Thailand

Focusing on Thailand...

Facts about Thailand:

Capital: Bangkok

King: Bhumibol Adulyadej

Population: 66.79 milion (2012)

Bangkok's Thai nameKrung Thep Maha Nakhon

Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the center of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest.

Thailand is a monarchy headed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX and governed by a military junta that took power in May 2014. The king is the ninth of the House of Chakri, and has reigned since 1946 as the world's longest-serving current head of state and the country's longest-reigning monarch. The King of Thailand's titles include Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, Adherent of Buddhism, and Upholder of religions. Although a constitutional system was established in 1932, the monarchy and military have

continued to intervene periodically in politics.

With a total area of approximately 513,000 km² (198,000 sq mi), Thailand is the world's 51st-largest country. It is the 21st-most-populous country in the world, with around 65 million people. The capital and largest city isBangkok, which is Thailand's political, commercial, industrial, and cultural hub. About 75–95% of the population is ethnically Tai, which includes four major regional groups: Central Thai (Khon Pak Klang): 30%;Northeastern

Thai (Khon [Lao] Isan): 22%, Northern Thai (Khon Lanna): 9%; and Southern Thai (Khon Tai): 7%. Thai Chinese, those of significant Chinese heritage, are 14% of the population, while Thais with partial Chinese ancestry comprise up to 40% of the population. Thai Malays represent 3% of the population, with the remainder consisting of Mons, Khmers and various "hill tribes". The country's official language is Thai and the primary religion is Buddhism, which is practised by around 95% of the population.

Thailand experienced rapid economic growth between 1985 and 1996, becoming a newly industrialized country and a major exporter. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy. Among the ten ASEAN countries, Thailand ranked second in the best quality of life in ASEAN. and the country's HDI had been rated as 'high'. Its large population and growing economic influence have made it a middle power in the region and around the world.

Read more about Thailand at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand

ADRA Thailand

ADRA Thailand was established in the early 1980s and began programs mainly in assisting refugees from Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar with the health care and basic human needs. As the program expanded ADRA began to include poor rural Thai people outside the refugee camps and development projects began alongside relief assistance projects.

ADRA Thailand is in the city of Chiang Mai

ADRA is a global humanitarian organization of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, following Christ’s example of being a voice for, serving, and partnering with those in need regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, political or religious affiliation.

ADRA serves people without regard to their ethnic, political or religious association. It simply helps people in need especially those most vulnerable such as women, children and the elderly.

OUR MISSION

ADRA works with people in poverty and    distress to create just and positive change through empowering partnerships and        responsible action.

HISTORY

ADRA Thailand was established in the early 1980’s. Initially established with a refugee focus in health care and basic human needs. Operations rapidly expanded to include development partnerships with vulnerable Thai communities.

AREAS OF CONCERN

ADRA Thailand’s areas of concern are the vulnerable and marginalized population groups within Thailand. These include:

• Remote rural communities
• Hill tribe ethnic minority communities
• Children at risk of exploitation and trafficking
• Refugees and migrant workers
• Those who are affected by disasters

 Some projects:

Karen Burmese Refugee Education Project

Eden Valley School or Mae La Camp High School No.3 is located in the largest refugee camp in Tha Song Yang District, Tak province. The school operates dorm facilities for students mostly orphans.

The main objectives of Eden Valley: To provide a high standard of education for Karen refugees so that can be recognized by higher tertiary institutions.

• To educate Karen young people by providing opportunities to make future contributions to their camp communities, equipping them to hold responsible roles as good citizens in the camp or if they can be returned to their home country in the future.
• To improve background education, so that those not going for resettlement are able to be trained to take over the work of those skilled workers, who have left.

The school offers basic education in the usual primary and secondary school subjects such as Thai language, Drug and Sex Education and Vocational classes.

Thai Language: The students are taught Thai Language for them to be able to talk to their Thai neighbours that would lead to less misunderstanding in the future. The subject is a compulsory subject from year 1 to 10. Classes in Thai culture are also taught so that the refugees understand life in their host country.

Drug and Sex Education: The school provides Health Education classes emphasising on prevention of drug addiction and related problems. Students are trained to recognize diseases causing health problems such as typhoid, dengue fever and malaria. Sex education is also taught in health classes to increase awareness of the dangers of HIV/AIDS and allow students to make informed and responsible life choices. Health classes operate at all levels of the school.

Vocational Classes: Introductions to computing classes are offered to senior students with a view to understand techniques needed for tertiary education, should the opportunity arise.

Currently there are 44 dedicated teachers and one part-time teacher teaching at the school. The school administrator, Helen has been with the school for over twenty years. She has inspired many young refugees to go back and teach at the school once they graduated from year 12. The school has a system under which experienced teachers mentor the newly recruited teachers and the system worked quite well.

Eden Valley School’s program has been assessed as highly successful within the constraints of camp conditions, based on the number of qualified high school graduates that support camp operations and who have been successful in starting college and university education when they resettled to third countries.

Keep Girls Safe:

ADRA Thailand’s Keep Girls Safe (KGS) project works in collaboration with government agencies, local non-government organizations and community groups to raise awareness and reduce the vulnerability of women and girls to sexual exploitation and human trafficking. The project provides education opportunities, a shelter for high risk girls, plus youth clubs and community activities which provide awareness and knowledge raising of human trafficking issues.

Thailand suffers from a drastic difference in the standard of living between rural and developed areas of the country. Especially in the northern region of the country many live well below the poverty line with an alarmingly low standard of living. The average per capita income in Thailand is $3,251(USD) per year but in Chiang Rai province, ADRA Thailand has found some annual incomes to be as low as $500(USD).

Thailand is a source, transit route and destination for trafficked persons*. Here, trafficking is done for both commercial sex exploitation and cheap labor. Families in the rural regions already trapped in a cycle of poverty and debt are often the targets of traffickers. Families survive usually as subsistence farmers or day laborers with few work opportunities. Many of the families along the border do not have birth certificates or family documents, making going to school impossibility. Drug and alcohol abuse also contribute to debt. All these factors make these families targets for recruiters who focus on the poor, rural areas of Chiang Rai.

KGS is part of ADRA Thailand's Human Trafficking Vulnerability Reduction Program. The program includes Keep Girls Safe and the Trafficking Risk Reduction project (TRR - see more under the Programs Menu of this website). Community based traffic prevention activities are conducted by both TRR and KGS staff members. These activities include peer education training, child rights and trafficking awareness raising at target schools, networking with partner organizations, and work with local authorities to improve systems and policies.

The history of the KGS project goes back to 2004. The project has two parts; a shelter for 30 high risk girls and education scholarships for 100 girls in the Education Assistance Program. The girls in the shelter have come from situations of abuse, orphaned or abandoned or have been rescued from trafficking situations. This puts them at “High Risk”. ADRA Thailand has trained caregivers on staff to meet the physiological needs these girls face. The ADRA shelter focuses solely on these high risk cases. Additionally, ADRA plans to reach 2,500 students with anti-trafficking awareness training through Girls’ Clubs and other community youth activities.

ADRA Thailand needs to do more to address the issues of trafficking in Thailand. Your support can help us do more.

 Read more about ADRA Thailand at http://www.adrathailand.org/index.php