Rice for Thai kindergarteners in need

In the slums of Khlong Toei, Bangkok, shanty homes with broken roofs and makeshift walls sit beside the muddy, roiling waters of the canals. Laundry hangs from beams, drying in the harsh sunlight, and skinny cats sidle around the corners of the narrow alleys. Life is difficult for the people who live here, in the shadows of skyscrapers, their daily routines marking a sharp dichotomy of poverty. Many people do not have enough food; many families are forced to let their children go hungry. The impact of Covid-19 means increased unemployment and even greater struggles. In the face of this need, the Mercy Centre works tirelessly to support our community, providing life-sustaining basic nutrition through the Mercy Kitchen’s Rice Project.

The Mercy Kitchen is a vital community resource. To date, the Mercy Kitchen has provided almost 100,000 meals. Not only does the kitchen serve nutritious food every day to preschoolers, but also allows unemployed people to come and work as cooks, providing jobs where they are most needed. In a community of vulnerable people, living daily with extreme poverty, the impact of this project is incredible.

Meet Miss Grace, one of the kids who is reached daily by the impact of your giving. Grace’s mom isn’t around; she’s been in a revolving door in and out of prison for drug use, falling back into the same trap of addiction each time she gets out. Miss Grace went to live with her grandmother at a young age, and attended one of our Mercy preschools. There, she was able to eat a filling lunch and take home food to her grandmother, as well. Money was tight. But later, she wasn’t able to attend school so regularly. Some days she was in school, some days not, out helping her grandmother on the streets of the community, running errands for petty cash. Miss Grace’s teacher saw Grace and her grandmother out on the sidewalk one day and came to talk with them, to ask them how they were and what they needed. The grandmother was struggling to support herself and her granddaughter. In the end, Grace came to live at the Mercy Centre. She is ten years old now, and a thriving young girl. She is in a safe, secure environment, with her needs provided for. Every day now, she has plentiful rice supplied to eat --- food from the Rice Project, supported by the donors of GlobalGiving.

Thanks to GlobalGiving and thanks to the donors who support the Rice Project, on behalf of Grace and the many people like her who are helped daily by your generosity.