Our media hype is primarily about providing deprived
children with educational opportunities and specialized schooling for the
disabled. However, in order to effectively help kids with their education,
we want to make sure that they are safe from abuse and have stable living
situations, ideally with parental or guardian supervision. If the latter is
not possible, there are alternatives, such as seeking refuge in emergency
shelters, orphanages, homes for street kids and/or boarding schools. In
addition, many special schools for the disabled also include boarding and
serve as orphanages.
Two kids at Khun Ja’s
Children Protection and Development Life Skill Center (CPLC), which is also
known as the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Abuse Center (ATCC).
Desperate children, especially pre-teens, are at most
risk on the streets without adult protection. Many of these kids have fled
from impoverished conditions in their villages and search for better lives
in urban centers. Still more emigrate from Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam and
Laos, to escape not only hardship, but also military repression. They all
come looking for better options but many, end up living, sleeping and
begging on the streets and with limited choices those offered can be fraught
with danger.
The major threat for these children alone on the streets
is human trafficking. Thai nationals are prone to this danger, but more so
are refugees and migrants from neighboring countries, who are here
illegally. Without any documentation, they have little recourse when forced
into miserable slave-like labor by recruiting agencies.
Many defenseless children become victims to the
austerities of the fishing industry, where they are at sea for extremely
long stints, or the garment trade, where they work lengthy hours in
prison-like conditions, as well as organized begging, where they have to
meet minimum targets or suffer the consequences.
The worst-case scenario for the children at risk, though,
is being forced into prostitution. They are usually kept in lockdown
environments as well and must work and live under wretched circumstances.
Even without predatory agencies, a child on the street is still vulnerable
to perverts and pedophiles.
But the bad news does not stop here for children of the
poor. Even if the child has parents and a home environment there can still
be danger lurking in the specter of physical and sexual abuse.
The staff at the Fountain of Life for children report
that abuse usually occurs in the home or by someone known by the child in
the community. Physical abuse is easier to detect as the wounds or scars can
be visible and/or the child will tell the staff. When this is discovered the
parents or guardians are called in for council and, if it does not abate,
they tell them that the police will have to be informed.
Sexually abused children are more difficult to discern
and deal with. First of all, if there are no outward physical marks, the
staff might only find out from the child or his or her friends. This then
has to be verified by a hospital before the parents and police are notified.
This is a serious crime and can result in prolonged incarceration for the
perpetrators.
Still another risky situation for children in their homes
is when the parents are involved in drug dealing. This immediately makes the
environment a dangerous one for the kids in terms of exposure to the drugs
and clientele. What is more, the parents can get arrested, which is not an
uncommon occurrence, leaving the kids alone to fend for themselves.
The problem of protecting children at risk is combated by
many of our beneficiaries. The government, too, establishes emergency
shelters, which provide refuge for the destitute and abandoned, as well as
those who have suffered from domestic violence or sexual abuse.
In 2004, we built one of these shelters for girls and
young women at the Eastern Child Welfare Protection Institute in Rayong
along with the Pattaya International Ladies Club (PILC) and Pattaya Sports
Club (PSC). We also teamed up in the same year to renovate the Chonburi
emergency facility in Banglamung.
In addition to emergency shelters, orphanages are also
safe havens and the Ban Jing Jai Foundation, which harbors 80-plus orphans,
is one of our core beneficiaries. In this category, we also assist the
Father Ray Foundation, the Child Protection and Development Life Skills
Center and the Mercy Center.
Special schools that board the disabled also protect
children at risk, such as the School for the Blind, Camillian Home and Khao
Baisri Special Education, which are also main beneficiaries for us.
Furthermore, the Fountain of Life Center, which is our
target charity, was created to help the children at risk and give them
viable options for a brighter future. This center is a day-care facility
that focuses on slum-dwelling kids and advises their parents or guardians
about the danger of them being left on the streets, drugs, abuse and the
importance of education. The Fountain of Life Center was our very
inspiration that brought the Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive into
existence back in 1998.
Before a child is admitted to the Center, the staff
visits the child’s family and assesses the living situation to be sure it is
suitable. Follow up visits ensue to be sure that there are no problems at
home.
While the children are at the center, they learn life
skills, manners, behavior and about their culture, as they are being
prepared for entering government schools. The kids also learn about the
Declaration of Rights of a Child, which states that they should be free of
any abuse in their home and community.
Additionally, they learn about becoming self-confident,
taking on responsibility, self-protection and looking after each other.
Therapy sessions and counseling are also always available for both children
and parents.
Everyone needs to know about the real danger of children
at risk. You can help too by helping us protect the kids through many of our
beneficiaries mentioned above. For more information, please visit us at
www.care4kids.info and/or www.facebook.com/jesterscare.forkids.
Please also remember that our Main Events in Pattaya are:
The Children’s Fair, Sunday, September 9th and Gala Party Night Saturday,
September 22nd
