New Life Outreach

We Have Moved

2010-02-16T01:24:00.004+08:00

This blog has been moved to RADION's new home, bookmark us !
http://www.radion-international.org/blog/

Priorities For 2010

2010-02-16T00:31:00.006+08:00

After much deliberation and prayer, the management committee will be driving our outreach activities towards the following :

1 ) Strengthen programming amongst the StreetKIDS!
Over the past 2 years, we've had a high success rehabilitating children from substance abuse (glue-sniffing) backgrounds. The success rate stands at 80% which is already a feat with the little the resources we have.
But real challenges still remain outside the walls of our shelter, drug dealers, gang leaders and poor influence from families usually interfere with our work and result in some children to prematurely give up and leave the programme.

This year, we're planning to employ professional psychologist and counselors to help direct our programming to not only better understand these influences but also teach the children to overcome the temptation to go back into their old lives.

This year, we need to commit more effort to look into small details in our children's lives to we can bring about a greater sustained change.

2) Capacity Building Amongst Staff
Currently, RADION is operated by 2 groups of staff. The first professionals and second group are destitute womenfolk or victim who have suffered abuse from their husbands and are in need of assistance.

For the first group, we're planning to employ 6 more staff to bring our staff base to 12 to balance out the heavy workload and enable the rest to focus on direct assistance outreaches.
The second group, we're hoping to bring in more professional assistance to help these ladies regain their footing through basic counseling to starting up of support groups. This programming allows for greater community support amongst this highly marginalised group.

3 ) Regaining Of Supporters/Blog Readers/Corporate Sponsors
In 2009, we have done much groundwork by providing food & free medical aid to more than 2500 people and gave basic necessities such as toothbrush and toothpaste to more than a thousand needy children.

Ahead in 2010, we hope to follow-on with our groundwork by focusing on the ones that need help the most and give them that simple glimmer of hope to live on.

2010 is a challenging year and we'll need to raise approximately SGD20,000(approx USD15,000) each month for operations. I ask each and every one of our sponsors, friends and partners to prayerfully consider supporting our work financially for the next one year. My personal commitment to you is that every single cent will be invested into lives and mending broken dreams.

Come alongside us. Sign up for Core Support !
http://www.radion-international.org/help/core-support-300/

RADION on Twitter!!

2010-02-14T02:12:00.002+08:00

Hi friends! We're pleased to offer you another channel to catch RADION's updates at our brand new Twitter site. You may now follow us at http://twitter.com/RadionIntl

Blessed Lunar New Year

2010-02-13T17:58:00.002+08:00

Wishing all our Chinese readers a very blessed and prosperous Lunar New Year !

-From the team at RADION International

A Cell In Shophouse !

2010-02-13T15:33:00.003+08:00

I received a call just minutes ago when my staff (aun) asked me if its alright for her to have a small support group/cell group for victims of domestic violence. She has got a group together and they have 7 ladies in that group needing emotional support.

My heart raced and I spluttered out a big YES !

For those who know Aun, she comes from a background of domestic violence and was left to raise her child single-handedly when her husband was imprisoned for life for drug trafficking.

From her background of hurts and pains, she has now moved ahead and taking the initiative to ministering to others from similar backgrounds !

What a joy ! firstfruits of our work !

RADION Management Committee 2010

2010-02-09T23:12:00.004+08:00

Guys,

Much apologies for the slow update on the status of the management committee.
The last 3-4 months has been a rough one for the management team and from here, things will get exciting !

Here are some updates :
1 ) Management Committee has been formed
2 ) Ben has returned to Singapore
3 ) I've resigned from my job in view of the pressing needs up in Thailand and will be heading back in March.

I hope to be able to meet up with our sponsors/supporters over the next 3-4 weeks to give a full account of what we have accomplished in the last 1 year with your financial support.

I'll leave more for the next post, but as promised here is a sneak preview of the management committee members !

Changing Over

2009-11-30T01:02:00.002+08:00

In the next few months, RADION will be doing a massive migration of the current newlifeoutreach blog to a web based blog. This new portal will be a one stop site where you can get all your updates on radions progress from the blog to our corporate info.

The new contributors will be Benjamin (Operations Director), Bruce Thao (Director Of Operations USA) and yours sincerely .... and many many more :)

Keep yourself updated at www.radion-international.org !

Volunteer Management Committee

2009-10-25T12:06:00.004+08:00

As part of RADION International's master plan, we have formed a management committee made up of young working adults who have a passion to impact the lives of the marginalised and needy.

These management committee members will take on a vital role in bringing greater awareness to the masses though campaigns and innovative programs in Singapore.

More details to follow !

Fond Memories

2009-10-25T03:40:00.003+08:00

What a privilege to have been part of RADION for the last 2 years ! As sat at my desk reminiscing both the ups and downs of RADION, it brought back bitter sweet memories.

It has been such a harsh but beautiful 2 years. Yes pains and disappointments are plentiful but as I look at the lives that have been touched. The negatives just seem to pale in comparison to the joy of being able to help and give the simple measure of hope to that someone.

Memories of refugee leaders breaking into tears as blankets were given to them...
Memories of refugees rushing up and kneeling down to be prayed for....
Memories of that elderly later who held my hand so tightly during a routine home visit (she passed on during the cold snap disaster)...
Memories of hopeful children as they got their first chance to see the sea.

What a privilege to be able to make that journey of faith and walk through that season with these people ! I can't wait to get back !

Revamping Of RADION International Singapore

2009-10-20T15:19:00.002+08:00

RADION International is in the process of revamping its organisation structure to cater for new growth areas while maintaining the versatility of a small organisation.

Do stay tuned for the updates in the weeks ahead !

A sad moment

2009-10-07T01:53:00.002+08:00

Last sunday as I was sitting in church, the pastor came up with a solemn note, asking the church to pray for people who face the brunt of Typhoon KETSANA, earthquakes and tsunamis.

As I prayed, I teared because the affected region is so wide, from Philippines to Vietnam, to Cambodia to Indonesia.... tears rolled down my cheeks as I prayed feeling helpless that RADION could not be able to do more within the region.

With limited funding, RADION can just do this much and our reach is largely limited to Thailand. What a grieving moments seeing disasters, but yet having to sit down and the only thing that I'm able to do is to pray.

News : Health ministry warns of diseases during floods

2009-10-04T19:49:00.000+08:00

-By The Nation

Health Ministry warned people on Sunday about possible break-out of six diseases during floodings.

Acting Permanent Secretary for health Dr Paichit Varachit said the diseases; leptospirosis, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, red eye and dengue fever, usually break out during floods.

Provincial mobile medical units will provide free service to flood victims as well as distribute information on preventive measures for flood-related disease to the public, said Dr Paichit.

Of the six diseases, the number of patients suffering from red eye and leptospirosis had risen sharply by about 8 per cent from January through September 29 compared to the same period last year, Dr Paichit said.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in his weekly talk on Sunday that his government has been closely monitoring flooding situation in the country and the cabinet will this week evaluate damages again.

The evaluation will enable the government to allocate budget to assist the flood victims.

Abhisit said he had ordered relevant government agencies last Tuesday to lay out their plans to respond to Thailand's floods, and urged the public to listen to weather forecasts on a regular basis as weather is still unpredictable.

So far 12 provinces, mostly in the North and Northeast, have been under water with Ubon Ratchathani and Si Sa Ket suffered serious floodings, while Lampang and Lamphun provinces in the North are the worst-hit following heavy rains last weekend.

The Cabinet would discuss the flood situation on Tuesday and re-evaluate the country's damages.

Government closely monitors flooding; Health ministry warns of six diseases

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday his government has been closely monitoring flooding situation in the country and the cabinet will this week evaluate damages again.

The evaluation will enable the government to allocate budget to assist the flood victims.

Speaking in his weekly television talk, Abhisit said he had ordered relevant government agencies last Tuesday to lay out their plans to respond to Thailand's floods, and urged the public to listen to weather forecasts on a regular basis as weather is still unpredictable.

So far 12 provinces, mostly in the North and Northeast, have been under water with Ubon Ratchathani and Si Sa Ket suffered serious floodings, while Lampang and Lamphun provinces in the North are the worst-hit following heavy rains last weekend.

The Cabinet would discuss the flood situation on Tuesday and re-evaluate the country's damages.

News : Ketsana floods wash thousands out of homes, worse on way

2009-10-04T19:47:00.001+08:00

Bangkok Post :

Many provinces remained submerged yesterday as humanitarian aid trickled to thousands of marooned and homeless residents left uprooted by the heavy downpours of Typhoon Ketsana.

The North and the Northeast are the worst-hit areas after a weekend of heavy rain with thousands of houses and thousands of rai of farmland flooded.

Affected families have been living on relief supplies.

