EMPOWERING THE POOR WITH EDUCATION AND SKILLS

The COVID 19 has left thousands of people in Pattaya without employment as the city relies heavily on tourists who cannot come. This has resulted in many becoming homeless relying on food given out by the several food banks set up in the city.

The Thai government has also  been very strict about social distancing rules and it is compulsory to wear a mask whilst out of your house. Without a mask you cannot join the food line and without money you cannot buy a mask. In addition to this masks were scarce and very expensive. So Hand to Hand Foundation began to train the unemployed to make fabric masks and pay them for each competently completed one. In this way we could make masks available as well as providing job opportunities. Each participant was given 2 days of training after which they could continue to sew masks at their house which enabled them to also look after their family.  The masks are hand sewn and all materials and training are provided by the foundation for free. The participants are paid for the labour to make each mask. 

So far the participants have made over 3000 masks which have all been given out for free to people in the slums, in the food lines and at the hospital. The masks are fully washable and we also distribute soap so that the recipients can keep them clean and free of germs.

The masks are made in a range of sizes and colours and bring safety, joy and employment. We have also been distributing them throughout Thailand to orphanages, care homes other needy places.

We would like to continue this project however with each fabric mask costing $1.50 (materials, labour and soap inclusive) the cost is $1500.00 for 1000 masks. The need for the masks keeps growing as does the need for employment. Not only does thisd progect provide an income to feed families it is alos giving the participants self esteem as they take great pride in their work.

Thank you so much for all of your support which makes life changing programs such as this continue.

Links:

• Hand to Hand Foundation job opportunities for the poor

Over the past few months many people have lost their jobs due to the down turn in the economy here in Pattaya, Thailand. Typically these people were in lower paid jobs as they lack the education to fill more qualified positions. The down turn has also affected people who collect of plastic bottles and paper out of garbage cans to resell as there are less tourists and people throwing these things away.

Recently we have been growing plants to help provide both food and income. Our big focus was upon growing the yellow merigolds which is the signature flower of the past King Rama IX so they can be sold. The plants are sold at local markets and in the month of February they were used to as a part of a service learning project for 96 students( aged 11-13 years old) from an International School in Bangkok. The students and teachers purchased 1000 plants which they then planted in 4 different locations, the government old people's home, anti human trafficking rescue center, child protection center and the government boys home. 

The project incoroporated service learning, environmental studies, cultural studies, blessing these locations with beauty whilst also providing employment for our team. The students were taught about how to plant the flowers and they did all the work over 2 days.

We are looking forward to doing more of this in the future. If you have a team that would like to come you can be part of this project too.

We have also continued train people in cooking school and furniture making.

Thank you so much for all your support. Every donation makes a big difference. It is more than just providing employment to earn finances. The participants in our program grow in love and self esteem which causes a postivie effect in their live and their families too!