Hi i'm Laura thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I am studying psychology at the University of Leeds in my second year. Through the university RAG society i will be travelling to thailand and spending 6 weeks volunteering with the charity CCD along with 9 other students. During these 6 weeks i will be helping thai staff care and stimulate disabled children. Over the next few months the aim is to raise £500 for the charity 4life which is the uk arm of CCD so please donate as it would be great to smash that target.
There are over 2000 abandoned disabled children living in government care homes in Pakkred, Bangkok. The children in these orphanages suffer from an array of disabilities both physical and mental. CCD provides help to approximately 500 of these 2000 children and young adults in a professional learning and development environment. CCD staff teach the children skills such as counting, reading and even how to feed themselves.
Many of these children are abandoned by their parents due to the stigma attached with having a disability or because they simply cannot cope due to poverty. On top of this many of the children suffer further due to a lack of staff meaning they do not receive love, care and support they deserve and can lead to the disability being unnecessarily more severe.
However, CCD thailand foundation was set up in 1986 and has been providing care and support to children with disabilities ever since. More recently, Rainbow House was set up in 2004 and is the first purpose-built home for disabled children in Thailand. It is beautifully designed with every last detail carefully planned in order to meet each child's individual needs. The love that the children recieve at Rainbow House helps them get over the restrictions of their disabilities and reach their full potential.
CCD are continuously searching for the parents of the abandoned children with the aim of reuniting them with their children. The hope is that when the parents see that their child is growing into their full potential as a person, with CCD's support and guidance, many children will be sent back to their natural parents. If the parents are not found, or if they are unable to take care of the child, CCD begins to look for adoptive parents in Thailand or overseas, who can give them a second chance in life.
The charity relies heavily on volunteers to ensure there is a high number of carers ensuring the ratio of staff to children remains high and also as no staff receive a wage. Along with the other volunteers i will be able to have a say in where the money raised will be spent. So please donate as much as possible and make a real difference to the lives of these children and i would very much appreciate it. Please read below to see what your money can do and the recent developments made.
Thankyou very much, Laura xxxxx
Recent developments:
Self Sufficency Project - CCD bought one plot of land opposite Rainbow House last year, with the vision of building independent flats for the older residents to live in, but while they are saving money to buy the second plot they have wasted no time in using this plot of land. One CCD supporter donated the money to buy garden tools and seeds! The aim of the project is that the children can learn to grow their own vegatables and sell them to local markets.
Catfish - soon after this there was the idea of farming catfish to generate income. The same donor gave money to buy a water pump and even some catfish! Having dug too big ponds they are farming 600 catfish, and in 3 months the fish will be big enough to sell, with money going towards the second plot of land CCD desperately sort after.
What your money can do:
'Learn to write kit' £3 - these resources would bring means of learning for young children.
Baby care kit £5 - children can be abandoned as young as 1month, for £5 you can buy the essentials babies need such as milk, nappies, food and soap.
Books and school uniform £10 - the essentials needed for school uniform, shoes, bags and text books.
School fees for a month £30 - to send children to schools help is needed to raise fees. Depending on ability as many children as possible are sent to mainstream schools, sometimes children require specialist schools or one-to-one tuition. Donate a child’s school fees for a month and give them the opportunity and privilege to learn in an environment suited to their needs.
Full course of Physiotherapy £50 - For children with severe physical disabilities and deformities, physiotherapy is a life-line for freedom of movement and release from pain. There are two hydrotherapy pools to aid physio sessions, and for only £50 you can fund a physiotherapist to give a full ten-week course of treatment sessions.
