New Life Outreach

Last week, Ben received a call from one of our regular informers of a small community living between the borders of Burma and Thailand. This community were struggling to make ends meet and Ben called the informer to our office to discuss further.

To our surprise, the informer retorted saying that he will not reveal anymore information unless we employ him as a regular staff. Immediately we knew that he needed money but he refused to divulge further.

Last Monday, the informer called in again and asked for meeting to discuss this issue in person. Over the meeting, he gave some rough details of this needy population and told us that the only access road will be through the mountains ranges of Chiang Rai. He also asked to be stationed permantly in the vicinity to help us with our outreach (which we found suspicious considering his family is in Phetchabun)

This wek, we're scheduled to head back to Chiang Mai to complete some paperwork and of course this will be a fantastic time conduct a full needs assessment of this new site as well (as per our operating policy) and if we have time -to also conduct a medical outreach.

We set in the rendezvous day and there we went ahead of time. The informer told us that he will meet us on 25 July to bring us to see the site.

On the 24th, we called up the informer to confirm the time and location to meet up but his phone was switched off, immediately we knew something was not right. We called back to his wife and was greeted by a sobbing lady telling us that her husband(the informer) had been arrested in Chiang Rai. On further probing, she told us that he was arrested as he was making his first drug trafficking run into Thailand from Burma.

Now, we know this informer for close to a year and he has always come across as a kindly man who has assisted our humanitarian work without asking for financial remuneration. Many times his entire family will volunteer to come alongside us to help out.

This man, a loving father in a moment weakness, fell prey to the temptation of making quick bucks went ahead to do this run and now his wife and children has to bear the brunt of his actions as he is likely to be put behind bars for the rest of his life.

Our work is always risky. Thinking back, had the arrest been later, the entire medical and needs assessment team would be probably been caught up in the this mess and arrested along with him.

All is over now, but please do keep that guy in prayer as well as his family.

Posted : Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:41:44 GMT

Bangkok - Thailand plans to repatriate about 4,000 Hmong refugees to Laos "by force" by the end of this year, Radio Laos said Thursday. Thailand has already repatriated an estimated 2,000 Hmong from its Huai Nam Khao camp and would repatriate the remaining 4,000 to Laos by year's end, the state-run radio station said in a broadcast monitored in Bangkok. "If the Hmong wish to seek resettlement abroad, they will do so from Laos, not from Thailand," the station said. The Thai military, which controls Huai Nam Khao camp in Petchabun province, 270 kilometres north of Bangkok, has been systematically intimidating the camp's ethnic Hmong population to return to Laos, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres, which previously provided food and medical supplies to the camp. On May 20, the aid group announced its decision to end its assistance to the camp after failing to prevent the harassment of the Hmong refugees. The group called on the United Nations and US and French governments to pressure Thailand and Laos to stop the forced repatriation of the Hmong and to allow an independent third party to assess the areas selected for the returnees and to determine whether the returns are voluntary. Many of the Hmong, an ethnic minority group in neighbouring Laos who were used by the US military in their "secret war" against communism in Indochina, said they face persecution and personal danger in their homeland. The Thai and Lao governments have agreed that all residents in the camp must be repatriated to Laos before 2010.

Just received news from Ben that H1N1 has arrived in Khek Noi.

Some of our children came down with flu and was sent for testing.
They are Jai, Faa, Tim, Manak, John, Saa, Kut, Kita (All will be quarantined for safety)
Mong, Kanya, Dao, Plaa, Mai Mee and Nuu are all alright.

All the children are tested H1N1 negative.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/20125/government-policies-fail-the-poor

This recent news article showed pictures of the urban poor in Bangkok City. The story is appalling to some in our developed countries, but this cannot be compared to the poorer folks living in the more rural states or among the hilltribes.

Many of the villagers we know live in less then humane conditions and do not have the access to proper assistance programs.

This is one of the houses..... that not the room. that's the entire house.

Streetkids! Program
An outreach work aiding children from the following area of need :
1 ) History of drug/substance abuse
2 ) High risk family background (drugs/prostitution)
3 ) Abusive & special needs

Each child is tagged to a sponsor who will then commit on a year to year basis to put the child through the program. Each child cost SGD96/month and this includes everything. Yes, everything. From the clothes, to the day care to uniform to hygiene, everything is taken care of.

So this is the picture that some of you have been asking for ;)

Notes : We need more sponsors for this program for newer children undergoing probation or joining the program. Please write to eugene@radion-international.org if you wish to be placed on the sponsorship queue to sponsor the next child in need.