Feed 1275 slum dwellers for a year in Thailand

This month we were alerted to the plight of a mother who was working as a waitress at a local cafe. The owner saw that the worker was always tired and in constant distress, so he took her aside to fid out what the problem was and how he could help. The worker disclosed that she was caring for her 12 year old niece who had hydrocephalus (water on the brain). She required specialised care 24/7, pampers and liquified food. Her father was recently diagnosed with cancer and could no longer work, which resulted in this lady being the only bread winner for the household of 6 people. In order to purchase pampers, food and other specialised needs for the little girl, the worker had resorted to taking out a loan with the local loan sharks. This meant that small amounts of money had to be paid back with high rates of interest. She was in a terrible cycle of never being able to make ends meet and getting further into debt. 

The owner of the cafe paid the loan sharks off and is currently taking the amount he paid back to the loan sharks off her salary each week, in small amounts that are affordable to her. The problem remained as to how she was going to purchase the necessities for this little girl, so the cafe owner called Hand to Hand Foundation. After an assessment of the girls needs, she is now being supplied with the necessary items every month including pampers, food, milk, anema kits, toiletries and other essentials. The provision of these essential items has meant that the family can focus on the important task of supporting each other and caring for one another.

Thank you so much for your support which has broken this cycle to of debt, fear and lack. 

Links:

• Hand to Hand Foundation

All over the world countires are struggling with the increased price of good and services and basic food items. For many Thai people a small increase in all of staple foods such as rice and oil etc. has caused many families to resort to eating 2 meals a day. This is also compounded by the huge increase in fuel  which means many students struggle to attend school. At all times of the day, people can be found gleaning edible weeds that can be used in cooking to fill hungry tummies.

The Hand to Hand Foundation feeds 350 families every week with 5kg of rice and cooked meals.This is not enough to sustain a family for a week but it helps significantly. We currently pack and distribute 1.75 ton of rice every week at a cost of 53 000 baht or $1 670 USD which is only just sustainale on our budget.

For the past 2 years families have been coming to us every friday to recieve their food. In August we will begin to vist each family in the slums where they live. This enables us to build more relationships and also identify any other needs such as poor shelter, ilness or even abusive situations.

In October 10 people from Hand to hand will each ride 800km to raise money to buy rice. Eight out of the 10 people are families we support each week who said; 'I have no money, but I have time. I can ride!'. We are so excited that these people we help, can have an opportunity to give back in a way that is possible for them. Of course they did not have bikes, so we found sone 2nd hand ones to use. We are not the fastest riders but we train 5 days a week, building communtiy, raising self esteem, improving mental health and hopefuly raising lots of money for rice too! If you would like to support our ride we would be very thankful! Please clikc on the link for more information regading the ride!

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/riding-for-rice/