Education & Health for 2,500 in Bangkok Slum

Concordia Welfare and Education – Thailand

CWEFT newsletter for July-Deceember 2023

 Mission

CWEFT works in partnership with other organizations to protect, promote and assist children, women, and families in need through its human care and educational projects.

According to the findings of a poll done by experts from the (101 Public Policy Think Tank) on the state of children and families in Thailand in 2022, 2.9 million out of 14 million children and young people under the age of 21 will be orphaned. It was discovered that 61.4% of the population lived in low-income households. As a result, children and teens are lacking in educational resources and are experiencing a learning slump. Children and adolescents are increasingly pulled into an internet world. There is also an increased risk of fraud, abuse, and social and family issues.

CWEFT understands the significance of assisting children. We believe that children, women, and families will benefit from programs and activities both short and long term. We offer the following:

Concordia Day care and Community Center (CDCC):

Preschool program

Pre-primary education is provided Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., so that all children are prepared for primary school according to compulsory education criteria. By fostering holistic development and nutrition, such as offering one lunch and two snacks, encouraging children to drink milk, eat all five food groups, and eat fruits and vegetables, children can grow each grow up according to their appropriate developmental level.

Owing to low and fluctuating incomes, children cannot be placed in private nurseries, which charge around 150-200 baht per day. Thus, they are often left alone or are left in the care of elderly relatives. Furthermore, there are no public or commercial daycare establishments open for children from slums areas.

CDCC workers work hard to counsel parents, who often have low education levels and language barriers. We also help to bring children to hospitals for treatment, particularly special needs children or children with underlying medical concerns, important medical support to families enduring serious challenges, allowing children to see their doctor on a regular basis.

In these last four months we have an average of between 24 and 27 children, including 16 Thai, 6 Burmese, 4 Laos, and 1 Cambodian (three of them have special needs). Concordia Children's Home offers daycare for children at a fee of only 20-50 baht per person (depending on the income of the parents). 

Children can be taught to help themselves through the operation of preschool care, such as wearing shoes and clothes. They learn to tell a story about what happened that day and learn how to form friendships, all while parents are supported to go out and pursue a career on a regular basis. The Department of Health in Bangkok has determined that the children are safe in terms of weight and development. By the time they reach the right age, they will be mature enough to go to school and interact well with peers.

CDCC also assists with caring for special needs youngsters. Playing with other kids provides excellent stimulation, and the children feel safe. Parents are able to see progress in their growth and report greater levels of calm and attention.

Saturday Classes:

Supplementary Instruction Program for children aged 6-17 years with delayed learning development to promote and support academics in subjects such as mathematics, English, computer, and Christian studies. We also foster life experiences outside of the classroom through special events such as sports, art, and cooking once a month.

Each week, 34-40 children attend Saturday programs with class activities around reviewing school lessons. Children are taught cognitive skills through group exercises that provoke creative thinking. We try to create a collaborative learning environment where kids can have fun, make new friends, and learn to respect one another's differences.

 Art Therapy Classes

The CWEFT invites lecturers who specialize in art therapy to organize art activities once a month for primary and junior high school children. It is an open atmosphere, without an emphasis on competition, to help develop the children emotionally and socially and encourage the creativity, individuality, and self-confidence of each child.  In each of the eight training sessions, 15-28 children participated in the activities. We have found it to reduce the stress caused by academic and familial issues. Children become more focused and are encouraged to reduce spending all their time on mobile devices where they are vulnerable to strangers.

School break activities

The purpose is to provide support and care in a safe place for children during school holidays, specifically in cases where the child must be alone due to the parent or caregiver having to go out for work. Concordia Children's Home helps review school lessons as well as providing exercise and various activities, such as sports, drawing, and playing games. 14 children came to receive services in October. The President of the Life Enhancement Association came to visit

as a special guest to teach life skills to children in grades 5-6 who are approaching high school, to help them understand themselves, make objectives in school and life, and increase coping skills and self-reliance.

Health products for elderly:

Thank you to supporters for donating four crates of adult diapers for CWEFT to assist the elderly who are homeless, chronically ill, and/or bedridden in the slums. These resources help to alleviate financial burdens on vulnerable families.

