Child Protection Thailand Project #31363

Loving families for orphans in Thailand

by Care for Children

Project Report | Mar 25, 2025
Why it matters: A story from Thailand

By James Paul | Senior Grant Writer

In Thailand, a foster carer shared a heartwarming story about the journey she’s been on over the past few months. It’s stories like this that emphasise why we are so committed to seeing children placed in families. As we continue with our training nationally, we hope we can see this story of transformation and love replicated across the country time and time again.

Born ten weeks early, this baby girl spent the first four months of her life in an incubator, deprived of the warmth and comfort of human touch. Though the medical environment kept her alive, it couldn’t provide the emotional connection every newborn needs. By the time she joined her foster family, the absence of nurturing care had left its mark. Her head was unnaturally flat, her eyes unfocused, and she had no cry - just a silent grimace to signal discomfort.

Her foster carer was determined to set this right. The rocking chair became a sanctuary, where she felt warmth and safety. Soft blankets and lullabies filled her new home, creating an environment of love and stability. Every family member played a role in helping her rebuild trust and connection, ensuring she knew she was seen, valued, and loved.

Progress was slow and often discouraging. Weeks passed with little indication of change. Yet, through unwavering dedication, the family witnessed the smallest victories. Her eyes began to focus, locking onto the faces around her. A fleeting smile emerged.

“And then, finally, the sound I had been longing for: a cry. A real, audible cry when she is hungry, uncomfortable, or simply in need of comfort.” Foster Carer, Chiang Mai

The cry showed she knew someone would come. each milestone, no matter how small, was a testament to the power of family care.

None of this would be possible without the compassion and generosity of supporters like you. Your belief in our mission is helping create brighter futures for children who deserve nothing less than the love and stability of a family. Thank you for making stories like this a reality.

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Nov 28, 2024
Thailand Update: Reflecting on 2024

By James Paul | Senior Grant Writer

Dear friend,

As the year draws to an end, we like to take a moment to reflect on the progress we’ve made as we continue to strive to see children across the globe moved out of institutions and into local loving families.

A large part of what our Thai team focused on was digitalisation. In a world that grows ever more digital, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. Several online training sessions were held over the year, reaching over 850 trainees! This effort is done in preparation for the eventual roll out of our new digital training tool, ‘My Family’. By trialling digital workshops, we’re able to access the efficacy of them as a training medium. This will allow us to tailor our training materials to make sure they are as effective as possible.

Translation efforts have also been a focus of 2024. Whilst Google Translate and other similar programs can provide quick solutions, we are committed to going above and beyond to ensure the training materials are both accurately translated and take into account cultural nuances. This digitalisation and translation process has been crucial in setting up our work for the year to come, when we plan to trial ‘My Family’ for the first time.

Strong government relationships have and always will be a crucial part of our working model. Generating government buy-in is crucial for ensuring the sustainability of a family placement programme. Over the course of 2024, Khon Kaen emerged as a key area in which there was strong government support, allowing us to begin a series of training workshops as well as recruiting potential family carers. These efforts can actually be measured:

- 12 new children placed in families for a total of 20 children

- 26 new family carers were trained to meet this need

- 397 local leaders educated on family care

We are so pleased with what has been accomplished over the course of 2024. The hard work undertaken by our dedicated Thai team has helped set up for 2025, and we are so excited to see how the project continues to progress. We will make sure to keep you updated when new developments arise. Thank you for your continued support and helping push us ever closer to seeing a world of children in families.

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Aug 2, 2024
Project Update: Progress in Thailand

By James Paul | Senior Grant Writer

Dear friend,

We’re excited to share the latest updates on our work in Thailand, where we’ve been making strides in our mission to move children out of institutions and into loving family homes.

Translating "My Family" Materials: Our Thai team has been hard at work translating training materials for "My Family," our new digital training tool we plan to trial in Thailand. This has been both an enjoyable and challenging process as we carefully select terminology that is not only accurate but also culturally appropriate. While tools like Google Translate and ChatGPT can offer quick translations, our team is dedicated to ensuring that the language we use is professional, easily understood, and resonates with the communities we serve.

Focus on Khon Kaen: This year, we’ve concentrated our training and coaching efforts in north-eastern Thailand, particularly in Khon Kaen. We’re working closely with child welfare homes and shelters for children and families to develop practices that prioritize family-based care. It’s crucial that these institutions collaborate to create clear, permanent care plans for the children. When children cannot return to their birth families, we are actively seeking local families to step in and provide the care they need.

Empowering Family Carers: We’ve also had numerous opportunities to train family carers and the children in their care alongside the staff from child welfare homes and shelters. These training sessions have become valuable spaces for family carers to come together, share experiences, and learn from each other. The encouragement and support they receive in these sessions are vital for their ongoing commitment to providing loving homes for vulnerable children.

Collaborative Efforts in Khon Kaen: Our work in Khon Kaen is part of a collaborative effort with two other like-minded NGOs. Initially, we planned to work across four different regions, but this approach spread our resources too thin. We decided to focus on Khon Kaen because of the strong support and buy-in from our government partners, including the child welfare homes and surrounding shelters. This focused approach has allowed us to make a more significant impact in the region.

Thank you for your continued support. Your contributions are helping us create a brighter future for children in Thailand, ensuring they grow up in safe, nurturing families.

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