Philanthropy
These are links to some of the organisations I support:
CHILDREN OF THE FOREST
Children of the Forest is located in Sangkhlaburi, 19km from the Thai-Burma border, an area where today, stateless children face a life entrenched in poverty and danger. Since the end of World War II, the Karen and Mon people of Burma have been engaged in a vicious guerilla war to gain freedom, land and dignity. Karen and Mon women, children and entire villages have become innocent victims of the Burmese military regime. Recently, attacks on the Karen and Mon people have intensified; whole villages have been forced to flee and there are now an estimated 2,000,000 displaced Karen and Mon living along the Thai-Burma border.
The dehumanizing and dire conditions of the factory and plantation settlements that have become home for displaced Karen and Mon have eroded traditional community strength and family unity. In these circumstances, a culture of alcohol, drug and gambling addiction and violence has taken root in the transient settlements formed. The Karen and Mon children pay the highest price, becoming extremely vulnerable as instances of abandonment, abuse, broken homes, neglect and child trafficking continue to rise.
The more than 1,000 stateless children assisted by Children of the Forest every day, come to our programmes for a variety of reasons. Some are orphaned, others abandoned, abused or neglected and many are the victims of an environment that trafficks children and young women as cheap labour or much worse. By focusing on the critical issues of education, health care, and child protection we strive to provide hope and opportunity to those most in need, and create paths to stability and happiness.
Children of the Forest is a project aimed at providing protection and assistance to stateless Karen and Mon children and stateless Karen and Mon mothers in most urgent need. We deliver services through the following programs.
Programs
For many migrant or stateless people in Thailand life is challenging. Amongst the needs people have are education, advocacy and health care. As is so often the case in the provision of social services, it is the most vulnerable who are least able to access services offering support to meet these needs. In January 2011 Children of the Forest began a mapping … Read More
Children of the Forest maintains basic bamboo schools deep in the jungle that gives more than 400 children their first ever opportunity to attend school … Read More
Even if they were born and have lived in Thailand their entire life, many Karen and Mon people are not recognized as Thai citizens and are not eligible for the free or almost free medical care provided to Thai citizens. The high hospital fees result in most Karen and Mon people being effectively denied all access to health care. With … Read More
Abandoned mothers in Sangkhlaburi near the Thai/Burmese Border face huge hardship, and are particularly vulnerable. For most of these women, the father and husband, the only breadwinner, has died or abandoned the family. The right to live on plantation or factory land was dependent on the husband and families left behind are regularly evicted and find themselves homeless and forced … Read More
Providing free education for highly vulnerable stateless children living in the Sangkhlaburi district of the Thai/Burmese border zone was the starting point for everything that has become Children of the Forest. 6 years on the concept of education for all children remains at the heart of Children of the Forest’s mission. The Children of the Forest school today provides free … Read More
The more than 150 children who live in Children of the Forest child protection came to us for various reasons. Sometimes they find their way to our protection centre, sometimes our outreach workers find them. They are orphaned, abandoned, abused or neglected and often the victims of an environment that exploits children as cheap labour or much worse … Read More
Children of the Forest Medical Centre – August 2010