Education & Health for 2,500 in Bangkok Slum

CWEFT Ministry update from October – December 2021.

CONCORDIA DAY CARE AND COMMUNITY CENTER

We thank God that the pandemic situation in Thailand is improving. Since mid-April, the number of new infections continues to decline, with an average of 3,000 daily cases currently. We still need to watch and be careful, as the government can change policy by the day, with various restrictions. Thankfully, many businesses and including our school, the CDCC center in Bang Na, Bangkok have been able to reopen, which enables us to welcome children again for the first time in 7 months. Every day we serve about 21-25 children, which allows parents to apply for jobs or go to work so they can take care of their families. Children are given the opportunity to learn, prepare for elementary school, improve their nutrition, and care for their hearts and souls.

In addition to the daycare center opening, we continue to work with the Community Health Center, to be a center for ATK Covid-19 rapid tests, to help community residents who need negative test results to apply for jobs, as well as for children and their parents who need to test to go back to school. We thank God that we have been able to serve and help 147 people in this way, so they don’t have to pay the 750 baht per person (about $25) they aren’t able to afford. Of those test results, all 147 people were Covid free and were able to go back to work and school.

Thank you so much for your prayers and gifts, which made the playground development project possible! We were able to pour new cement, lay down turf over it to create softness, and purchase new playground equipment to replace the old playground that CDCC had used for more than 34 years. We also want to thank NIST International School who saw the need, and helped us to start fundraising, as well as all the individual donors who helped support the project and raise awareness. The project has now been 70% funded! We still need additional funds to raise for a sunshade and garden area. The remaining total needed is about $4,000 USD, or 132,000 Baht to complete the project. This project has already been a blessing to the children, who love to come out and play, enjoy the outdoors, and have a great time with friends.

With your support, and because of less restrictions, CDCC was able to gain permission to arrange Christmas outreach events, at 50 people per event from December 17 to 18, 2021. Thus, we arranged for 3 separate groups of children and their parents to come celebrate and praise God for the newborn baby Jesus our Savior. We started with small children from the daycare on Friday, the 17^th. Then, on Saturday morning, we celebrated with grades K1 – Grade 4, and finally on Saturday afternoon, Grade 5 – 9. Following the parties, the older children went into the Bang Na slum community for caroling, sharing the Good News, and praying over and blessing 40 elderly residents who are disabled with no family to care for them, with hygiene and other necessary supplies. Thank you to all partners and individual donors for supporting the Christmas outreach party, which allowed 111 children, 72 parents, and 109 elderly people in 4 communities struggling with 7 months of lockdown, to come enjoy and celebrate in joy, the true meaning of Christmas.

 Through the service we heard many stories from the children of parents out of a job, as they are from poor area, ethnic minorities without citizen ID cards and unable to receive the vaccine, which means they cannot travel and haven’t seen their family in almost 2 years. They said they are thankful to have the hostel so they can stay safe, no one has contracted Covid-19, and they are able to continue going to school and have good food to eat.

Testimonials

Guide, who lives with his mother, sister, and grandmother in Bang Na, was affected by the Covid-19 situation when his grandmother picked up the virus at her work. Due to hospital numbers, she was sent out of province to be looked after at another hospital, and Guide’s whole family had to quarantine. Guide is one of our Saturday students. When his school was closed, students were moved to online learning. His sister helped him to turn his work in, and when Concordia Daycare Center heard about their situation, we delivered school supplies, rice and food supplies, fresh food boxes, milk, and snacks to their family throughout their quarantine. Guide and his family, including his grandmother who was unable to work, were taken care of until their quarantine was finished. “Thank you so much for helping me and my family!”

 A big thank you to all donors  for donated funds to provide help and hope with CWEFT.

Concordia Day Care Center (CDCC)  Annual Report 2021 

Serving the families of a slum in Bang Na district, Bangkok, CDCC welcomes children ages 2-5 who would other wise be left at home and exposed to many dangers while parents are working. At the center, not only are children safe, nurtured, but they are prepared to enter elementary school successfully when they compulsory age, giving them a chance to change the course of their future. (Children served:33) 

Saturday Program

To further support children in Bangkok slum communities with learning and developmental delays, CDCC organizes Saturday tutoring classes to supplement learning in mathematics, English, and Thai language. In addition, once a month we host community training topics on life skills such as sports, art , and cooking, as well as social subjects to promote family health, such as healthy discipline, self-expression, organization, and knowing how to recognize and report child labor and human trafficking. (People served:77)

School Vocation Program

CWEFT cares for children during school breaks, reducing community exposure to pornography, gangs, and addictive behaviors. (Children served:24) 

 Elderly Ministry

The Concordia Daycare Center (CDCC) team organizes volunteers to visit the elderly in slum areas, offering them hope, friendship, and education on health and income generating. We also provide essential items they often lack, such as non-perishable foods, hygiene products, and medicines. (People served:72)

Sponsorship Program 

Children helped through the center sponsoring program 78 !