Ketsana's lingering effects were most widespread in the northern province of Tak, where about 1,700 families in nine villages in tambon Mae Tuen of Mae Ramat district were cut off from the outside world after a bridge collapsed, preventing troops from reaching them with emergency help.

Many provinces in the north, northeastern and southern regions have experienced flooding after heavy rains.

Despite official efforts to pump out floodwater from the affected areas, the water levels in some areas are not receding but are actually rising, and rains show no signs of letting up, officials said yesterday.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has told agencies to rush relief aid to victims in hard-hit provinces.

He plans to visit the worst-hit areas to give moral support and make sure help is reaching the affected people.

The prime minister has ordered irrigation officials to monitor water levels in the dams and reservoirs as they could overflow as weather conditions are expected to worsen in the next few days.

Mr Abhisit said Thailand was also sending aid to the Philippines and Indonesia, which were heavily hit by the typhoon and an earthquake.

Rice, medical supplies and electricity generators has been flown to Indonesia and would be sent to the Philippines as well, he said.

In Tak, where residents were cut off from the outside world, the bridge over the Mae Tuen River collapsed under the force of the flash flood. It is the main transport route out of the tambon.

A temporary bridge could not be built immediately due to the high water level of the river, leaving the military rescue teams unable to get into the flooded villages to extend help.

In Sam Ngao district, about 400 houses were submerged after the Wang River burst its banks. Residents and farm animals have been either evacuated or moved to higher ground.

In the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum, motorists were yesterday warned about possible landslides along the Nakhon Sawan-Chaiyaphum Road.

About 500 houses in Phakdi Chumphon district and another 1,000 in Kaset Sombun and Phu Khieo districts were flooded. In some areas, the water is three metres high.

The overflowing Lam Pa Thao Dam has flooded Muang district where the floodwater in some spots is almost half a metre deep.

Residents of the central province of Ayutthaya are also assessing the flood damage to their houses and land.

About 1,000 homes require extensive repair work as a result of flooding in the rice-producing district of Sena.

In Phetchabun, more than 5,000 rai of farmland in Nong Phai district has been swamped.

Meanwhile, 13 Thai crew members who survived after their fishing boat capsized in Malaysian waters on Friday returned to Pattani yesterday.

Another 13 are still missing.

According to reports, waves as high as three to five metres hit the boat, the Pornpitsanu 91, which had 26 crewmen on board when it had left Pattani to receive fish from another trawler anchored in Malaysian waters. BANGKOK POST AND TNA

RADION Expansion

2009-09-30T11:38:00.002+08:00

With effect from 1 Sep 2009, Mr Bruce Kou Thao will be joining RADION International as our Director Of Operations (USA). He will be pioneering the awareness and assisting with the charity setup in the states to support our outreach efforts in Thailand.

Mr Bruce Thao is no stranger to RADION, in fact he has served a summer term with RADION right in Khek Noi Thailand as part of his PhD program internship. Bruce has teared with us, labored alongside us into late nights and now he is jumping on-board to be our ambassador among the Hmong Americans back in the states.

Bruce Kou Thao is the first generation of Hmong who were born and raised and America. Both his parents fled persecution during the Vietnam War in Laos and lived in Thai refugee camps in 1975 before being repatriated to the United States. Bruce is now pursuing his 2nd Masters and a PhD in Social Work at the University of Chicago.

If you're in the states and would wish to contact Bruce to speak at your organisation/church/school, you can reach him at bruce.thao@radion-international.org

RADION International USA :

Radion International
P.O. Box 15274
Chicago, IL 60615

News : Bad Weather To Hit Thailand By Ketsana

2009-09-30T11:35:00.002+08:00

BANGKOK: -- Thai authorities upcountry and in the capital are braced for a major blow from tropical storm Ketsana, which has intensified to typhoon status, and is moving towards Thailand's Northeast and North, Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul said Tuesday.

Having ordered the authorities in the northern and northeastern regions to be on alert for possible flash floods, Mr Chavarat said the Interior Ministry had allocated Bt50 million from its emergency budget to each province to help flood victims.

Meanwhile, Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will keep Bangkokians updated on the weather condition in Bangkok.

The updates include the amount of rainfall and flood-proned areas, he said, adding that announcements will be made via radio, television and traffic signs so that residents will avoid entering flooded areas, move their valuables to higher grounds and prepare themselves in better manners.

In a bid to protect Bangkokians affected by heavy rains, the BMA has set up mobile emergency units to visit flood-impacted various areas and provide drainage pumps, temporary accommodation, medical teams and other facilities.

Mr. Sukhumbhand also said that the BMA would help repair and clean damaged homes after the floodwaters recede.

He instructed the heads of flood-prone districts, in particular the eastern metropolitan area and Thon Buri, to urge community leaders to brace for possible flooding.

The governor himself will be at the emergency relief centre to inspect the authorities response to flooding.

The BMA has launched its Hotline 1555 to receive complaints from flood-hit residents.

Meanwhile, in the southern province of Songkhla, fishermen in the Gulf of Thailand started sailing for shore after a warning was issued by the Meteorological Department.

The department earlier announced that strong winds and waves would likely be higher than two metres due to tropical storm Ketsana which was moving across the South China Sea and expected to enter Thailand's northeastern provinces of Mukdaharn and Ubon Ratchathani via neighbouring Laos.

Meanwhile, customs officers in the northeastern province of Nong Khai warned ferry boat and motor raft operators plying between Bung Kan District and Laos against overloading with cargo and passengers to avoid possible accidents during the heavy rain and strong winds.

-- TNA 2009-09-29

A Reminder For Myself

2009-09-19T23:16:00.003+08:00

The last few weeks have kept me really busy, hunting for jobs, filling up painful applications that never seem to end and going for job interviews.

The scary thing about it all is how quickly I get so terribly comfortable and absorbed in the Singaporean lifestyle. How quickly I find myself chasing material comfort and momentarily forgetting Khek Noi, the kids, the people.... those who really need our help.

There were moments were I was starting to revive the drive for recognition in the corporate world, nothing wrong about that. But when that pursuit of material comfort slowly eats away my passion of touching lives, i'll be back in square one.

We can always come up with reasons and excuses to justify our every decision. But may I never forget the real reason why I'm doing what I'm doing.

The Painful Flight Back

2009-09-08T18:33:00.002+08:00

It was a nostalgic day as I boarded my plane back to Singapore. The sights, the sounds, the all so familiar surroundings... all in exchange for a more urbanized lifestyle.

Arriving Singapore felt strange, it had a sense of familiarity but it strangely felt foreign, almost as though as I'm away from home right here in my homeland. Thoughts of the streetkids flooded through my mind as well as the faces of the elderly folks that we reach out to regularly, their wrinkled smiles that fills my heart with warmth.

Right now I'm blogging in my bedroom and looking towards a new phase in my life, hopefully this phase will be short (or maybe a miracle happens) so I can rush back to rejoin radion full time :)

p/s : Thank you for your encouraging mails and messages.

Nostalgic Day

2009-08-25T00:14:00.002+08:00

Today, 4 of us, my 2 Thai staff and Bruce (our PhD intern) headed down the mountain to Phitsanulok to grab the supplies for tomorrow's mission team. This is a routine chore that we do prior to every volunteer team's arrival.Though routine, this trip turned out to be a nostalgic one for me.

As I stood in the all-so-familar surroundings of the Thai hypermart (Tesco Lotus), I was reminded that this would be last time I'll be here; hearing the repetitive thai music while struggling to get groceries that have their labels written only in Thai.

With every step, my heart felt heavier. Looking through the items brought back memories.
Going through the children section, reminiscing how I have previously bought some of these kids on our streetkids program. The dried noodles & bedding section, brought back memories of late nights where Ben and me will be filling our empty stomachs with instant noodles and wondering when will we be able to buy a proper bed instead of sleeping on the floors.

Each section took me back memory lane, though the hard times, happy times and times that was filled with tears.

Finally i stopped by the Audio & Video section to pick out a few educational documentaries for the kiddos. This too brought their faces to mind, and my heart sank knowing that I may not be around to watch these shows with them.

On the journey, Bruce asked me what made me the same question as many of our dearest supporters. A simple but painful question "Why did I decide to leave full time service in Thailand to head back to Singapore?"

Now, we have been on the mission field for some 2 years now and since we started, we have drawing from our personal savings . Its only of late that we managed to draw a small allowance from our lifeline project- CS300. Without CS300 attaining full financial support and the ministry has pressing needs for the money, both the directors bore the burden and survived on a terribly small allowance.

My decision to leave is not a sudden one, neither is it one of disappointment, instead its a hard decision that have been rendered months of careful thought.

With low financial support and insufficient manpower, having Ben to manage the operations in Thailand and me to work in Singapore to support financially would definably be at the best interest of RADION.Without having to cater for allowances, RADION will now be able to free up some funding to employ 2-4 more local destitute villagers to continue and expand our work.

That i guess is the best option right now.

