Help 500 Thai children get an education

For many disadvantaged children, reaching for their dreams can feel quite hopeless. According to a recent government statistic only 20% of children in rural Thailand live with either parent. We have found this to be true in the many Thai schools we work with. Many of these children will live with a close relative, usually a grandma or aunt who is willing to take care of them.  They are not living with their parents because their are few jobs close to home so they have gone off to other places to find work. Sometimes the parents send support back to care for their children, but sometimes the children are forgotten and grandma is left alone to raise and support them. 

Wendy (not her real name) is one such child. Wendy and her older brother live with her Grandma who is their only source of support. Wendy is in the 9th grade and likes to study mathematics and Thai language. She also likes sports and participates in athletics at school.  Wendy's dream is to study nursing after High School so that she can take good care of her Grandma!

Every day Wendy helps her Grandma by doing housework and cooking dinner. Her Grandma was working as a seamstress making 300 baht ($10) a day, but last month she lost her job when the shop owner could no longer pay her due to the struggling economic situation in Thailand. So, almost every day after school, Wendy works part-time cutting out fabric for 150 baht ($5) a day. This helps provide for some of their daily expenses, but they are quite poor and this little family struggles to just have enough food to eat.

Without the support of Education Matters, Wendy would be forced to quit school. It is the support and gifts of generous donors like you who make it possible for Wendy to finish school and achieve her dream of becoming a nurse! 

The Thai school year ends in March, so this is the season for graduations! The Eduction Matters program has the goal of keeping kids in school until they graduate from 12th grade, so we love to celebrate all our youth who reach this milestone! We have found that almost 100% of the students who complete 12th grade will continue their education and graduate from college. 

This year we are celebrating with Sarah (not real name) who graduated from High School on Mach 4th. Her accomplishment is even more significant given the challenges of her Senior year which was entirely online due to Covid! Sarah came to live at Ban Sanrak children’s home when she was 13 because her father was unable to care for her. Eduction Matters provides funds to cover tuition and school expense for many of the Ban Sanrak children who do not have families.

One of the highlights of Sarah’s High School experience was competing in a math competition for her school. She was the 1st runner up in the competition which was a huge accomplishment as she was competing against many other schools. 

Sarah plans to attend the University and major in Social Work. Her goal is to graduate as a licensed social worker so that she can help children like herself who come from difficult family backgrounds. She is grateful for she received through Education Matters and Ban Sanrak andd she wants to do the same for others! We are so proud of you Sarah for your diligence and for not giving up even when things were tough! And, we are excited for the bright future that is before you! A future made possible by the kindness and generosity of donors like you!