On the occasion of Thai National Children’s Day, Kwah Dao Foundation has visited Shan communities, Pang Hin or Rock Village, and Kung Mok Kham, to inspect the livelihood of the villagers and donated consumer goods to impoverished families as well as donating school supplies to the children. Pang Hin is a small Shan community located along the Pai River. In the past, Pang Hin villagers were hired to collect rocks from the Pai River. Nowadays, they have turned to different occupations, whether it’s construction work, housekeeping, general laborer, or some of them are still hired to collect rocks in other places of Pai.
Before the outbreak of COVID-19, Pang Hin villagers were able to make a living at a satisfactory level. After the COVID-19 outbreak, businesses in Pai district, especially the tourism sector were hit hard and caused a serious decrease in the employment rate. In addition, many of Pang Hin villagers are stateless people who are unable to independently engage in various occupations according to the law. It’s even worse that they have no right to access the support measures or government assistance; as a result, they are facing more difficulty in their lives than the average person.
In this visit, the foundation has donated consumer goods to 2 impoverished families. In the first family, there is a poor uneducated minor living with an old father who has faced health problems for years and is unable to do the hard work. Therefore, there is a lack of income to support the family and is the main cause of why the minor is uneducated. In addition to the educational problem, the minor himself also faces the statelessness problem as he has no Thai nationality so finding a job is very difficult for him in the current situation. The Foundation has checked for his desire for further study and found that there is still an opportunity for him to improve his quality of life, therefore; it considered providing assistance to his further study and solving nationality problems.
The second family is living in the area of Ban Kung Mok Kham, there are 4 children living with their parents. The family is currently in a very vulnerable stage as the parents are unable to take care of the children; having not enough income to meet expenses which is a direct impact on the children’s educational opportunities as well. For this family, the Foundation has been supporting the tuition fee to a student studying in middle school for 1 year already and will consider further assistance as appropriate.
In addition, the Foundation has also donated school supplies to 9 Pang Hin children who are studying in primary, middle, and high school. Also, it has publicized its various projects such as English classes for Elementary and Intermediate levels, the scholarship program for high school students to study in one of the best five high schools in Chiang Mai, and scholarship program for higher education. The Foundation has also given a well understanding and pointed out the importance of the entrance examinations preparation for both high school and higher education.
Kwah Dao Foundation is highly grateful to all donors and supporters for your endless generosity to the impoverished. May your family experience happiness and prosperity throughout the year 2022!
