SCHOLARSHIP PROJECT SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION
Generally, students register and payment is due in May, and the full Thai academic school year runs from June to the following March. In order to help us develop more effective administration of our growing scholarship project we ask all sponsors to accept the following guidelines:
1.
Students are selected as follows:
Students are selected as follows:a.Thai school teacher makes referral based on student's desire to study, good moral character, plus qualifying financial circumstances.
Thai school teacher makes referral based on student's desire to study, good moral character, plus qualifying financial circumstances.b.Potential students are visited by a member of our team, who explains the program to them.
Potential students are visited by a member of our team, who explains the program to them.c.Team worker visits family / home to verify students information
Team worker visits family / home to verify students informationd.Release document is signed to permit student to participate in full program, plus consent to share their photo and brief biographical information with potential sponsors.
Release document is signed to permit student to participate in full program, plus consent to share their photo and brief biographical information with potential sponsors.2.All sponsorship is for FULL school year, including two academic terms.We will send a brief academic report, with recommendations and opportunity for further sponsorship, including personal thank you letter & photo from the student .
All sponsorship is for FULL school year, including two academic terms.We will send a brief academic report, with recommendations and opportunity for further sponsorship, including personal thank you letter & photo from the student .3.Basic individual student sponsorship includes costs of:
Basic individual student sponsorship includes costs of:a.School uniforms (Classroom, Sports and Scout)
School uniforms (Classroom, Sports and Scout)b.Books and learning resources
Books and learning resourcesc.School activity fees
School activity fees4.Our students are separated into 4 categories:
Our students are separated into 4 categories:a.Elementary (Years 1 to 3)
Elementary (Years 1 to 3)b.Secondary (Years 4 to 6)
Secondary (Years 4 to 6)c.Senior (Years 7 to 9)
Senior (Years 7 to 9)d.High School I Vocational training (Years 10 to 12)
High School I Vocational training (Years 10 to 12)5.As our students are from usually extremely needy family and difficult circumstances, they often lack much of the personal support they need to lay a foundation for success in later life. One of our goals is to provide an "End of Term School Camp" to give our students the opportunity to share and celebrate their successes of the past term, plus begin to prepare for the upcoming term, including any potential changes from regular to vocational school, etc. A good deal of personal student counseling also takes place during these times.
As our students are from usually extremely needy family and difficult circumstances, they often lack much of the personal support they need to lay a foundation for success in later life. One of our goals is to provide an "End of Term School Camp" to give our students the opportunity to share and celebrate their successes of the past term, plus begin to prepare for the upcoming term, including any potential changes from regular to vocational school, etc. A good deal of personal student counseling also takes place during these times.The financial support for these camps is raised separate from basic student scholarship fees. If you wish to donate to this specific project, please indicate this clearly when you send in your support.
Thank you for considering becoming involved in helping us help these very desperate but deserving students.
HISTORY & STRATEGY BACKGROUND:
The work with the children of Pattaya began in 2001 as a result of our desire to help 'street children' of the city, who live most of their young lives "at risk", ranging from simple but life hindering neglect or the more dangerous potential of being caught up in the life threatening environment of crime, drugs and sexual abuse that surround them.
A Thai social worker with 12 years experience working with the destitute in community development projects and refugee camps, was the first member of our team. She conducted a city wide survey to identify the 'street children', to help determine together the safest and most effective way to reach and help them, and understand what other agencies were doing in this area, to plan the best use of resources and so as not to duplicate services.
INITIAL RESEARCH REVEALED MOST CHILDREN ON THE PATTAYA STREETS WERE IN ONE OF THREE MAJOR CATEGORIES:
1.Those controlled by organized crime: The children and us would be in danger if we approached them on the street. The best we can do for this group was to buy their gum, etc., be a friend, provide a meal when we could, and let them know they are not alone. Many of these lived in the slum areas, with numbers having mothers working in the bars OR very low paying work as they could find it, often garbage recyclers. Often their care-givers are drug users, using up even their meager income on drugs & alcohol.
Those controlled by organized crime: The children and us would be in danger if we approached them on the street. The best we can do for this group was to buy their gum, etc., be a friend, provide a meal when we could, and let them know they are not alone. Many of these lived in the slum areas, with numbers having mothers working in the bars OR very low paying work as they could find it, often garbage recyclers. Often their care-givers are drug users, using up even their meager income on drugs & alcohol.2. Illegal aliens begging / selling on the streets: It's illegal for us to assist them and dangerous to draw attention to them. We visit and provide food and other necessities for the children when they are caught by the local police and put into lock-up cell waiting for deportation. Its very limited what we can do to help this unfortunate group.
3. Runaways or wanderers from destitute families unable or unwilling to care for them: This group had potential for successful short-term intervention and long term change, so we began our project research within this group. Our social worker met with other agencies in our desire to not duplicate services, but reach the most destitute children in the most effective way possible. With the co-operation of local police and welfare authorities, she visited the 14 registered slums in the city PLUS many smaller even more destitute 'unregistered' areas where people of all ages and circumstances live huddled under trees or in cardboard, plastic and tin makeshift huts. Many places had no water, no electricity with many of the people living under trees or among the garbage they collected with every appearance of living in garbage dumps. Sadly, for the children of Pattaya, many of them lived in such terrible circumstances that the `street' seemed a better or sometimes the only option available to them.
We began regular visits to the slum areas to get to know the people personally, show them love, acceptance & treat them with value, plus provide water, food, clothes and emergency medical care, including trips to the hospital. During our visits we found rampant drug abuse, glue sniffing, prostitution, and other crimes which the children were drawn into by being present or by copying what they saw around them.
The children that do have family members caring them don't seem to have developed normal family relationships and all the children, lack even the most basic training in acceptable social behavior, which further limits any hope they may have of a better future. Most of these children are severely under-privileged and face daily hardships of lack of water to drink or bath, little food, no protection, no medical care ... and no one to care for them.
In the un-registered slum areas, the land-owners will often force the slum dwellers to move, causing us to lose track of the children, as they move with their care-givers. This again leaves them with no one to provide for their basic needs or care for their well-being or safety. Unless there is immediate and drastic intervention, these children will grow up to continue the cycle of poverty and abuse.
