After learning of a kind donation from the dutch DJ, Tiesto, from his big event at the Bali Hai Pier in March, I made arrangements with my good friends Khun Noi and Anon from Kates project to help me go out and spend it.  He donated a total of 15,280 baht and wanted it to go to one of my projects, Ban Rak Puen (ladies AIDS home).

We went on Friday, 9th April, to the big warehouse beside Big C on North Pattaya, and set to work.  We bought the ladies lots of much needed items for their home, such as a double gas ring to cook on, a large gas bottle and lots of new kitchen items like plates, cutlery, a wok, cooking utensils and much, much more.  We also bought replacement household items.  Then it was onto a shop on Pattaya Klang and we bought bath and hand towels, and also new facecloths.

When we arrived up to Ban Rak Puen later that morning in Khun Noi’s pick up, Khun Meow and another lady met us, and as you can imagine, they where really delighted with everything.

So it just leaves me to say a really big heart filled thanks to the DJ, Tiesto, for his donation from all the ladies at the AIDS home and the Welfare team.  Also to Khun Noi and Anon for all their help and the use of their pick up, as my wee Honda Jazz definately would not have been able to cope with all the items we bought.

Alana Clarke

Mary Pierce has been quietly and tirelessly working away helping out where she can at the Fountain of Life Women’s Centre and the Fountain of Life Children’s Centre.  Today Mary organised an opportunity for other PILC women to see and experience first hand what goes on in the Women’s Centre.  The opportunity was gratefully received by around 15 women, keen to see and hear about the Centre.

Sister Supaporn presented a talk, complete with overheads, telling us all about the centre and the women, and some individual stories which were quite heart wrenching.  The Centre caters to some 2000 women at any given time, some of them come and go, 48% of whom have primary school education or less.  The women are unemployed, or working in low paid jobs, usually in the bars or restaurants that engulf the Pattaya area.

These women are keen to improve their situation with the help of Sister Supaporn and the Good Shepherd Sisters, who help marginalised women, children and families all over the world.  The women who come to the Centre are given a sense of worth and given opportunities for personal development and taught skills such as Thai, English, German, Sewing, Hairdressing and Massage, to name but a few.

We lucky ladies were then treated to a lovely relaxing foot massage (we had to stop half way through for a five minute prayer, though).  The ladies always need the practice and anyone can drop in for a foot or Thai massage for around 100 baht.  The best time to go is in the morning, between 9:30 and 12:00.  The Women’s Centre is located in Soi 25, Naklua Road (just up the side of the Aiyura Palace Hotel).

A big thank you goes to Mary Pierce for organising a most fun and informative day, and Sister Supaporn for her warm welcome and her enlightening presentation.

If you would like any more information on the Fountain of Life Women’s Centre, please contact Mary Pierce.

Openaid was started in Melbourne, Australia, in 2002 by Executive Director Justin Whitecross.  The main goal of Openaid is to create responses to both reduce the poverty and exploitation of girls from poor families, and to lessen the long term damage to trafficked and abused girls.

In order to achieve this goal, many approaches are used.  Young girls, beginning at about age 12, are often taken out of school and required to help support their families by participating in the sex trade industry.  Openaid would like to find ways to help the families and the young girls so they will not have to leave school nor be exposed to the sex trade industry.  A couple of Australian females are currently assisting Openaid.  It is interesting to hear their perspective regarding the rural villages and this particular situation.

“Our stay in a rural Thai village has taught us a great deal.  I can now understand the full picture of why there is such a large scale problem here in Thailand.  The sex trade here in Thailand, for many girls, is the only option to financially support their families.  I have learnt that the pressure on young girls is extreme, and most of the time the girls are left with little or no choice but to journey south, down to Pattaya.  In the village we are staying in, all of the girls have been touched by Pattaya in one way or another.  Pattaya is the reality.  Research in Thailand has shown that children in prostitution make up 40% of prostitutes in Thailand.  This figure is alarming.  This figure can be completed with the fact that there are more sexual institutions than schools in Thailand, which enforces that there is little or no choice for many of the girls in villages.”

Many discussions unfold over our dinners; why are the girls where they are, why is there little choice, why this and why that.  The answers have come from years of learning for the Openaid team.  Hours and hours have been spent side by side with many village people.  Trust has been built over many years.  This trust has enabled Openaid to work alongside individual children, their families and the greater communities in order to support and care for those in need.