Volunteers:

Keerapat International School, led by their teacher, brought 8 students in grades 10 and 11 interested in social service work to provide learning activities for children. They shared and served the community through fun activities, playing games, drawing pictures, and even singing competitions. The activities provided gave not only the children in Saturday classes an enriching experience, but the student volunteers as well.

 Thank you to two Thai students, from high school who volunteered to assist with educational sessions for children on Saturdays. Their community service improves the lives of children and helps the staff; it also gives the volunteers insight on what vulnerable children in the community face. They are responsible for preparing their own lessons and are self-motivated to come and instruct. Thank you!

Christmas Celebration Update:

Concordia Day Care and Community Center got the chance to celebrate Christmas this year with a group of partners and children who are passionate about assisting underprivileged kids in the slums. Children that attended the event showed a great deal of interest.  Children want to spend this unique Christmas season playing games with their friends, eating a special meal, listening to their teachers explain the meaning of Christmas, and excited to respond to the Christmas story question, as well as anticipating receiving unique gifts. The 39 preschool-aged children, 57 younger children, and 64 parents that visit Concordia Center are appreciative of all the contributors' kindness and assistance. Total 160 people in all. Additionally, the CWEFT team and students go out, pray, and sing Christmas music. We join hand with partner also provide thirty survival bags to the elderly residents in Bang Na community.

Thank you, God, for opportunity to bring His Love to children and their families, so they can have Hope and celebrated with Joy.

Thank You Donors:

"It is more difficult to study now that I am in high school, but I am trying new things, and I am very happy and excited to have the opportunity to go to university. I am grateful to receive encouragement in my studies, as well as the opportunity to study art therapy, which has allowed me to increase tranquility, focus, relaxation from studying, not be lonely, meet friends, and practice. In my future I want to go to medical school. Please pray for me and my family. My Mom works hard every day, even when she is sick. I intend to work hard in order to support my family and treat the sick."

"I came to Concordia Children's Home as a child; thank you for assisting me and my family. As a high school soccer player, I got recruited. I may not be as excellent as everyone else today, but I will do my best. I would love to play professional football. Thank you for allowing me to learn from a young age until today. I will never forget the compassion and warmth shown to my brother and myself.  I am currently enrolled in the first year of a three-year vocational program in Business Administration at Saha Commercial College of Technology.

“Thank you so much! We really appreciate this opportunity that you have given not only to us, but to the unprivileged residents in the neighborhood.”

CWEFT thanks God and all supporters for their kindness, help, and support. Your continuous and long-term support for children is teaching them to appreciate education, and they are safe, counseled, and free to study, play, and be with friends. Our teachers and staff are honored to help, listen, reduce vulnerability, and prepare children for bright futures. Most importantly, we want them to experience God’s love and hear the Word. God bless you!

Links:

• CDCC updated with a special thanks
• CWEFT Ministry update

Concordia Day Care and Community Center – Bangkok

CWEFT established Concordia Day Care to serve children between the ages of 2-15, as well as their families. These children are among the most vulnerable, living in crowded disadvantaged communities along the Bang Na major expressway. We promote education and bettering the lives of the children, so they may finish school and go on to achieve good careers.  In partnership with supporters CWEFT provided help for at-risk children as listed:

1.1       Pre-School Child Development Project Our goal at the daycare is to care for children between 2-5 who are too young to attend public school, and whose parents must leave for work. We protect children who would otherwise be left alone at home, at risk to multiple dangers. We offer activities that address 5 health concerns: physical, mental, emotional, societal, and developmental health. This includes meeting common gaps in nutritional health, by providing meals according to the children’s needs. Altogether in the past year, we took care of 60 children in this way, as well as preparing and sending off 15 children to elementary school at the proper time.

1.2       Saturday School Project:  To assist children with learning needs between 5-15 years old, we offer math, English, and computer classes on Saturdays, as well as once a month activities in art therapy. We look for opportunities to promote emotional and mental well-being, as well as teaching important life skills that help to reduce the risk of addiction and violence. We want to see each student develop personal discipline, have courage to share their opinions, use their free time wisely, and see the value of education. We are also mindful in choosing teachers who can counsel students and their families. In the past year, we had a total of 77 children and guardians attend Saturday activities.