A NATION IN CRISIS AN UPDATE ON COVID-19 IN THAILAND

After a relatively successful control of the virus in 2020, a devastating outbreak began sweeping the country in March of 2021, Daily cases national wide are averaging over 20,000 as of August, and the capital of Bangkok, where the Concordia is located, has been hit the hardest. CWEFT and those we serve have been affected in major ways:

• All organizeed programs and events, including the daycare, are closed, due to government restrictions to curb in the spread.
• Public schools have been operating through either hybrid or all-virtual classes, greatly affecting students will low to no access to internet. 
• Many children have lost close family members to the virus, and unemployment or servere reduction in wages is widespread.

In July, a community outbreak was discovered in Bang Na, and the village was sealed off as a result. Todate 19 children and 142 adults (inluding elderly and those on sick bed) have been disgnosed with Covid-19, and another 64 families were exposed and forced to quarantine, without any way to make an income, or financial aid to help them get through. WE KNOW THAT WE HAD TO RESPOND.....

CDCC has become the center for providing crisis relief aid to over 13,000 people in 11 disadvantaged communities in Bang Na district. Our staff is tested regularly, and continues to serve and advocate for the people who often have no voice. We make sure taht the children who normally attend the daycare program are fed each day, and along with local partners, make sure that community members are given access to food and drinking water.

As hospitals in the capital are at capacity, people often wait days for a hospital bed, so we have also begun providing over-the-counter medicines to treat symptoms at home. Since April 19, 2021, we have distributed:

11,309 HOTMEALS     

3,506 DRY FOOD BAGS   

+ MEDICINE, HYGIENE, & PPE KITS

Happy Story

 " Thank you for saving me and my family. Thank you for all your gifts, hot meals, and prayers for me. I made it and am back home now!"  Toey(14) following her recovery in the hospital from Covid-19

"  I had been a part of Concordia Day Care since I was young. I came here to joined school break program. I really liked staying here, becuase I met many friends. . I have learned a lot of things at the center through varies of activities such as role-playing,  God's story,  singing on Christmas day,  also experience to volunteer to serve community. I have very valuable childhood memories and got so much impression from the Center. I just graduated from Srinakharinwirot Unversity in Computer Science. So I like to thank you for these center for invest me  and changed my life"  (Nam (21) former student from the CDCC.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for the love, care, and support you have shown us through this unique and trying year. Thank you for investing in the lives of the children, women, and familis of Thailand, and sacrificing so generously so that we can continue to serve the chidlren and women in Thailand. God bless you! 

Sincerely,

The CWEFT Team 

• CWEFT_Annual_Report.pdf (PDF)
  

Concordia Day Care Program 

The Concordia Day Care & Community Center (CDCC) has served the children and families living in slum communities in Bangkok for more than 30 years. CDCC helps at risk children to get off the street and get basic medical care, assists with legal papers to enroll in school, prepares them for primary school, takes care of them while parents are away working, teaches skills that will help them to be successful in school when they reach 1^st grade age.

Programming includes day services, Saturday classes & tutoring, field trips, special events, care for the elderly, and more. With your help they may end the cycle of poverty and exploitation.

CDCC’s team of dedicated staff members are changing lives every day, by preventing the next generation from becoming exploited, cheering them on, and pouring out the love and kindness daily.

As many of you know about the Coronavirus situation in Thailand, the Bangkok Governor has ordered temporary closures of venues in Bangkok since April 19, 2021 until at least the end of May. So CDCC is no longer able to provide daily childcare to support children, along with all schools.

In this 3^rd wave of the crisis, crowded residential sites in poor areas are at a high risk. Many of the parents in Bang Na and surrounding communities that CDCC serves have lost jobs or have decreased income, as they are from designated high-risk areas. Some parents have been exposed to infected persons, and need to isolate themselves to prevent them from spreading the virus to their families’ members and acquaintances. So, they need help for others to provide water and food for survival where they are self-isolating during those 14 days. The Concordia Center and staff seek partners to help provide rice, food supplies and help to change the day care into a canteen to cook, serve, and co-ordinate with other partners to get rice and food supplies to reach out to the children, mothers, and their families.  We also give extra support for the children with online studies as they do not have computers or access to internet. In addition, CDCC’s team continues to be the hands and feet of Jesus to go and share boxes of fresh lunches with children and their families from the middle of April until the end of May. The CDCC center and our partners have provided so far about 6,320 boxes, and rice and food supplies care packages have been distributed to help children and elderly to about 2,039 families, in 10 communities that surround Concordia Day Care Center. These packages assist people who suffer with economic hardship during lock down, as well as those that are self-isolated to protect their family and society from Covid 19.