It's saddening just thinking of how to break the news to the kids, but i do hope that i can quickly clear off all my existing commitments and return to Thailand as soon as I can. Missions is fun ;)

So do keep me in your prayers :)

2 Year Old Child Sexually Abused To Death

2009-08-18T11:23:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, we received news from the villagers that the body of a 2 year old child was found near the guesthouse. The body had bite marks all over the body and her lips were bitten apart. Investigation indicated that the young toddler has also been raped before being killed.

The hideous act was committed by a local villager who kidnapped the young toddler when he was high sniffing glue. The attacker tried to to silence the girl from screaming and closed her mouth with his hands but she ended up suffocating to death. The arrest has been made however it offers little to the parents who have lost a child.

Glue sniffing/substance abuse is a prevalent problem in the village, attacks are also common ranging from gang rapes to murders. That's the reason why we focus our efforts to bring awareness and aid to children from high risk background such as this to prevent them from going down that path....

StreetKids! Update Aug 2009

2009-08-16T16:07:00.006+08:00

The Program
StreetKids! program is a rehabilitation program giving substance abusers and children from high risk backgrounds a second chance to study. The program provides shelter, food and education for each of these needy ones.

The Process
Poor parents will always push their children to be on our program, but only the children who are deemed within the high risk categories are accepted. Most of children are ostracized and their own parents and the village has given up all hope on them.

The Need
Right now on the streetkids program, we have 16 children. 12 have already been sponsored, leaving the following 4 kids who have either completed probation and awaiting a sponsorship, or children who have just joined us

The Children
1 ) Tao ( Waiting For Sponsorship) Tao is a 13 year old young lady who comes from a high risk background. Her father was caught trafficking drugs and she has been left without a fatherly figure in the family. Her mother was a poor odd-job laborer and she subsequently remarried to another villager. Tao in her growing up years had little guidance and was slowly starting to loose interest in school to hang out in the streets with gangs that had a reputation for substance abuse. Tao has just passed her probation with us and will be a needing a sponsor to enable her to continue her rehabilitation program and education.

2 ) Manak (High Risk Family)
Manak's father who is the sole breadwinner for the family was diagnosed with stroke and has since been unable to find work. To make matters worse, Manak's mother is a drug addict(current) and the family has little to make ends meet. Manak is always seen walking around the village barefooted before he joined the program. Each sponsorship cost just SGD96/month. If you wish to sponsor Manak, please email me at eugene@radion-international.org

3 ) Kua & Tong (On Probation) Tong and Kua are siblings. Both of them come from a complex background of neglect and vice. Tong was recently caught sniffing glue while Kua was well known for stealing. Both these children are not well liked by the village due to their vices. Both are now undergoing probation. They should be up for sponsorship in 2 weeks.

The Rehabilitation
All our child sponsors play a crutial role, not only in providing for these kids financially but also in the area of emotional rehabilitation. Its simple. The sponsors are required to communicate with their sponsored child to let them know that someone cares for them. These children have no sense of hope, but when they know that their sponsors care, they try harder in everything they do so as not to disappoint their sponsors.

Each sponsorship cost just SGD96/month. If you wish to sponsor a child, please email me at eugene@radion-international.org

Update On John's Brother

2009-08-07T15:01:00.001+08:00

John's brother was admitted to Khao Khor hospital with a high fever and he was bleeding profusely through his nose.

Upon arrival, it was most disappointing. The doctor on duty was not around and the nurses were terribly rude. One of the nurses asked him, "What are you feeling" and this young man would only muster a inaudible sound as he was having a high fever and having blood choking back in his throat he was unable to talk.

The nurses retorted "Can't you even speak up ?, are you mentaly disabled or what ?"

My medical staff rebuked the nurses telling them that the patient cannot speak clearly because of bleeding. She also relayed my concern to the nurses that it maybe dengue and requested for a them to run proper tests.

This was probably the most disturbing behavior we received from government hospitals which are normally of excellent standards.

Anyway, the boy was admitted to hospital and some blood test were ran. He was diagnosed with dengue fever. He is now out of the red and recovering as we speak.

Thanks for keeping him in your prayers.

Community Development : Hip Hop ?

2009-08-07T14:36:00.003+08:00

Bruce a PhD student from University of Chicago is now doing his internship with RADION. He is spearheading a new drug awareness project in the local schools under our community development Program.

He has been teaching english in the local school to build rapport and foundation for his drug awareness program.

...and tomorrow, he'll be teaching HIP HOP in the Shophouse! to his students !

A creative way to bring awareness and reach children !

STK : Tao For Sponsorship

2009-08-05T22:55:00.005+08:00

We first met Tao during our mass educational outing sometime back last year. We remembered her well as she stood out from the rest of the girls - She got into a fight with our boys on our streetkids boys.

Tao's father was part of a drug trafficking circle and was caught and imprisoned many years back, leaving Tao without a fatherly figure. Tao grew up to be quite a rebel and the mom could no longer control her.

Few months back, Faa (a child on the streetkids program) informed us that Tao was getting into bad company and she has started loosing interest in her studies. Many days, she would play truant just to hang out with her delinquent friends.

Her mother got seriously worried when she heard that her friends are also connected to glue sniffers and her main concern is that Tao may be taken advantaged or even raped by these gangs (which occurs frequently here)

Tao was placed on the high risk children's category in our streetkids program and has been showing positive signs of improvement in our program. She has passed the probabtion phase and is ready to accept a sponsor.

Sponsorship cost SGD96/month and it provides her with a shelter and everything she needs to go through school.

If you would like to sponsor Tao, please email me at eugene@radion-international.org

Bad News

2009-08-03T01:05:00.003+08:00

Our sturdy Mitsubishi L200 was our first vehicle donated by supporters.

It cost just under SGD5,000 and has lasted us for almost 2 years.
It has accompanied us on humanitarian operations, used to ferry children to school, carry pigs....etc etc. Everything that the ministry ever needed.

2 months back, an unfortunate incident happened. Our car was parked at the children's home and when my staff started the engine. It refused to start, so we did a check. The batteries are fine but the truck just refused to start.

A mechanic was called in and he did a couple of checks before opening up the engine belt compartment. To our horror, we found a dead rat dangling by its mangled skin in the compartment.

The whole compartment was splattered with blood and organs. The mechanic told us that it was a common sight in the village as rats are known to find cozy places to sleep at nights.

So here are some pictures of what happened.

After checks and repairs, we were told that the truck was only good for another 20,000-30,000km before we have to scrape it. (Below : when engine is started radiator turns into a fountain)

The streetkids! work requires a truck to send the children to school. A 2nd hand truck will cost roughly 10,000SGD. If you would like to sponsor a truck, please contact me at eugene@radion-international.org

Sunday Emergency

2009-08-02T15:11:00.002+08:00

Just about 10mins ago, i was called from my office by one of our streetkids to do a home visitation.

John was terribly frantic asking me to quickly visit his brother and render medical aid. According to John, his brother had a bad case of nose bleeding.

We responded to the house call and discovered that it was not a normal case of nose bleeding.
John's brother was lying outside his home on a blood soaked make-shift blanket bed. As we attended to him, he was hardly able to sit up and the fresh blood was literally dripping out of his nose.

As the village ambulance is not available, we turned our outreach vehicle to a make-shift ambulance and sent him to the nearest hospital for further checks. Now the child is on his way to the hospital, do keep him in your prayers.

Gentle Reminders For Visitors

2009-08-02T03:07:00.004+08:00

General Rules
- Please inform us at least 1 month in advance if you plan to visit us
- RADION management reserves the right to decline visitations or volunteers
- All visitors are to stay at the guesthouse (approx 400baht/night) as we do not have guest rooms
- Transfer cost per truck & driver
200bht/way (from Khek Noi), 500bht/way (from khao khor bus station), 1000bht/way (from Lomsak)
- Local meals are chargable at 60bht/meal
- All visitors are required to be covered with personal insurance before arriving

STK! Sponsors
- You are encouraged to visit your sponsored child at least once a year.
- 2 X meal with your sponsored child will be waived and FOC.
- Each visit should not last for more than 3 days
- Only during the 1st week of each month
- Please send your proposed visit date at least 1 month ahead of time for de-conflicting of resources (ie if we are running humanitarian trips, you will have problems reaching us)

For existing CS300 supporters and friends (non-volunteer visit)
- Each visit is not to last more than 2 days.
- Orientation trips can be organised for teams of 6 and above
- Each trip should be on the 1st week of each month.

Open/Single volunteers
- We accepts only skilled volunteers (translators, trainers, teachers, counsellors, doctors, medical personnel, preferabally proficient in Thai/Hmong languages)
- Only self-supported volunteers with a minimum commitment of 1 month will be considered

Group Volunteering / Mission Teams
- Minimum of 7 days to a max of 18 days
- Minimum of 6 pax
- RADION will quote a full package price for accomodation, transport and meals.
- All mission trippers and group trippers are subjected to a mandatory contribution of SGD200/pax which goes towards the outreach fund

A Close Shave

2009-07-26T00:32:00.002+08:00

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.