An interesting discussion took place surrounding the difference between vulnerability and poverty.  What makes a girl vulnerable to sexual exploitation?  Why is this different to poverty?  Some of these girls are not necessarily living in a state of poverty.  Poverty can be defined as not having the means to afford basic human needs such as clean water, nutrition, health care, clothing and shelter.  For many of these girls these factors are not entirely what is looked at.  What matters for them is the degree of pressure put upon them to provide for the family, whether or not a man in their village wants to have sex with them and how much importance is placed on education.  Unfortunately for many of these girls, they are incredibly susceptible to abuse.

Openaid tries to provide education regarding social issues to the young girls through programs and dialogue in their schools.  They also try to provide the schools and local community with a means of earning money so they can help the families which in turn will allow the girls to stay in school and keep them out of prostitution.  Last year, the PILC donated money to Openaid so they could build a mushroom farm for the Baan Phoo Sai School in Chonburi.  The income earned from this farm goes to support three young girls who are from extremely poor families.  Supattra, Supaphorn and Sukson, all 12 years old are the recipients of this aid.

You cannot hope to keep the girls in school unless you find a way to help the families overcome their poverty.  Thus it is beneficial to provide them with a means to supplement their income.  This is often done through mushroom farms, fish farms, raising of ducks, chickens, goats, etc.  Openaid determines the specific needs of an area, and then tries to help the villagers help themselves to overcome their poverty.

Thanks to the generosity of a donation from our Vice-President, Connie Kwok, and her husband Robert, the PILC is now sponsoring a Mushroom Farm project through Openaid.

Anyone wishing more information about Openaid should go to www.openaid.org.au.  Don’t forget to click on the ‘blog’ heading to read more about the day to day work of Openaid.  You can also make direct donations to Openaid if you choose to do so.  Information is provided on their website for this purpose.

The entire three floor building is buzzing with activity when I arrive; women learning all about hairdressing, sewing, massage, computer skills, English, German, Thai; new girls who are there to register; volunteers in the kitchen preparing lunch.  I am met by Mary Pierce, who has been kind enough to help a newcomer like me out (four months in Pattaya doesn’t exactly qualify me as an expert on NGO’s here).

As we look for Sister Supaporn, who runs the Fountain of Life Women’s Center, I am amazed how popular these classes must be – almost every room we pass seems full until the last chair.  Also, I am struck by the concentration these women put in to the learning process, worlds apart from the unruly high school class I once used to sub at.  This is serious business, I can tell – as well as a lot of fun.

When we finally find Sister Supaporn it turns out she has a problem with the roof and guttering that needs fixing and the contractor has just arrived.  Mary rapidly suggests that we have a foot massage in the meantime.

“The women need practice and the Center is happy for the donation we give.  They ask for fifty baht for half and hour of massage, I usually give them a hundred”, says Mary, and within minutes we are comfortably seated getting our feet pampered with oil and tiger balm and surrounded by the friendly curious faces of the twenty or so women taking part in the class.  “Anyone can come here for massage, or a haircut”, continues Mary, “and if you need some piece of clothing fixed, you can get that done here too.  You don’t have to call or make an appointment or anything, you can just come.”

“One person is of more value than the whole world”, says Sister Supaporn, quoting St. Mary Euphrasia, who in 1835 founded the Sisters of Charity of the Good Shepard, today mostly known as The Good Shepard Sisters.  “She also said:  Don’t let the poor come to you, go to them.  And, the first thing one should ask is:  Have you eaten?  It is as simple as that.”

I get the point: essentials first.  A philosophy I like.

We are sitting in the quiet of her office, the roof issue has been dealt with for the moment, and she explains, nicely but firmly, why she so often has turned down requests from reporters and television teams who want to come and visit the Center.  “My responsibility is to the women only.  I would like this to be like a second home to them.  I want them to feel safe, and not to be exploited here as well”, she says and underlines that many women prefer The Fountain of Life Center to the Social Welfare equivalent.  “We have a trust in their own will to bring about changes in their lives.”

The Sisters of The Good Shepard are devoted to helping marginalized people and today consist of around four thousand nuns who manage centers all over the world.  Only in Thailand there are centers located in Bangkok, Nongkhai, Phuket, Chiang Rai and Pattaya, all affiliated, but individually funded by different sponsors.  The Fountain of Life Women’s Center in Pattaya was founded in 1989 (and Sister Supaporn has worked here since 1997).  “We began by helping marginalized women”, she says, “and as we worked with them we saw the need to work with children as well.”

Today the Children’s Center and the Women’s Center in Pattaya are actually one and the same organisation, with one administration team and joint staff meetings, as well as training.  The only thing they do not share is the funding.  “People tend to be more prone to donate to children.  It doesn’t matter how often we point out that these women also have children, whose lives are affected by how their mothers live – helping these women is helping the children too – most people won’t see it this way.”