The CDCC’s center gives extra support of our time, resources and counseling to those families. We have witnessed how some families are contracting the virus, and some have passed away. For children, we provide online access and prepare fun games and activities to help them relax, as they are stressed, hopeless, and miss friends while locked down at home. Our staff also spends extra time in the evening, arranging to meet in a small group to pray and read the Word to guide and protect their safety.

Also, the Concordia Center team worked with partner The Forestias by MQDC (Magnolia Quality Development Corporation), to develop a project to generate income to help 50 families, who have lost their jobs and suffer with economic hardship due to the Covid 19 crisis. They help families to oversee seedling trees for 3 months, so they can earn 5,000 Baht/month, and then the trees are donated back to build a green community, in their own communities and elsewhere in Bangkok.

Thank you for your prayers and support to CDCC’s team as we continue to serve and build increased capacity of the team support families through counseling, for those who have hard times in life during this crisis.

We thank you each one of you for all resources, volunteers, and partnerships.  Your help allows us to have the opportunity to bring messages of Hope and Help and share His Love to many people during this pandemic.

Thank you note from  CDCC’s children in the program.

“ Hello, my name is Nawada,  I am on grade 3. Now I am on school break, I am so lonely. I don't have a friend to play and cannot go to visit my relatives in the countryside. Because of Covid-19 and my parents have to go to work.  So, I much only stay at home. If my parents do not go to work, they will not have any money to cover the family expenses. or support me to continue my education. Thank you for sponsors me and support teachers so they can help me with my education. The center also provides rice and food supplies as always. I will pray to God to protect your health and your family Love Nawada”

“Hello, my sponsor, my name is Petch, I am on grade 5.  I live with my grandmother, mothers and me 3 of us. As my mother lost job so came back to stay with my grandmother.  As Covid-19 crisis, I can't go out to help Grandma to pick up used items. As COVID 19 crisis, made my grandmother lose income. I thank God for the Concordia Center help my family to take care of the seeding trees that help to brought income during this hard time and I can help my grandmother as well, learn how to save the World to be green. Seeding Tree project is helping my family to earn 5000 baht per month for 3 months, making it enough to have income to raise and care for family. Also thank you for care packages with rice and many food supplies for help us to survival. During school break I study online to add more knowledge. I like math. I like the challenge of numbers. In my spare time, I love playing music because it is joyful and enjoyable for the listeners who like music. I like to play sports because I can exercise.  Thank you for you for support and all teachers for always taking care, advice, and support. Finally, I wish God blessing. I wish you happiness and your family too. From Petch”

Links:

• Empower children & families, equip through education & end cycle

• Empower children & their family through education (PDF)
  

At CWEFT, our mission is to empower children and families, equip through education, and end cycles of poverty. So we continue to seek & serve to help protect those children and their families.

2020 has been a year unlike any other—but in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, political unrest, and more challenges, we’ve been humbled to witness your unforgettable generosity. Honestly—we can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done to help countless communities through the year.

 What has CWEFT been able to achieve in this period?

 Concordia Day Care & Slum Community Center:

In the face of crisis with COVID-19 in March, 2020, and government policy to lock down Bangkok, it made CDCC not able to open Concordia Day care to serve children in need. But the Lord opened other doors to serve in a different way.  CDCC continued to be the hands and feet of Jesus, by providing food supplies and care packages to help families in need in Bang Na district. In July 17, we were able to re-open the center, and CDCC continued to serve at the daycare, and monthly visits to the community residents, sharing food supplies.

Between March 15 – December 24, CDCC helped to provide 16,850 meals and 2,135 food supplies and care packages such as masks, hand gel, towel, soap and water bottle etc., to children and their families within 11 communities surrounding Bang Na Center. Your gift, along with partners and individual donors. allowed CDCC to serve food to 9,360 people.

