Rice for Thai kindergarteners in need

The following is a postcard from Charissa Murphy, GlobalGiving's In-the-Field Representative in Southeast Asia, about her recent visit to the Human Development Foundation/Mercy Centre in Thailand.

Smiling faces are plentiful at the Human Development Foundation's (HDF) Mercy Centre in the slums of Bangkok, Thailand. Though the children who attend school and/or live at the Mercy Centre come from harsh environments of poverty, families with alcohol and drug addictions, poor education systems, and even abandonment, it was evident that they find safety, care, and a large family community at the Mercy Centre. 

The Human Development Foundation really focuses on providing the entire community the support it needs to, well, stand on its own feet. The Centre is very well known not only by the surrounding community, but also by other organizations and communities throughout Bangkok that look to the Human Development Foundation as a strong example of effective programming. One ongoing project for the Centre is the rice distribution and emergency relief that it provides for the children and families of the community. It is ongoing because it is important everyday for these families to receive nourishment and to be fed. 

I also had the opportunity to talk about some of the other HDF programs that occur outside of the Centre. The need to build homes for HIV-affected families is increasing as the conditions of the homes continues to decline. Walking through the narrow, feces and trash-infested alleyways of the slums where the families live, the urgency for repair seeped through the rotting doors. One of the families has an HIV-positive father and the other one has an HIV-positive daughter in the family. Not only are the repairs necessary to improve the sanitary conditions and thus help keep the families healthy in face of the physical and emotional weaknesses felt by being HIV-positive, but they are also necessary to help keep the family together under one house. As conditions deteriorate, oftentimes families will have to split from one another and stay in separate locations that can accommodate them (or on the street). In addition to providing home care for these HIV-affected families, HDF wants to help rebuild their homes to ensure they can continue the home care programs. Without the support, the sewage that surrounds the homes will continue to infect their health, and the families may need to leave.

Upcoming Event on GlobalGiving - TODAY, this Wednesday, July 16th, is a Bonus matching day!:

Today, July 16th (Wednesday), beginning at 9AM EDT, GlobalGiving will match 30% of any donations (of up to $1,000 from any individual donor) to The Human Development Foundation. There are $130,000 in total funds available for matching that day for all of GlobalGiving’s partners. To ensure your donation is matched before the funds run out, please consider donating earlier today shortly after 9AM.

I want to thank The Human Development Foundation for allowing me to visit!