Single Project – 21st July, 2010

Poor Thai family in Korat receiving donations from Gift of Happiness Foundation

Introduction

Since the year 2000 the Gift of happiness Foundation has been helping poor families in Bangkok, Mae Sot, Mae Hong Son, Chaing Mai, Sankhalaburi, Kanchanaburi and other Thai provinces. We also give our services to poor Thai families, refugees, displaced and migrant Burmese, people on the Thai-Burma border. We serve people who have nowhere else to live but in Slums, Orphanages, Crisis Centres for abused women and children, HIV/AIDS centres, homes and schools for physically & mentally challenged children. We also serve the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, other medical centres, communities of migrant workers and their families as well as people displaced by civil war. All the people working for the Gift of Happiness Foundation are un-paid volunteers and often cover their own costs when helping with show tours or donation deliveries.

Project summary

We try to support individual families who are in desperate situations. Those families may not have the right kind of status in Thailand, which would allow them to take advantage of assistance from the major NGO’s. But they are still human beings in great need of help, so as a smaller charity organisation without beurocratic obstacles in our way, we try to give as much as possible to them.

• This one day project started with some pre tour collections in June 2010. We collected donations of bedding, clothing, household supplies and other useful goods from the British Women’s Group, BAMBI, the ‘Thai Village Bangkok’ community and some dedicated friends of the Gift of Happiness Foundation.
• One of the project volunteers had asked us to help the people living in this location because their situation puts them outside the net of other help organisations in Thailand.
• There are four people in the family. Mrs. Nudang Thongmak Mr. Danai Tosook & two teenage children, Am, Aum. Mrs. Nudang almost blind. She is 75.yrs. Mr. Danai who is 70.yrs has to help her when she goes outside the house. Am 17.yrs is autistic; Aum is 12.yrs old and attends the local regular Thai school.
• Wednesday 21st July at 07.00.am. Three GOH-Foundation volunteers departed Bangkok in the foundations donated pick-up truck loaded with essential goods. These goods were for this Thai family who are forced to live in a hand-built shed over a small Klong (Canal) in the city of Korat.
• This dwelling has been their home for several years, since they were abandoned by other members of the family who would otherwise traditionally provide a decent home and living conditions. The rent for the space where this dwelling is situated is 400 Baht per month. That money and other living costs for the family is raised by means of the only bread-winner (Grandfather) collecting scrap plastic, glass, cans and paper.
• We arrived in Korat at about 12.00.noon. We found the place where this single slum dwelling was situated and we were introduced to the family of four by the volunteer who originally asked us to help these people. •The family used to have two other children (Mother & Father of the teenagers) who have abandoned their parents and children in favour of a life of drug and alcohol abuse. (They have not been seen for many years and will have no access to the donations).
• The grandmother of the family who is almost totally blind, needs help to negotiate her way round the insecure make-shift floor of the dwelling over the ‘black water Klong’. •One of the grandchildren, aged 17.yrs is severely autistic and totally reliant on her grandparents for everything in her life. The second grandchild of about 12.yrs was at the sate funded school while we were visiting.
• We gave the family some blankets, clothing, kitchen-ware and tinned food, large sacks of rice, money and mattresses.
• We surveyed the dwelling and decided not to try and re-locate the family to a better place because this is where they are established with the garbage collecting business that sustains them. It’s clear that, moving away from that place would be detrimental to the family, so we plan to help them as much as possible with renovations of the existing home.
• The priority is to raise funds to re-build their home to a standard that will at least give them a secure floor space keep them dry during the rainy season. •After the survey We took the family to a local restaurant for lunch (A rare treat for these poor people) and made sure that they had some extra fresh food for the child who was still at school before returning them back to their home. Then after dropping them-off, we started our way back to Bangkok, where we arrived about 8.pm.

Project appeal

This is now an ongoing project. We need to raise money which will help re-build this family home and provide on-going support to help them pay rent for the space where they live over the Klong.

Other on-going costs are for medical supplies for granny and the autistic child and when the 70 yr old grandfather can no longer work.

You can easily help. We are entirely funded by donations. Our small unpaid dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way. •We need your help to raise funds through your local community groups/clubs, office, school and friends. “Large or small amounts are always very welcome.”

Regular sponsorship to help with on-going hard costs for this family and for all the many other families and groups that we serve throughout Thailand.

We have made it easy for you to help! Please visit the donate page on our web site, where you can easily make on-line single donations or regular monthly donations starting with small but much needed amounts. http://www.gohappiness.org

Every bit helps. For direct transfer or donations by cheque. Please contact the Gift of Happiness Foundation Founder and Volunteer Operations Director. Mr. Edward Haworth. charity@gohappiness.org

Please donate here: http://www.facebook.com/gohappiness – http://www.gohappiness.org

Thank You.