Maintained children and elderly home:

As many of parents of the children from CDCC lost their jobs, they had no income while Bangkok was in lock down. Some of the childrens’ families have so little income already, then they have to fight with the COVID – 19 crisis, in addition to seasonal rains (September – October). Heavy rain made a tough place to live even tougher, with structural damage to walls, roofs and flooring a common occurrence for many of the slum’s inhabitants. After surveying the challenging conditions, it was decided that CDCC would help provide construction support for 7 families with homes in really bad condition, especially grandparents with no income that look after their grandchildren. By providing safe living conditions, we protect the well-being of the children and their families in Bang Na’s slum. Thank you!

 CDCC celebrates Christmas with children, their families, and our partners.

We thank all donors that this year, we can still celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. The Christmas Outreach program is an annual event that serves by preparing Christmas packages for the children and families living at Bang Na site.

Many children isolated themselves at home, away from friends while we were in lock down. We thank God that the situation in December was still not that bad, which allowed CWEFT, Beginnings Foundation, KPIS International school, World Help, CWEFT-USA, plus CWEFT’s board members, staff, children and some of their families, to arrange and celebrate Christmas for 96 children and 73 parents in need. To rest their soul with the true meaning of Christmas. We also had a good time with games, gifts, and heard the story of Christmas by the Beginning residents. With this event, kids and family can enjoy extra foods as many people are struggling with an economic and COVID 19 crisis. Praise the Lord for all His good and our wonderful partners!

Volunteer  Services with CDCC

Concordian International School bring their teacher and students to serve the community with CDCC in December 2020. Their help allowed us to go out and share the gifts with others, and students can learn about people in need in big cities like Bangkok.

 Big thanks to KPIS students and staff for their hearts of service and love for others by participating in a Christmas Outreach program at CDCC. We would like to thank the KPIS students and staff for their kindness and generosity. Looking forward to working with you in 2021 as a service-learning team together.

Thank you note from CDCC kids and volunteer.

• One CDCC student lives with her grandmother. Her father got involved in drug trafficking and was in prison. Her mother sold sausage at a Big C department store and cared for 5 family members. Income was unstable, so it was hard for her to save up to fix the restroom. Earth and Amy needed construction supplies to fix a dividing shower wall in the restroom. The floor needed 4 segmented pillars and some wood to make the floor. With your gift, CDCC helped to fix up the two rooms so they can both be used, without worrying about safety with someone watching. Thank you for sponsoring us.

“My name is Chetsada. I am in grade 7. And Amy is in grade 3. Thank you so much for your love and care for me. This Christmas is special to me and my family as the Concordia School helped to fix my restroom for me and my family. Thank you so much for helping me and my sister to be safe, with no hole in the restroom and house risk.”  

• Mr. Sam Simcox taught English at the local daycare center and helped out wherever he could, while he lived in Bangkok with his parents. His affinity with the people he met through CWEFT has extended long past his departure from Thailand, as he continues to inquire about what he can do to help. 

“My time spent helping out with CWEFT made me appreciate what I have in my own life. Sometimes people who have nothing can also be the most welcoming and kind! Giving your time to those less fortunate can really help you see things from another perspective. We have the power to help and give back to these communities, and I think it is imperative to do so,” Sam insists.

Thank you to volunteers and students for their service learning activities, that help CWEFT to be able to help others!

 Please include us in your prayers and support, and you can also help us spread the word about our work and continue to grow our community of supporters like you. If you’re willing to share the story of our work with your network, we would be incredibly grateful!

CWEFT Thailand Website: www.cwefthailand.org, Email: cweftthailand@gmail.com

CWEFT- USA website: http://www.cweft-usa.org/, Email: David@cweft-usa.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cwefthailand

Links:

• Empower children & families, equip through education & end cycle

• Empower children & their family through education (PDF)
  

The CDCC’s purpose is to serve children, single mothers, widows, and families living in slum communities in Bangkok. The CDCC has served these at-risk groups for more than 30 years. This program assists the most vulnerable of all ages in the community to provide the education and training they need to break the cycle of poverty and achieve their full potential. Programming includes day care services, Saturday classes & tutoring, field trips, special events, care for the elderly, and much more.

With COVID-19 sweeping across the globe and threatening lives and livelihoods, many people found themselves struggling financially with unemployment, decreased income, and lack of food and shelter. Many children found themselves more isolated and less linked to their previous support networks.

In Thailand, the government implemented a nationwide State of Emergency early on. A direct result was that the CDCC was no longer able to provide daily child care and in-person support for children, as all schools and child care facilities were ordered to close. With Thailand in lockdown because of the virus, parents living in poverty simply had no way to feed their children. Many were left with no job, no income, and no savings. Their lives were completely changed and upended.

