Charity
New Life Project - Kanchanaburi
The Anglo-Thai Society Charity Dinner held at Watermen's Hall on October 18th 2007, raised funds of £2400 for the New Life Project in Thailand. The funds were received in Thailand on February 5th, 2008 at HSBC and totalled 162 956 bt at the current exchange rate. The delay in the receipt of funds required the purchasing programme to be activated with the Kanchanaburi staff on stand by, on the 6th of February , as the writer had to reurn to the UK on the 7th February, 2008. Please see below a summarised list of the main items bought for the New Life Project.
Item Quantity (appx) Educational Books 180 Sweaters 50 Short Pants 50 Socks 50 Towels and underwear 50 Electric Rice Pot 50 Black Sports shoes 50 Spoons and stainless food trays 50 School backpacks 50 Sacks of Rice 60
The items could have been purchased through established retail outlets, with prices that reflected the overhead and other costs. Instead the purchasing teams used their local knowledge to obtain where possible, negotiated items from the wholesale markets in China Town. To achieve our objectives a team of five staff plus a Director represented the New Life Project, plus an advisor from the Duang Prateep Foundation .
Due to the Chinese New Year celebrations starting on the 7th February, the wholesale markets in the China Town area where the items were to be purchased, were crowded to overflowing. To facilitate purchasing the team was divided into two, and it took over seven hours to obtain the items required, in extremely hot conditions over a wide area of China Town.
Due to the proffessional negotiating teams actions ,many items were obtained at advantageous prices. The influence of references to Kanchanaburi's association with the Duang Prateep Foundation was of significant help in the negotiations.
From the funds saved a donation of 5000 bt was made to the New Life Project towards other items required. In addition the balance of funds saved during the negotiations of 6700 bt is available for items required , during the writers return to Thailand for the knee operation ,which was postponed to facilitate the purchasing program.
The writer thanks most sincerely :--
Roy Sandys
Chair Charity Committee.
About New Life Project - From Kevin Thorne, Chair
I recently visited the Duang Pratheep Foundation’s New Life Project in Kanchanaburi to see first hand the necessary and important work being carried out.
There are 40 children aged between 1 and 12 and eleven teenagers living at the centre. The children are from the slum area of Kloong Toey in Bangkok and are all victims of abuse and neglect.
The children are well cared for and all but the most traumatised go to the local school. A typical day involves getting up at 5.30AM to have breakfast and to tidy bedding etc before going to school at 7.30AM. The children return from school, do homework and some housework and are in bed by 8PM.
On Saturday mornings they get up at 6AM and lean about agriculture with Saturday afternoons and Sundays free. Most of the children spend their spare time in the Library and playing music.
The Centre is set in 200 Acres of land which was donated to the foundation. The land was agriculturally unproductive until students from a Bangkok University put in an Artesian Well and irrigation system. The land is now planted with Oil Palms and Banana Trees which were provided by donations. The Oil Palms are not yet mature but will provide the centre with an income when they are which could cover the entire running costs. Youths from an anti drugs project also run by the foundation help with the cultivation of the trees.
We are raising funds to cover running costs until this happens. The centre does grow most of its own vegetables but money is needed for school uniforms, clothing, shoes, school materials, books and general living expenses including medicine.
I would like to share the stories of two of the girls:
Goy has been with the centre since she was seven. She was looked after by her elderly grandmother who was half deaf and blind. Unknown to the grandmother, Goy’s uncle raped her over 60 times before being discovered and imprisoned.
Goy is now 17 and is in secondary school, she is studying Matayom 2 which means she is 4 years behind children of her age in her studies. Goy has learning difficulties and hardly speaks, when she does she does not speak clearly. Goy will stay at the centre as long as she needs support.
Mint has been with the centre since she was 3 years old. Her stepfather was an alcoholic and drug addict. He would regularly beat her to the point of breaking bones. He burnt Mint with a red hot iron on her back.
Mint is now 20 years old and has learning difficulties as a result of her experiences. Mint helps look after the children and enjoys helping in the kitchens.
The vast majority of the centre’s children leave to live normal lives and work in companies, shops and some start their own businesses.
I hope this explains why The Anglo-Thai Society is supporting Duang Pratheep Foundation and this particular project. I would encourage as many members as are able to attend what should be a great evening in a very deserving cause. I acknowledge that the price of this evening might be more than members are prepared to pay but hope members will understand this, as our main aim on this occasion is to raise funds for a deserving cause.
I would like to thank Roy Sandys for arranging for us to be able to hold this event at Watermen's Hall and for bringing this deserving cause to our attention.