Empower, educate, and protect young Thai mothers

A few months ago we started caring for a baby girl that we nicknamed Grace. She was born to a 14-year-old mother, but was abandoned at the hospital with a note on the birth certificate that said she was a donation to the hospital. A brain scan found that she might have a developmental birth defect called Schizencephaly. In addition, a doctor told us she may have complete hearing loss and/or blindness. We know she can hear because she loves music and listens to us read to her every day, but we aren't sure how her vision is yet. We met with a major adoption agency that is legally authorized by the Thai government to facilitate international adoptions and they added her to their special needs program. The prospect of finding a family is not good, but they reaffirmed their commitment to help find one while we continue to provide her with care. We need to see a specialist to get a more specific diagnosis and treatment plan, but Bangkok is currently on lockdown with the recent Covid outbreak. We hope to get her to see a specialist there soon. In addition, we are applying for a royal medical grant that would provide Grace with free top of the line medical care. We don’t know all of her physical challenges yet, but we are committed to doing everything we can to give her the highest quality of life we possibly can because EVERY life matters. Thank you for helping us support infants like Grace!

Another important piece of The Light Center project is our emergency foster care program. We do this in partnership with Thailand's Department of Social Development & Welfare to ensure that the child is protected and that his or her case follows the legal guidlines of our local laws. If an infant is removed from a home due to abuse or immediate danger, we can provide foster care until it is deemed safe to return to that home or the government places them with a safe family member.

Recently a 14 year old girl gave birth to a baby girl and the family wasn't able to raise the child. We nicknamed her Grace. Normally a baby in this situation would be taken to an orphanage several provinces away. Instead, the government placed Grace in our care and we can give her the loving home she needs until the government matches her with an adoptive family. This helps reduce the number of children in institutional care and helps the child develop the attachments they need. It's a win-win for the child and our local government. Thanks to your support, we have the resources needed to continue offering this service to the Southeast region of Isaan so that children can growup in safe and loving families.