively. 

 

Her mother cares for Em during the day, but when Noy gets home she does her motherly duties, too. That's raising a baby on top of seven days of work and school, and I give her full props for that. It shows not only that she appreciates the opportunities she's been given, but that she's got a healthy work ethic, something I expect will carry her far.

Where's Em's father in all of this? Still in the army, and although he bowed to his family's wishes and they're not a "couple" any more, he's still an active part of Em's life - and that's not terribly common in this day and age, either. 

 

So... while some might shake their heads or cluck their tongues, I count Noy as a success story. Life awaits her, she's got the personality and drive to make the most of it, and she's getting the education to put her ahead of the pack. I look forward to seeing her continue to bloom and grow. As I've said before:
if you can break the chains of disadvantage, that freedom can carry on for generations.

 

Registered Charity No. 1104335

100 Years From Today

It will not matter how big your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But the world may be a little better because your help touched the life of one child.

www.slum-kids.org 

An appeal by an American sponsor

A post received from one of our American sponsors:

Today’s post is an appeal. What I’m asking you to consider is no more than a single drop of water in a pond, but let me explain how that one drop can spread circles across the surface much farther than our eyes can perceive.

Several years ago I learned from a friend about the enormous amount of selfless, ongoing good work being done by the Pattaya Street Kids Support Project, a charity based in England that indirectly has made futures brighter for hundreds of Thai children. More importantly – looking back at the ripple effect just mentioned – it will most likely make a positive difference not only in their lives, but the lives of their children and THEIR children.

Normally it’s not polite to post here online with a hand out (even if it is on behalf of others), but I wanted to pitch the possibility today of a personal reward I can heartily recommend from my own experience: making the commitment to yourselves that you'll become a child's school sponsor on an on-going basis. This means you'll be giving educational stability to a child and assuring that they'll be able to complete their basic education, giving them essential and valuable tools for a better life; both for them and their families.

For the relatively small sum of around $100USD per school year you provide nearly everything a child needs for school except their lunch. If you stop to think about it, that's about 25 cents a day over a calendar year. Thankfully very few of us can say we couldn't come up with that. Younger children’s fees tend to be a little less than this, high school students can be a little more. You can pay in a lump sum or monthly, either way - either by bank draft or PayPal (which accepts credit cards).

You don't sign a contract, you just make the decision to DO it: contact them through their web site, let him know if you have any basic preferences (elementary school, secondary school, girl or boy, two from a family if needed, etc.) and - just like expectant parents - you "receive" a child. They know where the needs are most urgent, so I’d recommend letting them arrange for you if possible. If circumstances truly change and you can not afford the upcoming year's funds next year they'll do their best to arrange another means of funding so the child can continue school. One of my students was previously sponsored by a woman who could no longer afford it due to age and health issues.

Please take a moment to look at their web site, if you haven't already – especially the portion devoted to children currently in need - and please note the funds many would use for the polish and flash of a “professional” site have been channelled into something more useful! Administrative costs are almost zero…you'll see that your funds truly DO go where you intend them to go (board members pay their own expenses to visit Thailand, for example), there is reliable transparency up front, and it is NOT a religious organization with an agenda.

Registered Charity No. 1104335

100 Years From Today

It will not matter how big your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But the world may be a little better because your help touched the life of one child.

www.slum-kids.org