Justice and Human Rights Thailand Project #30672

Family/Foster Care for 72 Children of Thailand

by Global Relief Association for Crises & Emergencies, Inc.

Project Report | Apr 9, 2019
Unsolicited Collaboration with Municipality Leader

By Angie Sullivan | Cofounder of GRACE

GRACE Thailand Logo

The unfortunate experience of one of our children directed us to collaborate with local municipality leaders. We were pleased to learn the local leaders align with our desire to keep children with family members or in family settings as opposed to placing the children in shelters or orphanages. We consider this great news. Of interest, two shelter leaders were vying to place the child in their establishments. There is a place for of all of these services as we ensure children have safe environments in which to grow and develop. But in this situation, it proved best to keep the child with extended family members.

The municipality leaders support the efforts of GRACE as we increase awareness and explore the development of family-based foster care in our area. We will gladly keep you up-to-date of the progress of our family-based foster care project in Thailand.

Thanks for your continual support.

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Jan 15, 2019
Property Search for GRACE Campus

By Angie King Sullivan | Cofounder

Sa-wat-dee ka. Greetings from Thailand.

GRACE serves families in East Pattaya and Korat city. We are honored to serve more than one-hundred families through the programs, projects and activities of the family resource centers. Amidst the afterschool programs our families are challenged with life issues compounded by poverty. One such challenged resulted in a child being removed from home and into a permanent orphanage. Orphanages are not ideal but when options are limited children are placed in the lesser risk establishments. The need to penetrate Thailand with family-based residential foster care is great and requires cooperation of government and caring families willing to open their homes to another child.

Our leadership team is searching housing and land properties to sustain two GRACE campuses. The campuses will provide centralized locations in the two provinces for four family housing units, educational wing, family resource center, dining hall, recreation fields and administration facilities. The challenge is the expense of land in Thailand with costs ranging from 3.2 to 18 million baht per rai in the suburban area of the cities. A rai of land is approximately one-third of an acre. A location ideally centralized to those whom we serve is two rai and undeveloped at a cost of 18 million baht per rai. The owner has frozen a price deal for us at 12.5 million baht per rai equaling 25 million baht which converts to approximately $783,582 USD. Wow. The real estate agent says its our lucky day as I gaze wide-mouthed with my jaw near dislocation. We also looked at three properties with three to five rai at 3.2-3.5 million baht per rai. The distance is about twenty minutes out of the way of those whom we serve. Although a bit more reasonable at 16 million baht ($501,493 USD), it doesn't meet our needs.

The search continues and we are not hopeless that the right location with reasonable costs will present itself in the near future. We are patient and continuing on the activities of Global Relief Association for Crises & Emergencies and GRACE International Foundation (Thailand) based out of our administrative shophouse regional office and the three-bedroom house converted to a family resource center in Pattaya, and an upstairs three room space of a local church in Korat.

The need for adequate space is essential and is a clear focus of our leadership during the first quarter of 2019.

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Oct 16, 2018
Small Steps with Big Impact

By Angie King Sullivan | Co-founder

Strategically Completing the Puzzle

The leadership of GRACE has gained much knowledge during the past quarter as we seek to expand services to include family-based residential care for children. Keeping our mission statement ever before us as we make decisions: GRACE fosters social change through STRENGTHENING FAMILIES and eradicating the vulnerabilities of human trafficking and exploitation. Also, considering the holistic well-being of the children, we strive to maintain the family unit through training parents and couples with life skills. In some cases, the better decision, or the necessary decision, is for the child to experience short-term or long-term separation from their biological family.

Establishing a viable option in Thailand requires diligent adherence to cultural norms. We engage our team of Thai staff, social workers, governmental agents, and other experienced organizations to provide an excellent option for childcare. The executive leadership of our Thailand foundation met with leaders from many regions of the country with roundtable discussions addressing various goals, programs and obstacles providing a wealth of knowledge.

The concept of family-based foster care is an alternative to residential childcare in Thailand. The term 'foster care' implies a child is placed in a shelter or an orphanage with many other children. Shelters housing more than six children must register with the government to provide care. Shelters housing six or less children are not required to register and can operate void of oversight.

Much research has revealed the shelter/orphanage setting is often detrimental to the child's emotional and physical well-being often resulting in increased vulnerabilities of becoming a victim of human trafficking and exploitation. Our plan is to provide parents with resources to care for the children and their families while achieving and maintaining personal well-being. Trained counselors are necessary to ensure those involved receive the best care.

GRACE leadership in Thailand is working on stragetic plans with long-term impact. Similar to completing a jigsaw puzzle, we are focused and diligent with a goal of preventing human trafficking of vulnerable minors.

Thank you for donating to the family-based foster care initiative of GRACE in Thailand.

Kindest regards,

Angie

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