J'ai rêvé d'un autre monde ...

http://www.thesoundofhope.org/

As most of you know, the Sound of Hope raises money and awareness for orphans and vulnerable children in Swaziland, India and Thailand. Although that sounds simple - it's really not. Each country is plagued by it's own set of problems and deep-rooted issues. Some of these problems are the same for all three countries, while others are unique to one particular nation.

This was one of the main reasons we came to Thailand - to educate ourselves. We (Ericka and I) need to have a more complete understanding of the problems facing the kids in this country. That way, we can better support our local partners and help them care for the kids who are at risk.

So, to fully appreciate the work we are doing in Thailand, it is important to have an understanding of what these kids face here on a daily basis.

Now you see why we are passionate about the Promised Land Project and the Refuge. These two projects we support are working directly with kids who are at risk for human trafficking and the genocide that's happening in Burma.

Help us support our local Thai contacts and their work.

More than one-third of all Cambodian children between five and fourteen years of age are working instead of attending school. UNICEF is promoting a more inclusive and positive educational programme in rural areas. Adults are encouraged to volunteer as teachers even if they lack the requisite qualifications.

For many decades the Karen and Mon people have been persecuted by the military government of Burma. It is estimated that there are around 2 million displaced Karen and Mon living on the Thai side of the border. Stateless, and without any legal rights, what they find in Thailand is often no better than what they escaped from.The high hospital fees for non-Thai citizens means most Karen and Mon are effectively denied access to health care. With diseases like malaria, dengue fever, HiV and tuberculosis rampant, this denial can prove fatal.
Children of the Forest is a project aimed at providing protection, education and health care to Karen and Mon children and mothers in most urgent need living in the Sangkhlaburi border zone.
Around 15 people per day visit the bamboo clinic. Sometimes they get there too late and their disease is already too advanced. With limited medicines and equipment, Children of the Forest’s medical staff do the best they can.
Children of the Forest’s medics visit the villages and settlements in the Sangkhlaburi border zone. On finding sick children, they assess the seriousness and, if necessary, and whenever it is possible, they get the child or mother to a hospital and assist with medical bills. Children of the Forest’s free school for 350 stateless children also serves as a valuable means to locate sick boys and girls. They often find children coming to the school with serious illnesses such as malaria, tuberculosis, dengue fever and HIV.
In 2006, Children of the Forest opened a Mother & Child Protection Centre that allows abandoned, and often seriously abused, mothers to heal and to remain with her children, reforming their relationship in a safe environment. Abandoned mothers are particularly vulnerable in this border area. With no social welfare, the death or departure of their husband leaves them in a critical struggle to provide their sons or daughters with the most basic necessities. Our medical team support both the mother and her children on the road to new hope and opportunity.
Two years ago, Children of the Forest opened 3 “safe houses”. They’re simple bamboo houses with grass thatch roofs located on the border. This program provides protection and medical care to stateless mothers who have been seriously abused, often raped and who cannot pass through Thai military check points to access Children of the Forest’s main project site.
Today, Children of the Forest’s clinic provides first line medical assistance, advice and in serious cases referrals to around 400 children and mothers per month.

www.childrenoftheforest.com

http://www.littletreeshop.com.au/index.php


Thailande - Province de Chiang Rai