Help Keep Families Together

In recent weeks the Covid19 Delta Variant has raged to some 20,000 daily cases. To give credit to the Thai government and society that peak has dropped to an average in the low teens. 

So, as the pandemic has hit Thailand the worst in this last window, Step Ahead has made strides to help some of the most vulnerable in Thailand serving in the largest slum of Bangkok, Klong Toey, where social distancing is virtually impossible as many households may have 6 to 8 residents and the houses are packed in tight in every lane.

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Pictured above are two teenage sisters walking a few blocks home to Klong Toey (Bangkok's largest slum community) with groceries provided by local churches and Step Ahead for our "Keeping Families Together" program participants. Covid-19's third wave is hitting Thailand hard. Many families are struggling to buy groceries, pay rent and utilities.  The largest slum community of Bangkok -Klong Toey- 100,000 sees people living in overcrowded conditions.

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In the midst of the chaos, in early July, you can see here a fire started a few doors down and eventually made its way to our office. Gratefully no one was hurt and the fire was put out before the buildings fell. We have lots of damage on the second floor and water damage on the first floor from the fire firefighters spraying everything to keep the fire at bay. Recovery took several months, as we are just now able to get back full use of the office.

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In Southern Thailand, Step Ahead staff are distributing relief in the face of the worst Covid19 wave where many families have lost work and must rely on relief to their rural villages.

Links:

• See the new Step Ahead Website

OK, we all admit it! Everyone in Thailand thought we had missed the bullet. No one projected the perfect Covid19 storm that began to brew in early April. With a rather porous border with Myanmar and then, mid-April's Thai New Year's Songkran Holiday came up too quickly to stop major travel across the whole country, Thailand now faces the worst challenge with over 100,000 cases in the third wave.

So, with new daily cases averaging over 3,000, and daily death rates in double digits, while vaccines just starting to be given Thailand has its biggest challenge yet facing down Covid19.

Step Ahead Working Hard to Help Safely.

As most of Step Ahead now has been working at home again since early April, some of our field staff fully masked and only visiting family homes in Bangkok's largest slum community- Klong Toey and in Southern Thailand rural villages have given very needed monthly distributions of rice, oil, dried good and cash inputs for electricity and rent. 

Meanwhile, dozens of Zoom meetings work to coordinate and perform training across Thailand.

A  Zoom all-staff meeting here shows a send-off party for a volunteer who worked with Step Ahead for several years and is now off to the USA to get a master's degree.

Thanks to all for standing with us now as we continue to Step Ahead for all vulnerable children and families across Thailand.