2018 was another great year! One of my favorite recent memories was during a week in Northern Thailand, visiting with Naam Fon and seeing how our scholarship program to vulnerable children in the north has expanded and developed this year. The time during my visit reminded me of why our work is so important and that our programs are deeply impacting the lives of people both now and for generations to come.
It was mid afternoon, Naam Fon was inside getting ready to lead an orientation for new students and parents. As I sat outside waiting for the meeting to begin one of the dad's who was waiting for the orientation sat next to me. After a few minutes of small chat, I asked him about his daughter. I remember her because she is only 6 years old- our program's youngest student.
The school she attends is about a 5 hour motorcycle ride from their home — 5 hours on a narrow, bumpy road that extends though the steep and rocky hills. The distance between home and school is long which means she lives at the school during the school year. She is able to go home on school breaks and occasionally on the weekends. (That's a 10-hour commute for her dad)
Knowing this already, I asked a very obvious question "Is it hard for you to have your daughter not home every day?" He said "The school that she is attending is a good school and is a good opportunity for her to attend" "When I drop her off, she has a big smile on her face, she likes to learn“ "If she was sad and cried every time I dropped her off, it would be really hard, but she doesn't cry and she isn't sad, she is happy"
Schools are limited for people living in the villages. Families who can afford to send their kids to school work very hard to do so. Due to their limited income, school is often not an option for many of them especially if parents have more than one child. We are grateful that Creative Life Foundation can be a resource for families who want to send their kids to school. We are grateful for our partners who make our Scholarship program possible.
We believe that everyone should have access to school. This year we were able to add an additional 20 kids to our scholarship program in Northern Thailand. With your help we can assist more families and more children in 2019. Let's make 2019 the best year yet! Thanks for making our work in Thailand possible!
With Gratitude and a Happy New Year, Tim