Struggling to provide for their children, eight versatile families were selected to form the first cohort of a new 18-month BSF Program launched in the Chiang Rai Province of Thailand. Their vulnerable children in the delicate balance of ending up in institutional care, these parents are willing to develop for the sake of their families. A recent trip to Pha Dang Luang by a BSF team saw the official launch of the program take off - and children and parents alike are excited for this new beginning!
Eleven years ago, a trip was made up into the beautiful Akha hilltribe village of Pha Dang Luang in northern Thailand. The purpose? To connect with local families and understand more fully why parents were choosing to send their precious children to orphanages instead of keeping them at home. Through time spent with the families, it was realised that so often parents were sending their children away out of a misguided belief that that was the best option for them to live a life outside of poverty’s confines. Despite the intrinsic desire to keep their children close, these loving parents felt forced to give them away in the hope of a better future for them. This heartbreaking scenario ignited a dream to one day return with something tangible that could help these families’ mindset and economic situation shift and for vulnerable children to be raised in healthy and whole families.
Fast forward to July 2024, and a BSF team are journeying back into this same small hilltribe village. Using a car so generously sponsored by BSF donors for this purpose, the team trek their way out of the city and out into the tropics of northern Thailand. Pha Dang Luang looks much the same after all these years, with its colourful Akha outfits and huge smiles, but there is an especially rich sense of excitement in the air for what is to come! Finally, after years of waiting, we are able to come alongside parents that are facing the abnormal choice of voluntary separation through the launch of an official BSF Program. Through careful selection by churches and community mobilisers, eight vulnerable families from Pha Dang Luang had been identified and selected for the new Program, and they gathered in anticipation at the special opening day. Welcoming us to their village, the village leaders offered their support and partnership to strengthen families of vulnerable children in the area.
After familiarising the new families with the BSF Program through a detailed orientation, a number of icebreakers took place – as the Program goes for 18 months, it’s important that the families begin to bond, not only within their unit but also with the other families. In a nation like Thailand where community is greatly emphasised, the success of a program like BSF lies not in individual families but in increased connectivity and support. The kids and adults alike enjoyed the games and a sense of comfortability settled over the group.
After the orientation, it was time to delve a little deeper – as the families sat together, they bravely shared their hopes and expectations for their family’s growth and development. Even the children expressed their thoughts while the parents listened – a great sign of mutual, healthy honour within the family units. The situations of the families quickly became clear, with many of them struggling to meet basic needs of their children: a big red flag pointing towards children being sent to institutional care. After the orientation, the community leader encouraged the families in their desire to grow stronger, and the eight families then signed a ‘Family Pledge’ as a commitment to their 18 months of time in the Program.
The joy, maturity and responsibility witnessed over the trip was deeply inspiring, and hallmarks of the selected families’ determination to improve their condition to create a better future for their children. We want to express our deepest thanks for making the trip to the Akha village a reality that, we believe, will deeply change the lives of not only these eight families, but generations of Akha to come. Thank you for helping build stronger families in Pha Dang Luang!
“I want to live with my parents, I do not want to go to a children’s home.” – Saifon
BSF is a partner for project J1079 & J1102 with Australian NGO, Global Development Group (ABN 57 102 400 993). Donations to BSF through Global Development Group are tax deductible in Australia, NZ, and the USA.
Building Strong Families Foundation or มูลนิธิสร้างครอบครัวเข้มแข็ง is a registered foundation in Thailand (ชม770), approved by the Ministry of Interior.
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