Article : Thailand to repatriate 4,000 Hmong by year's end, Radio Laos says

2009-07-15T00:27:00.000+08:00

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.

H1N1 Arrives In Rural Villages

2009-07-13T23:24:00.001+08:00

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.

A Glimpse Into The Life Of The Poor

2009-07-12T15:15:00.002+08:00

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! Jun 2009

2009-07-02T01:53:00.002+08:00

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.

A Collaboration In Place ?

2009-06-13T19:23:00.004+08:00

As of now, we are looking towards a collaboration with the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and provincial governors on how we can go about helping communities in need as well as the Hmong refugees/asylum seekers (ie those who have just arrived in Thailand and have yet to receive any UNHCR papers.)

Main points of emphasis :
1 ) Our regular humanitarian missions are non-political by nature and we have aided both refugees and Thai citizens alike.
2 ) RADION is fully inaugerated as a Thai Charity and has been providing aid (medical, relief and support) to communities since 2007.

Credentials :
Jan 2009
RADION responded to the government's declaration for cold disaster and
responded with providing some 500 warm blankets and relief to affected areas and communities.

Since Jan 2008
RADION (Streetkids! Project) has provided housing and assistance to children involved in substance abuse and from high risk families.

RADION provided jobs to abused womenfolk and destitute communities though our community development projects.

Since June 2008
RADION has provided humanitarian assistance to the Hmong Lao refugees in Nong Khai Immigration Detention Centre

2008
RADION provided translation staff to MSF in support of medical operations in Huay Nam Khao camp

July 2007 - Jan 2008
RADION has provided humanitarian assistance (medical, food & relief) in Huay Nam Khao refugee camp.

Oct 2007 - Nov 2007
RADION assisted in an unexpected cold in Huay Nam Khao refugee camp by providing 1500 blankets to needy families.

Being Watched

2009-06-10T16:13:00.002+08:00

The old news :
RADION International (Thailand) has finally received full accreditation as a Thai charity after more than a 1 year wait.

The new news :
We're applying through the governmental channel to grant us access to the main Laotian refugee camp and they have set down several conditions and gave us a list of paperwork to complete.

Some of the more interesting notes :
1 ) Names of 10 permanent staff that will be working in the refugee camp.
2 ) All 10 must be present at the camp gate before access is granted
3 ) No additional staff is allowed

So yes. Now you see the challenges.

Newer News :
Just yesterday, we also received a mail from my secretary in Thailand telling us that the Thai ministry has informed her that they are watching all our media releases, from youtube to web etc etc. And they have been watching us from the sidelines for a long time.

They also claim that they have watched our outreaches at Site X first hand and the good news is that they know that we are genuinely helping the community through our relief work. The bad news is that they were not too pleased about us assisting the whole Hmong refugees community- quoting that some of the Hmong do not have official UNCHR certificates as such they are illegal migrants. So their implication is that we should focus on the refugees only.

(Background : These so called illegal migrants are all waiting for their UNHCR papers to be approved and last heard, these papers have been put on hold as the Thai government wishes to handle this issue unilaterally.)

So its quite a check mate here. But keep us in your prayers.

Streetkids! Update

2009-05-26T18:14:00.004+08:00

Mai Mee, Mong and Kita have all completed their probation. Among the 3 kids, 2 have been sponsored by Li-En and Jocelyn.

Mong is now open for sponsorship. Please drop me a note if you wish to sponsor Mong. eugene@radion-international.org

Note :
1 ) Tau a young teenage girl from a high risk family will be under probation till next month. Do look out for her if you wish to sponsor her.

2 ) Manip (high risk) will be joining the program next week

FRT May 2009 - 14-24 May

2009-05-26T00:00:00.004+08:00

Day 1 : Transportation
A full day of traveling from Bangkok to Phetchabun. This journey took us some 7 hours to complete, reaching Phetchabun around evening.

Day 2 : Training & Preparations
A entire day of intensive language and cultural training

Day 3 : STK Outing Day 1 (Lan Hin Taek)
This was when we brought the children from destitute families out on an educational excursion. Laan Hin Taek is translated as the field of the broken rocks. Its a nature reserve boasting stunning scenary. Halfway through the trip, we realised to our horror that the kids were plucking flowers, uprooting plants from the park to give to the volunteers.

Day 4 : STK Outing Day 2 (Khao Khor Park + Swimming)
This day we had a full day of tele-matches and of course not forgetting the mandatory swimming time at the village lake. Aterwhich, we had a campfire session with the children before seeing them off back home.

Day 5 : Village Outreach
Day 6 : Village Outreach
Day 7 : Village Outreach
3 Days of visiting destitute families with medical and food supplies.

Day 8 : Destitute BBQ
Today we gathered some 60-80 destitute villagers for a simple meal together. We also slaughtered a black pig for this event as most of the poor had no opportunity to eat meat very often, not to mention black pigs.

Day 9 : R&R + Logistics Packing
Our retreat was at Khao Khor Highlands Resort and just prior to lunch, we rushed back for about 3 hours of packing and logistics loading for the refugee settlement.

Day 10 : Site X
Morning : Children's outreach & Milk! Mission

Afternoon : Medical Mission

Evening : Relief Distribution

Day 11 : Return

MSF Video On Hmong Lao

2009-05-20T11:38:00.001+08:00

MSF Video On Hmong Lao

Click Here

Update : Deperate Hmong Lao Threatening Suicide

2009-05-20T11:24:00.003+08:00

A report was received this morning informing us that the Thai government officials had decided to deport all 158 refugees in Nong Khai and no resettlement (to 3rd countries) will be granted for these Hmong Lao refugees.

All 158 refugees have been issued with UNHCR refugee certificates and have been held up in the immigration detention center indefinitely without any hope of being repatriated. They have been locked up for the last 2 years in less than humane conditions.

Our source also informed us that the authorities told them that the only way to be relocated would be to return to Laos first and applying to be resettled.

Right now, the refugees are in a desperate and emotional state. Many have threatened mass suicide if the deportation happens. They claim that if they are forcibly deported back to Laos, they will be tortured to death.

Press : Laos Military Kills 9 Hmong Children In Attack

2009-05-20T11:23:00.000+08:00

Laos Military Kills 9 Hmong Children In Attack
Tuesday, 5 May 2009, 12:03 pm
Press Release: Center for Public Policy Analysis

Laos Military Kills 9 Hmong Children In Attack

Bangkok, Thailand and Washington, D.C. , May 5, 2009, For Immediate Release

The Lao military killed at least nine (9) Hmong children in an April 3, 2009, attack on Lao Hmong civilians hiding in the Phou Da Phao area of Xieng Khouang Provice, Laos.

"Multiple sources in Laos, including Lao government and Hmong sources from within the Lao Peoples Democractic Republic (LPDR) regime as well as refugees, have recently confirmed the bloody April 3, 2009, attack by the Lao military that left dozens of civilians dead and wounded, including 9 Hmong children who were confirmed killed, whose bodies were recovered and buried by their families," said Philip Smith, Executive Director of the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) in Washington, D.C.
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Smith continued: "On April 3, 2009, Lao military forces deliberately targeted for ethnic cleansing three Lao Hmong civilians groups in the jungle and mountain area of Phou Da Phao who they brutally attacked and began slaughtering with machine guns and other weapons, the victims included many innocent Lao Hmong children, and villagers. The confirmed Hmong children's names and ages killed by Lao military and security forces in the April 3rd attack against unarmed Hmong civilians groups at Phou Da Phao, Laos, include: Ker Lee, 10 years old; Xue Thao, 8; Thong Thao, 7; Ka Lee, 6, Moua Thao, 3; Yer Thao, 4; Thao Houa, 2 ; Kao Lee, 1; and Chia Thao, 15 years old."

"Many more Laotian and Hmong women and children have been captured, or have disappeared, or else killed in the jungle of Laos, as a result of additional attacks that have been launched in recent weeks and months by the Lao military; However, we have the confirmed deaths and bodies of nine (9) Hmong children in Laos that were the result of the Lao government's military attack of April 3 at Phou Da Phao, " Philip Smith concluded.

Recently, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the BBC, New York Times, Al Jazzera, Time Magazine and other independent human rights organizations and journalists have documented the Lao military's attacks and atrocities against Lao Hmong civilians and political and religious dissident groups seeking sanctuary in the jungles and mountains of Laos.

"Cher Tong Thao, Nom Long Lee and Tong Pao Yang are leading unarmed Lao Hmong civilians groups in-hiding, composed of mostly sickly women and children survivors, trying to protect them from LPDR ethnic cleansing operations and military attacks in Laos, as well as the Lao military's cruel efforts to starve them to death," stated Vaughn Vang, Director of the Hmong Lao Human Rights Council.

