Initial First Aid
For orphans who have been placed on our database but have not found a sponsor, we are paying their living expenses and school costs. Many of the orphans were able to find shelter with surviving relatives, grandparents, aunts, uncles and adult siblings. But since most of them also lost just about everything, they need financial aid in order to take care of the children.

Sponsorships for Orphans
All orphans are eligible for a spot in an orphanage. This is taken care of by the local and national governments. We would like to spare the children this additional trauma of being separated from surviving relatives and leaving the area that they grew up in and their friends..
An amount of only 60 Euros can cover living expenses and school costs. This even includes the annual new school uniforms and books. The child can stay in its familiar surroundings and can grow up amongst family members. All children are visited on a regular basis and being checked on to see if they are being used as source of income.

Special Aid
In cases of hardship, children receive special care - be it medical or psychological. In the potential case of bad treatment from foster parents, the children are removed and attempts are made to find a replacement foster home for them.
We are currently working on a walking aid for a handicapped orphaned boy. Dijapong survived the wave together with his sister, Janjira, but lost his mother and his father left several years ago. His sister lives with the grandmother while little Dijapong is living with his aunt. The boy is very shy and hardly speaks a word when he meets strangers. But once he acquires trust, he becomes very attached. His biggest wish is to learn to walk!
An appointment with an orthopaedist in Phuket has been fixed already and will decide if a walking aid can be provided which will enable Dijapong to fulfil his wish and walk.

Achieved So Far:
During our second visit in order to produce an orphan database at Ban Bang Muang School, we paid school money and living expenses for 20 orphans for the first month. Every child which was not covered under a sponsorship for the following month was taken care of from general project funds. This will continue for any subsequent and necessary months. Thanks to the intensive care and efforts of our sponsors, we hardly have to touch any money out of the general project funds

A heartfelt Thank You! to all of our sponsors.

We have now arranged sponsorships for approximately 50 orphans. One problem is still the bank connection. The banking infrastructure in Thailand is not as well developed as Europe.
Establishing accounts is slowed down by red tape. They are hampered by distance and location and are tied to appointments during which we are in Baan Nam Kem. Usually we have many things to do and often papers are missing and prospective account holders are not available in time to set up the accounts.
An additional problem was that the Thai banks were asking fees for incoming funds. After intervention with the management of the bank in Bangkok, the fees were eliminated so that now on the Thai side 100% of the incoming funds are credited to the recipients. Now we are finding out that some European banks are charging horrendous fees for monthly transfers and only want to work free on a one-time basis for aid. It would certainly help to pressurise the banks into waivering fees as it would not be good publicity for them if it became known that they charges fees for transfers to orphans. Who still has problems can, if the transfer is clearly marked, move the funds free of charge through our account in Essen. But only if there is no other solution - our hands are full even without additional administration and bureaucracy.