Hi Guys!
Last year, I was fortunate enough to take a holiday to Thailand and was touched by the living conditions of many people, but particularly the families with young kids like mine. In the Northern Thailand villages we visited, the living conditions were beyond basic with many families not having even the barest of necessities.
In (the many) areas that were devastated by the Tsunami, many have not been able to rebuild and live in half demolished houses with no amenities.
Over 15 million people in Thailand live on less than $2.00 a day. While that amount certainly goes further in Thailand than it does in Australia (!!), it is not enough to look after a family and there is no welfare system. Of the 2.8 million prostitutes in Thailand, many have been forced or chosen to take this path due to lack of other options. Young girls in particular are lacking in the education that could make the difference between other employment and entering the sex trade. The link below gives some good information on the situation in Thailand and what can be done.
http://data.unaids.org/Publications/IRC-pub05/JC466-GirlsVuln_en.pdf
More generally than this, since agriculture has been devalued in Thailand in recent decades, families have looked to other methods to support their families. Being able to speak English is a valuable commodity for both adults and children, allowing them to gain employment in towns and in the tourism industry.
In February 2010, my family and I have volunteered to work for free in a small village in Nong Khai - Northern Thailand which houses the headquarters of an organization called Open Mind Projects. It is one of the few organisations recommended by CNN in their ‘Be the Change‘ campaign. (http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/11/13/btc.ngos/index.html).
We will be working in the Nursery School and teaching both adults and children English, as well as helping in the production of brochures, websites and other information which they are lacking in order to get their message to a wider community and gain more assistance.
Lovely post Lia :) It's a great cause.
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Posted by: Emma Sharkey | August 23, 2009 at 07:52 PM
Very impressive work. I liked your work. You did very well posting. Good luck with your work. ;)
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Posted by: Nick Matyas | January 07, 2010 at 08:22 PM
Very informative post. I liked it. Thanks for your posting. :)
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Posted by: Nick Matyas | January 13, 2010 at 05:54 AM
hi my name is shayla how do i find pics of my baby cousin diesel you saw him this week as a newborn.thanks.ps.nice photes.
Posted by: shayla | January 18, 2010 at 10:28 PM
Thanks Nick! Hi Shayla, this is my old blog, but Google still sends people over sometimes! Please go to www.liahayesblog.oom, you will find your gorgeous nephew over there!!
Lia
Posted by: Lia Hayes | January 19, 2010 at 10:53 AM