Project Access Safety Net Rural Elderly & Disabled

In May we welcomed Nong Gai, our Assistant Community Care Coordinator. She joins us from the Long Khot Sub-District, the southernmost subdistrict and often left behind by the District head office. She knows our constituents in Long Khot and is a soothing presence. She was quick to pick up the data collection process and got her driver's license (that took determination with the long backlog after the pandemic) so she can drive to visits. Gai has worked in the local public health clinic and as a community health volunteer.

With the extra driving and caring capacity, Soda and Gai have been able to add constituents from Mae Wan, Wiang Phrao. and Teung Leung Subdistricts (we are covering a total of 6 out of 11 sub-districts in Phrao). Soda has set up meetings with each of the adjacent sub-district social services leaders to identify people that need the care we can provide. In exchange, the two care providers budgeted by the sub-district coordinate with Soda and provide special services, like physical therapy at home.

Another resource that Soda has nurtured is the physical therapy program at one of the public health clinics that specialize in massage therapy and has a small center with basic equipment. Phrao residents can go to the physical therapy center for free; we make the appointments and drive them there. We're seeing improvements in stroke victims and some chronic back pain.

In addition to physical therapy, we have been asked for hearing aids and false teeth, both expensive and hard to get in our rural villages.  We are testing some over-the-counting hearing amplification devices that seem to work without the tiny batteries that get lost and are hard to replace.  Our kind, energetic dentist at the Phrao Hospital has been reviewing patients with dental issues and has provided a range of solutions to improve their dental health.

Thank you for caring for our elders and disabled neighbors.  Together, we have provided care for over 100 people in the first half of the year. We've taken 39 new people into the program.  We have lost a few people to natural causes, but the best is when families can step in and take over - so far 20 people this year. 

Thank you for making this possible,

Dana, Michael, Evelind with Soda, Nong Gai, and the Phrao community.