While the lockdown forced everyone to change how they did things, it did not, however, mean that the CDCC as a program came to a close. On the contrary- our  mission remained the same. We did need to adjust HOW we served the community, but we did continue to serve the community throughout the crisis. The large room normally used for programming and activities for the day care was quickly converted into a large store room for the in-kind donations of food and daily household supplies that we received from donors near and far. The CDCC kitchen became a canteen, with staff cooking and preparing thousands of boxed meals. 

Instead of providing daily care for children and families in need, we shifted to assembling thousands meals and care packages which were distributed on a daily basis. Meals were distributed on a daily basis and care packages were distributed weekly to families and children. Care packages included household essentials as well as basic educational supplies to help children keep up with schooling despite being home during the lockdown.

In addition, each of the children and their family members were given cloth face masks along with training in the proper health and hygiene practices to keep them healthy and safe.

Accomplishments

During the COVID-19 crisis, the CDCC and CWEFT leadership team went above and beyond for days and weeks at a time. They kept the children and families a priority ensuring that the children remained safe and well fed. To accomplish this, staff conducted regular home visits to the children and their families in the slum community.

In total CWEFT was able to distribute 8,022 boxed lunches in just three months to at-risk children and families in 11 different slum communities where current and former children from the day care live. Just because children no longer attend the CDCC programming does not mean we stop caring and keeping touch. Thanks to this continued care and support for families we currently and have formerly served, we were able to quickly identify communities in need.

We also distributed 1,037 care packages to children, families, and their neighbors in the slums. These packages included items like rice, medicine, masks, soap, and basic education supplies. CDCC staff often delivered these packages directly to children’s homes as they were unable to safely come to pick them up. These home visits allowed staff to keep in regular contact and help as needed with any issues as they came up.

As lockdown measures have eased in the last couple months, we are pleased to share that the day care center is now open under “new normal” protocols. We have installed additional sinks for children and staff to easily wash their hands regularly, as well as redesigning the physical space to allow for required distancing.

As of today, it has been more than 100 days since Thailand has reported a locally transmitted case of COVID-19. Throughout the entire crisis, there was not a single case among any of the slum communities were serve. This is due in large part to the health & hygiene training and support we were able to provide, as well as regular meals and care packages. This ensured that children and families were able to safely stay at home and not suffer or need to leave the community to seek support.

None of this would have been possible without the amazing outpouring of support we received from donors like you. We simply could not have done any of this without you- thank you! Your prayers and generosity were the driving force behind all that we were able to accomplish in 3 long months of lockdown. 

Below are a few testimonies from just a few of the individuals served by this outreach:

“I usually take care of my grandson Putter because his mother and father are often out of work or looking for work. They took Putter and went to stay in another province. Because of the lockdown they are unable to come back, so I am on my own. I picked up a bag of rice and a boxed meal to eat and help me keep going. I had run out of food, and the little work I used to do I can’t do anymore because of Covid. Now I have food to last me a while longer- I thank the Lord in all circumstances.” -- elderly resident

“My son attends the CDCC. Today I received aid from the day care. I want to thank everyone who donated things to help sustain my life during this Covid crisis. I am struggling because I can no longer work. I was laid off because all of the malls closed. So I am at home taking care of my children. My husband is the only one work, and it just isn’t enough. So the CDCC stepped in to help us. Thank you so much.” -- parent of current CDCC student

“Thank you so much for the non-perishable food and essentials that you donated to help us in the slum community. We have been negatively affected by the Covid crisis because there is less work. Thank you so much to every person and every organization that has donated to help. It is so helpful for us.” -- grandmother of current family with two children in the CDCC program

“Thank you so much for the care package for my family. Right now because of Covid, I don’t know if I will have work or not from one day to another. I am making much less money, and it! just seems like everything has gone downhill. Thank you for your help!” -- community resident

“I am so happy and thankful! Because of your donation, I have food to eat. Thank you so much!” -- community resident

“I am the leader of the neighborhood association for the slum community. It is a very crowded community that is not officially recognized by the city district. We have been negatively affected in many ways, from PM 2.5 pollution to Covid-19. The community struggles financially as it is, and now with Covid and not being able to work or go out or leave the city because of lockdowns, it has gotten even worse. We don’t qualify for government assistance since we are not officially recognized, so it has only been the CDCC that has provided food, masks, and hand sanitizer gel to our children, elderly, and everyone else in the community. If we had to survive on our own I don’t know if we could make it. We are so thankful for the help and support from the CDCC.” -- leader, neighborhood association

Links:

• Website
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