Vaughn Vang continued: "The unarmed and defenseless Lao Hmong civilians, especially the women and children who are so very hungry, are crying out and pleading for emergency help from the United Nations and world community as well as the United States, Amnesty International and human rights organizations, to please immediately put pressure on the Lao Communist government, the LPDR, to withdrawal all its military forces, and to stop attacking, and ambushing all locations of Hmong civilians in-hiding in the jungle of the Phou Da Phao mountain area."

"They are only civilians, women and children; Their only wish is to live peacefully, free from persecution, torture and killings of the Lao Communist regime," Vaughn Vang observed.

A spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity, in Laos for three of the surviving Hmong groups in hiding, that have been under attack in Laos in the Phou Da Phao mountain area of Xieng Khouang Province in recent weeks and months, issued the following statement describing the situation: "We the Hmong civilians in-hiding in the jungle of Phou Da Phao currently are surrounded by the Lao communist government military forces. The Lao PDR military are ambushing us everywhere in the mountains; hills, rivers, and where ever natural food is growing that we can try and eat. Water and food are currently cut off, we are starving, while our people are being hunted and being killed daily. All of us will likely be killed in the next few weeks without help."

The Lao Hmong spokesperson who witnessed the attack of April 3, and other recent LPDR attacks and atrocities against the Lao Hmong civilians continued: "The Lao military is surrounding and launching heavy attacks and ambushes with troops and artillery from everywhere in the mountains, hills, and river valleys around the mountain area of Phou Da Phao,"

STK Mass Outing May 09

2009-05-19T21:11:00.002+08:00

Just over the weekend, we had the first mass children's outing involving 2 villages. Khek Noi and Huay Nam Khao.

Over the 2 days, we brought some 50-60 kids out to Lan Hin Taek (Field Of broken stones) for excursion. The second day we had telematches and mass games in Khao Khor before heading to the final place - a place where children never get bored.... the brown watered village lake !

Pictures will follow shortly

Head Office Temp Relocation

2009-05-14T00:16:00.003+08:00

For the next 2 months, the RADION head office in Chiang Mai will be relocated to Phetchabun for renovation. So for the next few months the field office will be the main hub.

Send all your correspondences here if necessary :)

Phetchabun Field Office

3/1 Moo 8,

Tambon Khek Noi

Amphur Khao Kho

Phetchabun 67280

+66 5692 5580

Frustrations

2009-05-13T13:52:00.003+08:00

This morning, Jong and her mother came to our field office and Jong's mother asked us to re-accept Jong into the program.

Just 2 weeks ago, Jong's mother came by and was convinced that she wanted to put her child through school herself and she asked for the school grant to be handed to her.

(This year, the government gave a 550bht grant to children from poor families to subsidise the purchase of school uniforms and textbooks)

Jong's mother came over a couple of times saying that she will put Jong into Khek Noi school and needed the money (550bht = SGD 20) to quickly purchase the uniforms Jong to go to school. So on compassionate grounds, my staff handed her the money in good faith.

Today, when the mother arrived, we asked her if she has gotten the school uniforms and we got a rude shock. She told us that she "lent" the money to someone else and Jong was still not in school, not a single cent was spent to get the child her uniform.

Now the mom comes over and asks us to send Jong to school after missing the school opening term.

We told Jong and the mother that there are more needy kids out on the streets and Jong has to understand its a opportunity to go to school and she has to want it herself. And with all runaway kids, she has to bear the consequences and punishment.

So we gave her and the mom till 5pm today to discuss when Jong is ready to come back.

STK Showdown

2009-05-10T21:38:00.004+08:00

Today we finally had our cooking competition between the girls and the boys on the streetkids program. Its a simple competition meant to add some hype to their daily routine and more importantly 2 things :
1 ) Teach them to appreciate the ones who prepare their meals, silently working behind the scenes
2 ) Teach them to manage funds (each team is given a budget of 50bht) whoever saves the most wins :)

The boys went out into the jungle to collect the banana flower as their main ingredient and came up with a fried banana flower dish (tasted something like instant noodle flavouring + goreng pisang)

The girls came up with a more traditional dish of stir fried vegetables with deep fried pork, which tasted quite decent as well.

The winner ? Surprisingly the BOYS ! (Rated by my 2 thai staff and ben)

Mouse Hunt...

2009-05-10T16:34:00.004+08:00

Just this morning, I shifted my humid office from the top level to the cooler basement . The basement serves as our medical and dried rations store and its cool all year round :)

As i shifted my stuff down, i noticed traces of paper bit all over the place and there was only one conclusion..... RATS

Its not the first time rats have attacked the store and so i started to check all the medical supplies and when i opened the lower cabinates, i was taken aback.... all our medical gloves, masks and supplies have been bitten through. The plastics game cones were bitten through as well. Thats few thousand baht lost to these rodents.

So me and ben started to clean up the mess when we heard shuffling behind the cabinets and a big rat ran out as we probed the mess with a stick..

Yes... it took almost 2 hours for the whole clean up... and to kill the rats....

These are the culprits..... 1 momma rat and 3 smaller ones...

Too Little Blogging

2009-05-09T00:25:00.000+08:00

Alright...... i'm going to re-try to blog as much of our activities as possible *sheepish grin*

Sometimes here in Thailand, we get so busy with the little things that we forget to share these joys with you :)

Some nice updates :
1 ) Tomorrow we are having a STREETKDIS! "showdown" where the guys will be pitting their culinary skills against the girls. The winner gets ..... nothing and the loser gets to wash the plates. The judges (Ben, Aun, Me.... will be suffering..... )

Through this event, i hope to get them to get interested in helping out in the kitchen, learning to put money to its best use :) As each team is given just 50bht to make a dish :)

Its dinner tomorrow, if i don't blog further for the next 3-4 days, you'll know that i;m suffering from food poisoning :)

Not For The Screamish

2009-05-08T00:27:00.003+08:00

This picture was taken sometime back. This is how the story goes, ben went back to the room and while he turned on the lights, something moved just a few inches from his fingers.

So this is the feller that gave us a scare..... as we were not sure if it was poisonous (but later we learnt from the locals that it was not). This gecko is known as the TU KEH, and it will croak the entire night if it lived in your roof..... and if you get too close to it... it will SNAP... and the worst part ? It WILL NOT let go.....

See the size of the dead gecko next to a 500ml bottle :)

p/s : the locals eat the tu keh too :)

Runnaway Jong

2009-04-30T13:13:00.002+08:00

Just a few minutes ago, i received a phone call from my staff in Phetchabun. She told me that one of our kids had ran away. It was none of the usual suspects, instead its Jong.

What happened was hilarious. The kids were all tasked to do their revisions and study prior to the new term and my staff was tutoring all the kids. So this girl who had never been good at math was asked to recite the multiplication table.... and she just could not get it.

And today she ran home to tell her mom that she wanted to work in the fields and does not want to study anymore.

This is hilarious but also just as disturbing as we do see a trend among the streetkids to take a shortcut in life when they are faced with challenges. :)

Lets see how the next few days go :)

Songkran @ Pattaya (Part 2)

2009-04-28T13:26:00.006+08:00

Group photo at Million Year Stone Park & Crocodile Farm

Jetty From Pattaya To Koh Larn

Group Photo On Th Ferry

Koh Larn Island Jetty

Director playing with sand on koh larn

Sisters (Nuu & Kita) playing

Nong Plaa

Children at work !

Jai deep in thoughts

Group picture at Underwater World Pattaya

StreetKids ! 2009

Giant fish !!

Underwater world

Underwater World Touch Pool

Snacking .....ice cream :)

Meal time :)

A picture with the staff
The "afro" head night !

The final day at Pattaya Water Park

Taking a jump !

Thailand to speed up repatriation of Hmongs : FM

2009-04-28T12:30:00.002+08:00

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Luang Prabang
Published on March 26, 2009

Thailand will today repatriate 350 Hmong refugees from Phetchabun to Laos, speeding up the repatriation of the remaining 5,500 by the end of this year, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.

The minister discussed the repatriation plan with his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith during a meeting of the Thai-Lao Joint Commission (JC) in the ancient city of Luang Prabang.

The deportation was made on a voluntary basis and outsiders can monitor the whereabouts and wellbeing of the Hmong in Laos, Kasit said.

Laos has prepared areas for the returnees in Vientiane province's Ban Pha Lak with pieces of land for residents and farming, said Thongloun.

If Thailand can repatriate all remaining Hmong refugees this year, Laos is ready in terms of budget and resources to take them back, he said.

After the JC meeting, Kasit handed over assistance funds of Bt 1.5 million to Thongloun to support a public health service in Pha Lak for the Hmong.

Thailand has already deported 2,057 Hmong to Laos since May 2007 after having sheltered some 8,000 ethnic minorities since late 2004.