1.3       School Breaks Project: During school breaks, many students are left at home alone because their parents have to leave for work. This leaves children at risk for getting into trouble, spending all their time on devices, gambling, and other dangers without anyone to look after them. In order to help parents, Concordia Day Care opens especially during school breaks to be a place of safety for children, while including activities that continue their learning with reviewing school lessons, English classes, sports, and other extra-curriculars. In all, we had 26 children join us for school break activities in the past year.

1.4       Elderly and Community Care Project – Bangna area, BangkokElderly face many struggles, including no one able to help care for them, poverty, and family problems. In response, CWEFT partnered with local businessman and Thai foundation to conduct elderly visitations, and provide resources such as food, medicine and medical supplies, and hospital transportation services. We also helped with planting vegetable gardens and fixing leaks and other issues in homes. In all 6 communities that we served, 5,126 people in total received services:

• Bang Na Community                         787 people
• Buakerd Community                          1,224 people
• Rung Rueang Community                   2,000 people
• Poonsin Community                           90 people
• Yamsuan Community                         1,000 people
• Rom Pho Community                         25 people

1.5       School Sponsorship Program:  CWEFT works closely with children and their families who struggle to make ends meet, in an unstable economic situation that hasn’t improved. Some families are forced to move back to their villages to try to find work, increasing the risk that children are pulled out of school early to help work and make money. With the support of all sponsors, CWEFT is able to provide ongoing sponsorship support to assist children with school needs, such as uniforms, shoes, sports supplies, and more, to ease the burden of parents and help keep them in school. In all, we provided 1,000 baht in the sponsorship program to 82 students.

1.6 Restoration Project Following House Fire:On the 18^th of December, 2022, a fire broke out in the Bang Na Expressway community, destroying 3 homes, including a home belonging to the family of two children who attend Concordia Daycare. With support, CWEFT was able to rebuild all three homes for the children and their two neighbors.

1.7 Local and International School Volunteers:  3 International schools in Bangkok expressed interest in fostering responsibility for society in their students through partnering with CWEFT to helped provide school supplies, put on special events, and care for the pre-school children. Also our partner organization helped provide various activities and supplies throughout the year, such as art supplies, and dental resident taught the children how to care for their teeth. 

1.8  Local Thai School  reached out to us to open up the opportunity for students to provide community service during school breaks, to build their knowledge through real work experience. Specifically, we welcomed grade 11 student, who has an interest in social work and crowded communities to teach activities and have fun with the children during school breaks.

Testimonials from Partners and Students: 

 “Thank you to CWEFT and every supporter who has aided us, providing children with opportunities for education, learning how to be a better person, and developing a relationship with God. They become their parents’ hope and the future of our nation. Please continue to pray for us and the children’s guardians, that we will receive wisdom from God as we serve Him through this children’s ministry.”

Ant, age 11, is currently studying in Grade 2 and is an orphan after losing both of her parents. There are 3 siblings altogether, and none have legal papers or citizenship. They were given to relatives to raise, but their relatives were unable to care for them, which resulted in the children becoming homeless and having to beg on the streets. CWEFT received information from a local church along with social services, and all three of the children were brought to the center to be cared for. “I want to thank you for helping me and my two younger siblings, so that we no longer have to beg or fend for ourselves, but have a safe place to live, food to eat, and are able to go to school. I am taken care of and I don’t have to be afraid.”

“New, currently in 9^th grade, during the Covid crisis her parents lost their jobs and turned to selling noodles. During school breaks, I need to help my mother sell chicken noodles every day because she has to work so hard while dealing with a chronic disease. My older sister had to leave school to find work to do. I save my snack money to use on school supplies instead. Once I finish school, I would like to apply to join the police, that way I can help take care of my mother and protect her and others too. I want to thank you for sponsoring my education so I can go to school, have the supplies I need, and finish higher school at a higher level. May God bless you all!”

Pon’s parents separated and each have their own families now, which resulted in Pon being raised by his grandparents. His father moves jobs often due to chronic liver disease, and his grandparents also have to work, which means that Pon is often left alone. In addition, there is no school in his village and his family has very little earnings. His father wanted him to leave school to