well as you can see i have reached the target - a big thankyou to everyone who has donated!! everyone has been very generous and the money will make a huge difference. the fundraising doesn't stop at the target though - so if anyone visits this page and would like to donate then that would be great!! thanks again, natalie xx

Hi, my name is Natalie Snow, thank you so much for visiting my page. I am a second year Psychology student at Leeds University. In June I will be travelling with a group of 10 to Thailand for 6 weeks in order to help the many abandoned children that live there. Over the next few months the race is on to fundraise for the charity with an aim of reaching £500… but that’s a minimum, more would be amazing!

After my interview to get onto the project I was given a DVD which opened my eyes to the devastating circumstances some of these children are living in on the wards of a government institution. Many are abandoned due to stigmatism over their disabilities or extreme poverty (disabilities range from Cerebral Palsy to something as minir as a missing toe or cleft pallet...) and lack of staff on the wards means that children miss out on love and stimulation, creating more problems in these children’s development that could have been easily avoided.

Funding has allowed the opening of day care centres. CCD’s most exciting development recently has been the opening of ‘Rainbow house', their own purpose-built home for disabled children. So far, almost 30 children from the government orphanage have been completely released into their care. At Rainbow House the children learn many necessary life skills that will enable them to be integrated back into society. They also receive lots of love and individual attention and experience, for the first time. The centre aims to reunite children with their families or, when this is not possible, to help them get adopted so they can have a second chance to live a happy life.

There are also 4 daycare centers running inside the government institutions where the children come for the day to be stimulated, educated and looked after. A community-based rehabilitation also works in the poorer areas in Thailand with families with disabled children, encouraging them to keep their children, providing help financially, educationally and by creating support groups with other parents in a similar situation.

The charity relies on volunteers to keep a high ratio of carers to children in their daycare centres, please visit www.4lifethailand.org for more information. This is a purely voluntary charity, no staff recieve a wage meaning that more of the money goes staight to the children, and furthermore, we have a say in where it goes!! See below for recent developments due to the generosity of individuals.

Thank you for your time, any donations you could make will be hugely appreciated, i will be doing all i can over the next few months, and my goal is to beat the target!

Thankyou!! Natalie xx

:)

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.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.