By Jenn Bell | Program Fellow, GlobalGiving
Each summer Thailand experiences flooding brought on by seasonal monsoons. In the summer of 2011 those floods became particularly damaging as the already heavy rainfall collided with tropical storm Nock-ten to create one of Thailand’s worst cases of flooding in terms of the amount of water and number of people affected.
GlobalGiving provides support in the wake of the 2011 flooding through the Thailand Flood Relief Fund, which has enabled a number of local nonprofits to address the immediate needs of survivors and begin the process of rebuilding. GlobalGiving donors like you have already contributed to several projects such as Rebuild Flooded Burma Refugee Camp Recovery Centre put on by the DARE Network which helped to get their addiction treatment centres back up and running as well as A Global Friendship’s Help Bring Our Thai Artisans to Safety which was able to aid 12 artisan families in reopening their businesses.
Though all but one of the projects receiving support from GlobalGiving’s Thailand Flood Relief Fund have reached their funding goals and/or completed their projects, flooding continues to affect Thailand’s climate each year. GlobalGiving also continues to support those relief efforts. As the summer months press on, Thailand enters yet another season of monsoons that will continue to cause setbacks for residents, businesses and infrastructure.
Foundation for Life addresses these year to year challenges through one of the Thailand Flood Relief Fund’s ongoing projects. Their Blanket Them with Love project has evolved since 2011 from its original objective of supplying emergency packs. The project now provides clothing and blankets for those in Thailand affected by the cold weather that follows the monsoon season. Well into 2015, the Blanket Them with Love project still serves over 1,500 families in preparation for cold weather and 10 families in repairs to homes damaged back in 2011.
As relief efforts in Thailand picked up after the 2011 monsoon season, the Foundation for Life team realized they could fill a gap in relief efforts by providing knitted items of clothing and blankets to families facing cold weather. With over $30,000 in donations since its inception, the Blanket Them with Love project has learned to identify local needs and evolve to support those demands, building a global network of donors and knitters in the process. Most recently, the Blanket Them With Love Project has begun efforts to teach knitting classes using locally sourced materials. Their current knitters, near and far, hope to increase the production of knitwear and tap into a larger network of supporters for Foundation for Life through knitting instruction.
Foundation for Life is just $9,000 away from their overall fundraising goal of $40,000! Your support has been essential in helping their families recover from the 2011 floods, and can continue to provide assistance today! Consider making a donation to the Thailand Flood Relief Fund or the Blanket Them with Love Project!
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By Dolly Ngo | Program Assistant
By Sylvia Lorenzini | Program Team Intern
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