Reducing the risks among vulnerable children in Thailand

Jati at the day care centre, where around 30 children from the village learn to read and write, sing and dance.

This project aims to reduce the likelihood of children entering or re-entering exploitative labour or prostitution in the Fang District on the Thai-Myanmar border. It is also geared towards helping local communities care for vulnerable families and children, especially those affected or orphaned by AIDS.

Highlights:

• 18 community care groups established.
• 12 schools established as child protection zones.
• 350 children in formal and non-formal education awarded scholarships so they could continue schooling.
• Vulnerable families and children received food and moral support through monthly visits.
• Protein supplements supplied to people living with AIDS.
• Food packs delivered to families affected by floods.
• Lunch programs set up for schools.
• Income generating activities involving rice planting, organic fertilising and raising pigs established to help support vulnerable families.

Pattaya Street Children in Thailand

Street children in Pattaya are being helped by Child Rescue.

Pattaya has become the second most popular tourist destination in Thailand after Bangkok. Each year, around one million tourists arrive at this beachside city. At the same time, the sex industry has caught up with the tourism boom, spreading from hotels and bars to streets and beaches.

It’s not only tourists who visit Pattaya: migrants from rural areas hoping for a better life in the city flock to cities like Pattaya. Unfortunately, many of them end up struggling to survive in desperate circumstances. They live in crowded slums, unable to find work. But their children are most at risk of being forced or lured into the commercial sex trade just to stay alive.

To reduce the number of vulnerable children working on the streets in Pattaya, Child Rescue aims to:

• Provide education to street children and help them enrol in schools.
• Refer children to drop-in centres for food, clothing and shelter and monitor their progress.
• Provide a range of child-focused educational and entertainment programs through community radio.
• Counsel children who have been involved in commercial sexual exploitation through community radio service and a 24-hour hotline.