Chiang Khong is a border town located near the Golden Triangle. As such, it is home to different marginalized ethnic minority groups, migrants, and refugees. Many of these people are stateless with little to no access to education or healthcare, making them extremely vulnerable to human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and abuse. Chiang Khong acts as a starting, transit, and destination point for traffickers and those looking to exploit vulnerable populations. At Center for Girls (CFG), we aim to make long-lasting and sustainable change through our projects, but sometimes there are people who need more immediate help to ensure a parent can feed a child for another day, send a daughter to finish her schooling or have a safe place to live. By raising money for ten Emergency Cases, CFG hopes to give ten families a sense of security and an avenue towards empowerment.
While most Center for Girls-sponsored projects are sustainable, participatory, and take place over several years, staff oftentimes encounter exceptional cases of individuals or families who need immediate assistance. With this in mind, Center for Girls’ international volunteer began fundraising in Thailand and abroad for ten such cases. The case list was assembled by our Center for Girls Director with the help of our partners at Khiang Rim Khong. Khiang Rim Khong educates community members on sexual health and HIV/AIDs prevention while providing free counseling to those in need. Therefore, they were aware of several individuals, who are living with HIV or are affected by the infection in some way, struggling to stay in school or support their families. Added together with cases that had been brought to Center for Girls, a list of ten emergency cases was compiled.
Kay* is 29 years old and part of the Hmong ethnic minority group. She is mute, illiterate, and mentally handicapped. Kay was raped over the New Year and is now six months pregnant. When her baby is born, her family will not have enough money to raise the child.
Bell is 18 years old and both of her parents died when she was two of HIV/AIDS. Bell lives with her grandparents, her husband, and their child. They barely have enough money to buy plain white rice for a family of five.
Plum is 45 years old and living with HIV. Her husband died of AIDS, and she has two daughters, aged 13 and 20. The family’s main source of income is the 500 THB (~15 USD) monthly allowance from the Thai government for HIV patients. Plum wants both of her daughters to have an education, but soon she may not be able to afford to send them to school.
With money comes opportunity, and that is what CFG wants to give these people. The opportunity for an education to create a better life; the opportunity to raise a baby with enough food and clothing. These opportunities should be rights, but until they are considered as such, CFG will do all it can to support these families. In total, Center for Girls aims to raise 323,000 THB, 100% of which will go directly to the families. Every human deserves dignity.
*names have been changed for anonymity
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