Project Access Safety Net Rural Elderly & Disabled

The rains have slowed and Nong Gai is back from maternity leave.  Soda and Nong Gai have been busy.  We have been looking at nurturing local social enterprises around sustainable agriculture and one of our first is with "Pradit", who you may remember from when we helped build him a ramp for his wheelchair.  With the mobility from a motorized wheelchair and the ramp, he has been trying small businesses.  As we look at sustainable agriculture as a key source of improved livelihoods, vermiculture is a promising area that can be managed from a wheelchair. The waste from the worms makes great fertilizer.

Our staff and students on mid-term break cleaned out an old shed and replaced it with a sturdy roof and netting to keep the mosquitoes and other bugs from attacking the worms.  Soda is learning about the essentials of a business plan and we've made this initial investment to see if it can be expanded to others in the community.

Keylo, who has been with us since he was about 6, has been growing out of his special wheelchair.  Soda was able to arrange a new chair and took him to the Wheelchair Project at the Rajanagarinda  Institute of Child Development (RICD) for a fitting.

We continue to add new elders and disabled people in need.  We've completed over 700 visits so far this year. Our staff and students enjoy the visits and the smiles that come from the time spent together.

Best wishes for the holiday season.  May you find joy around you.

Thank you for making this all possible!

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

P.S. Please mark your calendars for #Giving Tuesday, November 28, and tell your friends; to help us add a few new donors.  GlobalGiving has a matching bonus pool of over $ 1 million. All gifts up to $2500 are matched.  The more we raise the more we earn of the bonus pool.