They need your help
Pattaya, with all it bars and entertainment venues has another side for the people, both Thais and farangs, who live in and around this city. There are many good people out in the community doing remarkable things to improve the life of the under-privileged and often ignored parts of our society. Tucked away in an isolated location off Highway 331 near Sattahip is Baan Khao Bai Sri. Few will have heard of it, let alone visited.
It is a centre for handicapped children. Children with Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other related disabilities. KBS Special Education Center is managed by founder Boon Choo, a selfless Thai woman who has dedicated her life to helping these children in need whose families struggle to provide the necessary care. Boon Choo, together with four other teachers, cares for fifty children of which twenty-three require full-time board.
The school is reasonably well equipped and there is support for most of the basics such as buildings, meals and general running costs, although improvements can always be made.
While the children’s scholastic requirements are mostly met, special therapy for their disabilities is largely lacking. Some specialized equipment has been donated to the school, but no-one is trained to use it.
Women With a Mission has identified that the school is in direct need of assistance from a trained Physical Therapist. Someone to train the staff in use of equipment, and to train them in therapeutic exercises that can be applied to these seriously handicapped children.
Exercises that can help the children improve the control of their body movement, and ultimately, improve their quality of life.
Physical therapists are limited in number in Thailand, but WWM is currently conducting a search both inside and outside the country. As an alternative to a Thai physio, they are also looking for a volunteer therapist from overseas who could conduct some short-term training for staff and local volunteers. Previously, a member of PILC and a trained physio spent some time with the centre and made remarkable progress. Unfortunately she has now been transferred and has left a gap that WWM are hoping to fill.
Through networking and communication through their friends, sponsors and supporters, WWM are hoping to find someone to fill this need. If any of our reader’s can be of any assistance, or wish to help in any way, then WWM would be very pleased to hear from them. To contact WWM please visit their website for details www.mywwm.org or [email protected] or contact: Rosanne Diamente at 081-865-0714 or Kylie Grimmer at 087-482-3520.