The two ministers also discussed a so-called roadmap for Hmong repatriation during the JC meeting, Thongloun said.

Thailand's Internal Security Operation Command (Isoc), which takes care of the Hmong in Phetchabun's Ban Huay Nam Khao, is likely to run of out budget by September this year. Kasit said his government would allocate more funds for the Isoc if the repatriation could not be completed in time.

For another group of some 150 Hmong currently detained in Nong Khai's detention centre who want to resettle in third countries, Kasit said he would invite representatives from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States to consult on a possible resettlement plan.

However, first the 150 Hmong would be repatriated to Laos. The resettlement program would then begin, following agreement between Vientiane and the third countries, he said.

The JC meeting also discussed the progress of the land boundary demarcation, of which 676 out of 702 kilometres have been demarcated already. The remainder would be worked out by the end of this year, Kasit said.

The water boundary of 1,108 km, mostly along the Mekong River, would be demarcated by next year, he said.

The government would propose parliamentary approval for the demarcation negotiation framework this week, enabling the Joint Boundary Committee to achieve the task soon, he added.

STK Outing : Splashing Good Time

2009-04-23T13:36:00.003+08:00

We have just completed our songkran 2009 streetkids outing. The kids enjoyed themselves thoroughly.... with the highlight being the last day where they went to a water park where they had unlimited plays on the big slides (similar to the old big splash).

For those who have missed this.... you just have to wait for next year *grinz*

This is what we did for the 6 days.

Day 1 :
The children embarked on a 8 hour journey to reach bangkok airport. This is the first time they ever seen an airplane, and they were getting so excited that ben had to get them to sit down when the truck was moving.

This was also the first day where they learn how to use a cash card to purchase food at the food courts.

Day 2 :
This was the very first time in the children's lives that they see the blue seas for themselves. Many commented how delicious the water was... as it was salty *grinz*

They played for the entire morning in the waters and even had a go on the speedboat and riding on the banana boat which they went into a frenzy.

Later in the day, we visited the underwater world where the children came up close and personal with the marine life... touchponds, sharks, big fishes, eels..... etc etc

Day 3 :
On the 3rd day, the kids took a ferry for the first time, getting so excited. But the excitement did not last for too long as they soon got motion sickness :)

Again the motion sickness wore out when they arrived at the island where they got to play on white sandy beaches and got smoulded with white powder from the party goers.

Day 4 :
On the 4th day, we attempted to head out to the crocodile farm, however was caught in a massive jam for more than 2 hours (on a 200m stretch of road)... before we finally gave up and turned around.

The children were happy returning back to the resort and spending some 5 hours soaking in the swimming pool (till their palms turned wrinkly and white)

Day 5 :
We got the kids up early that morning to bring them to crocodile farm and stone park. This place was more like a zoo where there were also tigers, elephants and rare birds. The kids were all running around the enclosures and trying to tease the crocodiles.....

The final highlight was the pattaya water park where they spent the entire afternoon playing on the water slides....agian and again... and again... and again..... it was simply amazing how kids can be so entertained by such simple things for so long.

Day 6 :
A final day of good byes to our volunteers before heading back to Phetchabun. The entire team reached safely at 10pm back in the village

*more pictures will follow once i get an CF card reader :)

Blogging At Airport

2009-04-16T10:48:00.003+08:00

After a nice 3 weeks in Singapore, I'm now again on my way back to Thailand. These 3 weeks has been a great time for me, a time for me to recuperate(from my strained back from Project LIVES) and a time to meet the groups which i've not managed to meet up the last few rounds.

Anyway, now I'm stuck in the depature lounge waiting for my badly delayed flight to finally decide to take off.... budget airlines and it quirks with the entire check in system crashing just before i managed to get my tickets.

Once i touch down I'll be joined by ben and the gang to bring the streetkids to Pattaya for a splashing good time - Songkran (Thai new year celebrated by splashing water unwary strangers *grin*) All the streetkids for the first time will get to visit bangkok & pattaya as part of their educational exposure programe :)

Looking ahead, today will be a day of travelling and fun with more than 20 people in tow. From the STK children to the staff to the volunteers, its going to be exciting bringing those kiddos to see the vast blue sea for the first time.

So I'll continue blogging after I get back to Phetchabun from Pattaya. :)

Situation In Bangkok

2009-04-13T18:01:00.003+08:00

The situation in Thailand seems to be escalating and now its starting to be marked by bloodshed in Bangkok.

Protests have now spread to the major cities in Thailand in the form of a traffic blockade.

These traffic blockades may affect RADION's humanitarian relief work we require these transportation channels to send food to the needy areas.

Excerpt from Bangkok Post

Roads, railways, bridges blocked in response to crackdown

Published: 13/04/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: News

Red shirt protesters have blocked major roads, railways and bridges, and surrounded city halls in several provinces in response to the government crackdown on the group.

Red-shirt protesters can be seen my many up-country towns as well as Bangkok.

After police arrested a red shirt leader and the government closed the DStation TV satellite signal, which broadcasts messages to the group's supporters, the red shirts retaliated in many provinces.

United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship leader Arisman Pongruangrong, who led red shirt protesters in the storming of the Asean summit venue in Pattaya on Saturday, was arrested in Bangkok yesterday morning.

Also yesterday, the government cut the satellite signal of DStation, the UDD station which broadcasts ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's video talks and phone-ins.

The two steps prompted an angry reaction by reds in the provinces. DStation resumed broadcast about an hour later.

In Chiang Mai, about 3,000 red shirt protesters led by the Rak Chiang Mai 51 group blocked the main road linking Chiang Mai and Lamphun province.

In Chiang Rai's Muang district, about 500 protesters blocked traffic at Mae Korn intersection, barring vehicles from entering or leaving Chiang Rai.

In Lampang, about 200 protesters blocked the Lampang-Phrae road in front of Lampang city hall, paralysing traffic.

In Phitsanulok, protesters surrounded the province's city hall.

In the northeastern province of Udon Thani, the stronghold of another red shirt leader, Kwanchai Phraiphana, about 2,500 red shirt protesters rallied in front of the province's city hall.

In Lamphun, hundreds of red shirt protesters blocked a railway line forcing the cancellation of train services passing through the northern province.

In Ubon Ratchathani, protesters laid siege to the city hall and blocked Chayangkoon road, the province's main road, as well as other major roads leading to Bangkok.

Six military companies and an anti-riot police company were ordered to stand by to quell possible violence.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, Mittraphap highway, the main highway from Bangkok to the northeastern provinces, was also blocked.

In Nong Khai, traffic on the road leading to the first Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge was blocked by 300 red shirt protesters. They left one lane open for traffic.

About 200 police and volunteers held back the protesters about 50 metres away from the Thai-Lao border checkpoint.

In Mukdahan, where the second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge is located, 200 protesters blocked the bridge for hours before agreeing to move their rally to Mukdahan city hall.

Police pleaded with them to refrain from causing difficulties to tourists.

In the eastern province of Chanthaburi, 400 red shirt protesters blocked highway 317 linking Chanthaburi and Sa Kaeo province in Pong Namron district.

STK : Sponsorship Kut

2009-03-29T18:30:00.004+08:00

Nong Kut comes from a dysfunctional family with his father imprisoned for life for drug trafficking. Kut's father was imprisoned when Kut was born and since than his mother has struggled to raise him up. His mother who single handedly raised him is also now working with RADION.

Kut has been doing excellently in school and in the next term, he will be without a sponsor.
Please email me if you are keen to sponsor Kut for the next education year.

Monthly sponsorship is at SGD98/month.

Just arrived home :)

2009-03-28T20:42:00.002+08:00

I've just got back to Singapore after a tiring 15hour bus/taxi/flight journey from Phetchabun back to Singapore.

Some quick updates.
1 ) Songkran 2009 is still open for registration. The price is at SGD800 instead of SGD900 due to the unavailability of better accommodation. So if you plan to jump on this trip, be prepared to rough it out with us in fanned cool bunks :)

2 ) Streetkids Sponsorship - Nong Kut will be without a sponsor from next month onwards. If you would like to sponsor him, please drop me a mail. (I'll write a little more about him in the next few days). 2-3 more kids are scheduled to join the streetkids program :)

3 ) Sponsors For StreetKids! - All streetkids sponsors should be receiving a mail from their sponsored children this month.

4 ) Community Development Project - There are a couple of needy families requiring assistance and have asked us if we have jobs available for them. I'll be blogging more about this shortly as well.

