Hi,

I'm coming to Chiang Rai on September 1, 2005. I work for a very small NGO in the US. If you personally know of any needy Thais in the area very poor or in some kind of trouble or personal difficulty I may be able to provide funds to help from my NGO.

Could be for medical, vocational, survival, humanitarian or other needs. Cases will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Open to helpnig children, sex workers, the elderly, farmers, ill people etc.

Thanks,

Marc

Edited August 31, 200520 yr by marcgold

Dear Mr. Marcgold,

There are several small scale projects, often run by motivated individuals, where really every cent is used where the donators expect it to be used.

The American Tom Dooley Heritage Foundation was a perfect exemple (note the word 'Heritage'). They ran a little hospital in Thoed Thai. Later (after the Thai government built a clinic in Thoed Thai) they went on to Laos.

Already twenty years ago they worked in the mountains. At that time the roads (if you could call them roads) were very bad. They had one old two-wheel-driven pick-up. Four month's a year the roads were non-existing and once in a while the symphatizing Thai Border Patrol brought in their medical supplies by helicopter. There was no Big C yet, no nice restaurants with western food and parts of the area were still dangerous.

No internet, no satellite television, nothing.

Nowadays many European and American NGO's start by buying a big fourwheel truck and building a big house. And the roads are fine now. The staff goes into town and enjoys nice western food and a glass of beer with other foreigners. Then they gather some children and get things running as if it was a business. A complete different approach.

Volunteer doctors and nurses, working in isolated areas and training local people, became managers and (sometimes) preachers.

Often they are backed up by big religious or secular organisations in the west. Within a couple of years they become big enterprises. A lot of money is going around. They help a lot of children.

Soon the Tesco-Lotus store will open in Maesai and you can reach the town by a magnificent six-lane superhighway. I expect that it will contribute to bringing help-organizations to that area as well (in and around Chiangrai town somewhere between twenty and thirty organizations are active).

But so far I know in the Maesai area only about one Thai lady from Bangkok who is taking care of about 25 children (most orphans and several HIV kids).

She bought her (2wheeldrive) pick-up herself and a light motorbike.

She has support from some Thai families in Bangkok and manages to get the children into the local school. Together they grew the most of the food they eat. They survive.

She respects the cultural background of the children, because as a Thai, she rises them as Thai people.

Ever thought about helping Thai to help Thai?

Also in Maechan a group of Thai is helping Thai children who are orphaned. Also there a lot of HIV kids. They work together with the teachers of the local schools in the area.

One of the differences between Thai and foreign help-organizations is, that the Thai organizations bring the help to the children and to their families and many foreign help-organizations take the children away from their own environment to help them in specially built boarding houses.

Please feel free to PM me if you think that I can be of any help.

Anyhow: Good Luck!

Limbo.

Hi Marcgold.

Welcome to Chiang Rai.I agree completely with, what Limbo has written and hope that your visit and donation is made in good faith and "no strings attached".

Unfortunitly, Chiang Rai and indeed a lot of northern Thailand is full of so called do-gooders who have other motives, missionary,financial or sexual.

These people are not welcome and give us Farang, a bad name.

There are many deserving causes here, but they dont have fancy websites or nice big mansions and fancy cars.

P.S Did you give up the cigs?

Hi,

I'm coming to Chiang Rai on September 1, 2005. I work for a very small NGO in the US. If you personally know of any needy Thais in the area very poor or in some kind of trouble or personal difficulty I may be able to provide funds to help from my NGO.

Could be for medical, vocational, survival, humanitarian or other needs. Cases will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Open to helpnig children, sex workers, the elderly, farmers, ill people etc.

Thanks,

Marc

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Could you tell more specifically about your NGO? There's a hill-tribe doctor in need of help, and many, many poor hill-folk (some I know personally). Ban Chewit Mai helps AIDS orphans but hardly as meny as need help. There are many stateless people who cannot get work, have no legal right to move around even within the province (and some of those were born here). There are many, many NGOs and missionaries and even governmental organizations set up to help, but as ever, many people also who get overlooked. Some live up on top of Doi Jom Tong right in town.

Joel Barlow

NGO? try looking at www.akha.org is it all true? Not sure? If it's even 20% true you can see what NGO's offer the poor and meek! I have seen many foundation directors here driving around in fancy new vehicles living in homes most poeple could only dream of? I have talk with other Farang here and one told me he visited one Foundation home and the kitchen was bigger than his house?

Helping the poor and less fortunate is a worthy cause, using them for personal gain however is ignorant to say the least.

I wounder why some foundations have to force their religious beliefs upon the poor in order to provide food,education,medical assistance and housing. Yes educating people in health and aggriculture is great, but offering aide with strings is unethical.

So if your coming here with the the though of Do unto others please come and give you knowledge, help and love.

However if your here to wave money and Aide to better your image and pocket book please stay where you are! There is enough of this going on already!

Sorry if my comments are somewhat rude, it's just my oppionion take it or leave it?

Thank you Thomas! It couldn't be expressed better.

Especially young Akha girls made many people rich: Those active in the fleshtrade- and prostitution-business and now many in the help-and-convert industry.

Their stories are the best tearjerkers: Forced prostitution, Aids, drugs-abuse, early death and on top of it a sauce of 'ethnic minority' which is a good seller too.

It is a dilemma.

A couple of years ago I red in the newspaper that the local police authorities would start to look into this million dollar industry. This after rumours started to rotate that not all of these foreign help-organizations were thát clean of intention.

Limbo.

Why would the Officials look into something that they participate in? Bribes payoffs ah yes the Thai way? The Farang way? it certainly isn't the right way! My heart goes out to those poor people who are exploited and used by Thai and Westerners alike. What happened to truth and love and genuine honesty?

I give the highest praise and thank God, bhuddah and other profits for the people who provided there time,services and funding for the good of the people!

As for you other gain seekers don't worry what goes round comes round! Shame Shame Shame on you all! Hope your next life is ######!

Could there be some truth in the old saying 'God helps those who help themselves'? For instance by helping others?

It is a dilemma.

Two weeks ago the Hindu World Council made an appeal to the Indian government to forbid christianizing in India. It is a poor country and the poor and weak are easy to influence.

When the Dutch finally took the island Bali by force (almost hundred years ago, the burning of the widows of the King of Tabanan was the direct reason) they actually forbade missionaries to go in.

They were consequent: Not only the missionaries from East Java (Islam), but also the missionaries from Holland (Christian).

Siam, Thailand, has maybe the longest tradition of religious freedom of all countries in the world.

The first who tried to abuse this were the French Jesuits during the rain of King Narai (thereby helped by Phaulkon the Greek).

I love Thailand the way it is. Buddhist!

Limbo.