Empower, educate, and protect young Thai mothers

A young mother at TLC named Jane (fake name) recently gave birth to a baby boy named Joe (fake name) 6 weeks early. He was only 3lbs, 4oz at birth and was initially fighting for his life in the NICU. At the time, Jane had already made the hard but brave decision to give her son up for adoption, but after caring for him and a commitment of support from family, she changed her mind! Joe was released from the hospital after nearly two months and went home to be raised by his mother and grandmother. We celebrate Jane and her decision to raise her son and will continue walking with this family.

A few years ago we began dreaming about opening a new home of The Light Center in Northern Thailand. It's been slow to come to fruition, but we are almost ready to open our doors. This week we had our first inspection by the regional orphanage at our future location. They have 41 cases that they need help with and were thrilled that we could start partnering with them soon. It’s been a long, slow journey planning this over the last few years, but we are not too many steps away from opening. Thank you to everyone who has donated to make this happen!

In August, violence along the Thailand-Cambodia border escalated rapidly, directly impacting the communities we serve. Rockets struck civilian areas, and more than 40,000 people were forced to evacuate. Several of our partner hospitals found themselves in the conflict zone with one rocket actually hitting a hospital, and social workers and nurses we regularly collaborate with had to flee and evacuate patients as rockets landed dangerously close. Some of the wounded were brought to one of these hospitals just days before it was evacuated.

In response, The Light Center quickly mobilized to deliver food, clean water, and essential supplies to displaced families. Our team focused especially on young mothers and their babies, many of whom had no access to milk or baby formula because they had evacuated so quickly. The local government did a wonderful job providing food and supplies, but infant formula was notably absent from many of the care packages so we were able to help partner with them to fill the gap. We are able to fulfill all requests for assistance through our partners and thanks to your help! The ceasefire has held since then, but tensions remain high. We hope for lasting peace as we walk alongside families in this time of need.