5 ) Meetings & Scheduling - I will be only available from 30 onwards and I'll be returning on 16th Apr to Thailand. If you would like me to brief your groups or organisation on our programmes, please contact me to reserve a slot. Thanks. eugene@radion-international.org

Hmong Lao : Food Supply Cut

2009-03-11T01:59:00.002+08:00

Hmong food supply cut
Thailand

The Thai military blocked food supplies over the weekend to a Hmong refugee camp in an apparent effort to force the 5,400 “illegal immigrants” to return to Laos.
.
On Friday, the military prevented Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) from delivering food supplies to Ban Huay Nam Khao camp in Phetchabun province, 250 km north-east of Bangkok.
.
Hmong leader Lee Sue has reportedly called on Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission to investigate the military’s conduct.
.
The Thai military reportedly cut off food supplies to punish the Hmong camp inmates for refusing to be counted, seen by some Hmong as a first step towards forced repatriation to Laos. DPA

-Source Today Newspaper/TodayOnline.com

Note : Sources indicates that the Thai military was conducting a headcount during the food distribution by MSF. The refugees refused the headcount as it is seen as a step towards their forced repatriation. A few groups resisted the headcount.

Distribution To Destitute Students

2009-03-07T00:38:00.003+08:00

Khek Noi Public School is the first benificiary of Project Lives! shipment. With the school's assistance, we shortlisted a total of 473 needy pupils from destitute backgrounds. The school generously offered the assistance of all the teachers in our distribution project.

The goodie bag items :
- Shampoo & Conditioner & Moisturisers (Crabtree & Evelyn)
- 2 X Soap
- 1 X Toothbrush (Public collection & Habitat For Humanity)
- 1 X Toothpaste (Public collection & Habitat For Humanity)
- 1 X Towel
- 1 X Sling Bag from Starhub

Arrival at the school compounds

The students getting into line with the form teacher's assistance

A total of 473 bags were distributed.
(Some students could not make it for the photo session due to the exam period)

The happy faces

Back and Rolling

2009-03-06T16:49:00.002+08:00

I have just returned to Phetchabun from our main office in Chiang Mai and my eyes are hardly open....

The drive was strenuous as we had to wait till close to 11pm last night before the vehicle was repaired. Our very first small green trusty old truck (or affectionately known as the FunVee) underwent its first major repair as many of the mechanical parts have given way due to wear and tear. The repair was extensive and took almost 4 days to complete.

Now coming back to the drive, the drive was 6 hours long from Chiang Mai to Phetchabun and I had to reach Khek Noi by 2pm for the destitute relief distribution at the public school. Working backwards, I had to set off at 7am to make good the schedule....

In a short while I'll post more pictures of the outreach we just completed at the public school to some 500 children from destitute families.

StreetKids + Project LIVES!

2009-02-28T00:37:00.004+08:00

Alright. Some of you have been asking to see the new place where the streetkids are putting up.

The impetus for the shift from our field office to the new place is due to the constant influx of new children and more importantly, our children are growing up. So we do foresee problems if they share a single room at the basement of my office.

So here it is, it isn't 5-star but its just perfect for our expanding streetkids work. This is what it has...
- 4 Rooms
- Storeroom (or rather storage corridor)
- 2 Toilets (One inside and one out in the field!)
- 1 External kitchen
- 1 big hall which we partitioned to cater for more storage space.
- Parking space :)
- On a plot of field which is roughly the size of 1 football field

The house and parking place to the left.

Open area used for games and stuff :)

This little outfit used to house pigs. But we're going to convert it to a mushroom farm :)

The kitchen behind the house. There is no proper dining area, so we'll be trying to do a little reno here for a proper dining area.

The boy's room and their spanking new double deck beds (which arrived together with the container)

The girls room. Slightly larger. Right now we have 7 girls staying in this room.

This place used to be a living room.... utill the container rolled in :)
Temporary storage and sorting of container reliefs.

Arrival Of Project LIVES! Container

2009-02-27T18:50:00.005+08:00

The container arrived early yesterday morning after some small delays at the port. The goods arrived all intact :)

As you know, the village has low hanging wires as such the container can only reach the main holding area and we had to use an additional 3 trucks and engage our part time workers to assist in the unloading process.

From the main holding area, the reliefs were shuttled to 2 different storage areas for easy access. The first is our existing office and ops hub, the second is our new streetkids! accommodation building.

Some pictures of the day in actions..

Container rolling into the holding area just at 0730am.

Some of the 1456 boxes of cargo.

The unloading in progress

Container unloading completed at 1300

Monday A Big Day

2009-02-22T00:37:00.002+08:00

The 40' Project LIVES! container has arrived in Bangkok safely and is now undergoing custom checks.
If all goes smoothly, we should expect the container to arrive the village on Monday. That is when all the action will start.... why ?

The village has low hanging wires(electricals, phone etc etc) and the container has height restrictions.... less we tear down 1/2 of the village's power supply.

We'll be parking the container at the nearest clearing and shuttle the items to our 2 storage sites. And this would roughly take half a day considering the number of cartons involved.

And yes, we are also expecting a staff from Syngenta to come down.
Syngenta, a world-leading agro-tech company has kindly offered to contribute to our Community Development Project (Phetchabun Integrated Farm) by providing their high growth variety seeds and expertise.

Lets see how things run on monday :)

Hmong Lao : Deportation Pending

2009-02-20T22:39:00.001+08:00

Laos to Hmong: Return, you've no choice

By: ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT
Published: 20/02/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

PHETCHABUN : Hmong illegal migrants at a camp here have no choice but to return to Laos, says a senior Lao official, in a new campaign which seems to have failed. ''Don't dream that you will be landed elsewhere,'' said deputy chief of staff of the Lao armed forces Buaxiang Champaphan after talks with 20 Hmong leaders yesterday.

''No country, including the United States, will receive you.

''And don't ever hope to put up any resistance, as no one will support you. So think about it thoroughly again.''

The Lao officer initially planned to visit the camp at Ban Huay Nam Khao in Khao Kho district but changed his mind and met with the Hmong representatives at the nearby Khao Kho Task Force.

A heavy presence of soldiers around the small tents where the meeting was held did not allow any of the Hmong to appear outside or make any protest.

Brig-Gen Buaxiang accompanied Nipat Thonglek, head of the Border Affairs Department, as well as other senior officials from both sides to the meeting.

Since 2004, several thousand Hmong from Laos have migrated illegally to the village to join others from Tham Krabok temple in Saraburi who resettled there in the hope of being sent to a third country.

They were relocated last year to a more restricted holding area uphill under the vigilance of the army while Thailand and Laos worked out ways to solve the problem.

The camp was originally intended to close at the end of last year. But since May 2007, only 2,057 Hmong have been sent back home, while 5,474 remain.

Lt-Gen Nipat said Thailand was still trying to convince the illegal migrants to return home but has not set a new deadline.''It might be considered a delay but we will keep doing so within the humanitarian framework in which [repatriation] is on a voluntary basis,'' said Lt Gen Nipat, co-chairman of the Thai-Lao general border subcommittee.

Streetkids! - New Kid On The Block

2009-02-20T17:43:00.002+08:00

Nong Nuu grew up in a dysfunctional family. Her father is a drug addict and constantly abuses her mother. The family finally tore apart when Nong Nuu was about 7 and since then her mother remarried and the step father does not consider Nuu as part of the family. Nong Nuu is also physically abused by her mom who uses a blunt object to hit her. When she first arrived, Nuu had a big bruise on her right arm.

Growing up in a destitute background, Nuu gets only plain rice for meals which she adds water to make it more palatable. Nuu does not receive sufficient nutrition and her growth has been affected.

Personal Note :
We first saw Nong Nuu when we went about our home visitation work. At that time, she just appeared at the door of the home we visited and looked on quietly. The volunteers spent a little while to play with the children however there was no mention that she came from a dysfunctional family. We did another round of home visitation and this round we visited her home and was told the story of how the family suffered through physical abuse.

Nong Nuu is a quiet and shy little girl who carries a beautiful smile – Hiding her hurts and pains.

*Nong Nuu is still in the probation phase, if you are keen to sponsor her, drop me a mail at eugene@radion-international.org

Farming Problems.

2009-02-20T17:37:00.002+08:00

Today was a memorable day.

The couple in my farm was going through a difficult patch in their marriage due to the differences.

You see, Phetchabun Integrated Farm was not only meant to serve as a prototype platform, but also provides jobs and housing for destitute families.

This is one of the families which we took in. The husband is a hard worker, but has an serious alcohol problem, affecting the family finances. The wife on the other hand has a temper issue.

Both these issues do not go well together and today it broke. The lady called today sobbing and saying that she'll quit. The man came in to my office in the afternoon in tears.

We had to spend close to 3 hours to counsel the family and bridge the differences.
Right now things are still tense, but we will continue to assist this family through this difficult time. Btw, they have a 1 year old child.

Project LIVES! - Container Loading Pictures

2009-02-18T09:58:00.005+08:00

The hard work....

40' Container rolls into Con Lash warehouse to be loaded.

Hope in each box

Container positioned for relief loading

Inspection by Alvin Peter. Chief coordinator for Project LIVES!