Interestingly enough, the Center’s main sponsor is the Thai Children’s trust (former Pattaya Orphanage Fund) – so someone must have understood the logic of this.

The Center works on a drop-in basis with classes in the mornings and in the afternoons.  In one single day there will be between three and four hundred women visiting.  During 2009, 2282 individuals registered at the Center, of which 48% had Primary School education or lower.

The length of each course varies depending on the subject, level and prior skills of the participant.  On completing the curriculum everyone will receive a certificate, which will enable them to get a job.  “We used to not do this, but people in town were selling certificates to women who had been to our classes for 3000-4000 baht, so we changed our view on this”, says the Sister and adds that most who attend massage, computer and hair dressing classes do find jobs after receiving their certificates.  “And even if someone is not a great learner and does not show much interest, she is always welcome to hang around”, she continues, pointing out that it is better if they are at the Center than doing something more destructive elsewhere.

“Everyone can come here for as long as they want, if only just to talk and meet people.  Many of them live in extremely small rooms, which they share with two or three others – often there will barely be floor enough for all of them to sleep side by side – so they come here to get some space.”

Suddenly a Thai voice echoes through the loudspeakers.  The time is 11:15 am, and, like every day at this hour, it is time for prayer.  Sister Supaporn turns off the light, and everyone in the house does the same.  “We do this to raise awareness of global warming and the immense amounts of energy being used”, she explains.

Silence settles throughout the building.  Prayer time consists of five minutes of Buddhist “expelling of compassion”, followed by a five minute Bible reading in Thai.  “We work with interfaith”, says the Sister once the lights are on again.  “The women are Buddhist, we are Catholic, but we embrace Buddhism, just as Buddhism is open to other religions.  In the end we all believe in the same creation, the same God.”

Outside the office women scurry toward the kitchen for the 20 baht lunch.  Most of them, I am told, have come here from the poorest areas of Thailand in the North and North East, hoping to improve their economic situation and be able to support their families back home.  Sadly, reality seldom turns out this way, and many find themselves stuck in a dire situation, without money and too ashamed to go home.

The Fountain of Life believes that empowerment and awareness is essential for these women, if they are to change their present situation.  They therefore invite speakers from Thai authorities, such as The Foreign Ministry, Immigration and the Thai legal system, to talk about legal rights and how to deal with different aspects of the system.  Also, they ask representatives from foreign embassies to come and inform the women about what can happen and how it might become if they decide to follow their farang partner to his country.  Moreover, the Fountain of Life organises sex education where doctors are invited to speak about everything from HIV and venereal disease, to self esteem and their rights as women.  Each week there is a talk on pro-life which includes contraception and prevention of pregnancy, and every day there are several recreational activities, such as, for example, painting, exercise groups and classes in self-defense (if one can call this recreational).

Another important aspect is that of official or unofficial counselling.  Everyone is offered to speak to a counsellor, but often people like to be more spontaneous.  “That is why we train all our staff in counselling”, Sister Supaporn says.  ”It is more likely that it well be the cook who at the end of the day will be given the most confidence.”

So how would Sister Supaporn like to summarize the work being done at the Center?  “All in all we have a very holistic approach to the work we do”, she says.  “It is our firm belief that each and every woman inherently possesses energy, power and awareness.  Our task is to help them develop these skills.”

I leave the Center thinking that in the end it all amounts to one big gigantic problem of inequality; between countries, social classes and gender.  These women are situated at the very lowest steps of all these ladders.  Thus, my hat off (if I had one) to the Fountain of Life for working so hard for the good and well being of this so often forgotten and stigmatized group of individuals.

As was quoted earlier:

One person is of more value than the whole world.

A sentence worth digesting, slowly and meticulously.

Written by Elisabeth Gilek

Have you been wondering what has happened to the food drops?  Well, the PILC is still supporting this project, the food is just distributed to the poor families a bit differently.  This was a decision made by the new welfare committee.  It was thought to be both a more efficient way to distribute the goods, and a little less ostentatious. 

The PILC has allocated 108,000 THB to Kate’s Project, where Khun Noi distributes the food bags.  Every month, 18 bags go to families of Kate’s Project, 10 bags to the Children’s Protection and Development Centre and 12 bags to the AIDS home, 40 bags in total.  We also support Khun Noi in petrol costs with 3,600 THB per year. 

Alana Clarke is the PILC contact who organises this project and makes sure everything goes smoothly and the money is available when required.  Please contact her if you would like further information.