Sorting and packing each little item

The real machines behind all the work. 2 ladies doing the entire container manifest list

Checking and ensuring the last few boxes are securely sealed

Sorting under the hot sun for a good cause

Boxes all prepared for fork lifting

The action behind the container. Johnny (Con Lash Manager) and team.

The first few entries....

Final boxes count.... 1456th

A nostalgic last photoshoot before container is closed for shipment.

The final moments

A security seal and its on its way.

Site X : Pictures

2009-02-18T02:24:00.003+08:00

Children gathering in anticipation

Starting the games !

Little refugee children listening attentively to stories while the milk is being prepared

Giving out more than 100 cups of nutritious malt and milk

Mobile medical setup for refugees who have no access to medicine

Streetkids! - Songkran @ Pattaya !

2009-02-17T18:43:00.005+08:00

Alright people this is the long awaited annual trip !

This trip will be a 6D5N trip to Pattaya, Thailand.

We'll be bringing the children from the streetkids! program some 400km down south for educational exposure. The children are all terribly excited about this trip as this will be the very first time they'll be see a sandy beach and play in the sea. (Most of their lives, they have been staying in a land locked area)

These children are all from either substance abuse backgrounds, from high risk families or from the streets. Prerequisites : Active and fun volunteers who are water confident(as most of the activities would be water based)

The dates are from 13-18 Apr falling in line with the Songkran holidays (Water festival & Thai New Year). Visiting most major attractions like Coral Island, Crocodile Farm, Mini Siam, Water Park etc etc

The land cost of this trip is SGD900 (Including all transportation, accommodation, food and sightseeing cost. Excludes flight)

This round we can take a maximum of 10 volunteers and all must be ready to play and rough it out :)

Contact me quickly @ eugene@radion-international.org to reserve your space.

*For normal FRT(Fund Raising Trips) the mandatory SGD200 is channeled to the outreach fund. For this trip, the SGD200 goes directly into subsidizing the trip cost, making this trip possible for these under-privileged children.

Project LIVES! 2009 - Thank You

2009-02-17T14:08:00.004+08:00

Special Thanks.

Alvin Peter
Thank you for setting aside 2 weeks of your precious time to help out with the coordination and shipping documentation.

Millicent (Kyrie International)
Sis, thank you for all your efforts to rally sponsors for the shipping.

Ng Weiboon
Buddy, thank you for going that extra mile :)

Lee
Thank you for sourcing for warehousing and support for this project despite your busy schedules.

Johnny/Patrick (Con-Lash)
Gentlemen, thank you for your kind advice, pushing into late night hours for this container relief.

Cheryl Ng & Denise Wong (Pan Pacific)
A big thank you for your kind hospitality and making the public collection drive possible.

Staff Of Pan Pacific
It has been most heart warming seeing staff from all levels of management coming together to make this collection drive possible.

Kek Beng (MOLSIN)
Thank you once again for your kind advice and support for the shipping.

Debbie (SPF)
Thank you for your kind support and last minute assistance :)

James Tian (Salvation Army), Edmond (Habitat For Humanity)
Gentlemen, thank you for your generosity and support for this effort.

Crocs, CCM Pharmaceutical, Starhub Singapore
It has been a pleasure partnering with you. Thank you once again for your kind donations.

Bartley Secondary & Maris Stella High,
Thank you for rallying your students together in support of this cause. Special thanks to Jermyn Wee (Maris) and Fu Chee Sheng (Bartley)

Private Donors
Thank you for making that special effort to make this drive possible.

For the rest :)
Thank you my friends. It has been most encouraging to the leadership team of RADION seeing all of you rally in support of our efforts. Thank you once again. Without all of you working in the background. All these would never have been possible :) Thank you.

2009-02-17T14:08:00.001+08:00

Project LIVES! - Container Departs

2009-02-17T14:05:00.002+08:00

A big thank you to all our supporters and friends. Especially those who came together to make Project LIVES! 2009 a success.

Today the 40' container will be setting sail for Bangkok, we are expecting this cargo to reach us this friday/saturday.

Completed Site X Mission

2009-02-16T18:56:00.003+08:00

Thank you for your prayers and support.

We have completed another humanitarian relief mission at SITE X and have returned safely.

This mission saw more than 100 refugee children befitting from the MILK! Mission. We also operated a mobile clinic running in tandem with the relief distribution which saw some 1200 packets of dried rice noodles reaching the entire community of refugees.

Pictures will follow :)

Project LIVES! - The Last Lap

2009-02-11T22:11:00.003+08:00

Coming to a close, RADION now requires 10-20 volunteers to assist to help us load up the container with reliefs before its sent to Thailand. The loading is on 14th Feb from morning to evening.

Please contact Mr Benjamin Goh at ben@radion-international.org

Last Week At Project LIVES!

2009-02-11T21:50:00.003+08:00

Our annual relief drive - Project LIVES! had been a rousing success with all your kind support.

This annual relief drive not only aims to bring relief to Thailand but also to ensure our humanitarian relief operations are well oiled in the event of a crisis.

Our collection drive was split into 3 portions. School collection, Open Public Collection at Pan Pacific and Closed Corporate Donations.

Some pictures from our open collection drive at Pan Pacific over 7 and 8 Feb 09.

Today & Tomorrow ! Project LIVES!

2009-02-07T01:20:00.001+08:00

A Cross To Let Us Smile.

2009-02-02T01:35:00.003+08:00

Today I was having my devotional time and I just told the Lord, all I wanted was to see Him smile. And in that split second I realised that the Lord's desire was to see us smile as well. And then I thought about the painful cross which the Lord hung painfully till the very last moments...... the pains, the grief, the hurts, the sins that He bore upon himself........... so we could smile today.

I wept. Knowing that as He hung on that cross and gave His life in exchange for the lives of little insignificant human beings. All these because of love.

My job is a simple one. I give practical items to needy people regardless of race and religion. My message is simple. God has not forgotten them just like He has not forgotten me. And He loves them for who they are.... no matter if she is a prostitute, a abandoned family, a kid on the streets addicted to glue, a thief.... God still loves them.

I want our readers to come together this 2009 not only to support our work. But to pray with us. Our work has a certain amount of danger involved but its well worth it :)

Warming Up A Little

2009-01-28T03:36:00.004+08:00

The weather seems like its warming up a little with temperatures predicted to drop to a low of 6 deg.

In our village alone, 3 elderly people whom we reach out regularly with our food augmentation programs passed away due to the cold and poor health. Its tragic but its part and parcel of what we see.

We reckon that the cold snap is finally over, but lets keep our fingers crossed.

Fund raising for Blanket mission will be placed on hold from 30th Jan onwards. If we receive further forecast of bad weather, we'll send out another urgent appeal. For now sincere thanks to Kyrie International & Radion's supporters for giving so generously during this relief effort.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7-day Forecast

Jan 27, 2009 - Feb 2, 2009

Morning fog and thick patches in some places. Cold in the upper portion, minimum temperature 13-15 oC. and cool elsewhere, minimum temperature 16-21 oC. Cold to very cold in the high mountain, minimum temperature 6-10°C. Easterly winds 10-30 km/hr. During 28 Jan – 1 Feb, thick patches in many places and cool, minimum temperature 16-22°C. Light wind 6-12 km/hr.

Streetkids! : Nong Maai

2009-01-25T19:53:00.003+08:00

Nong Maai is our newest girl on the streetkids! program. Nong Maai is 9 this year but she has been doing poorly in school and has repeated level 1 for 2 years. When asked, she tells us that she is not able to cope in school as she is often asked by her mother to excuse herself from school to tend to her younger siblings. As such, her education is badly affected and till today, she can't speak properly.

We first came across Nong Maai during our home visitation to Somchai's family. Her mother is the sole breadwinner and the whole family is too poor to even afford a proper roof over their heads. Since our last visit to the family, the family of 7 has been squeezing below our makshift canvas roof which deterioated rapidly due to the presence of rats.

Nong Maai came for our december streetkids! mass outreach and we saw a little sparkle in the girl's eyes. When asked if she wants to stay with us, she shyly but quickly replied..."YES"

Nong Maai's family is dysfunctional with her mother taking care of the 6 children. The oldest child was slashed to death in a drug related issue. Her drug trafficking father has just been released from prison but now lives with another lady.

This shy little girl came in with moldy clothes and she has probably not bathed in weeks. This little girl has a huge dream, a dream to be a medical doctor. And we want to give her the best chance to reach for that dream.

Nong Maai requires a sponsor. Please write to me if you are keen to sponsor her.

Lunar New Year

2009-01-25T18:28:00.001+08:00

Wishing all my readers a blessed and prosperous lunar new year !

Singapore 23 Jan - 12 Feb

2009-01-24T18:47:00.003+08:00

Thank everyone for their support and prayers. Our relief distribution mission has been completed and both myself and benjamin just arrived Singapore last evening.

The same arrangement, for those who wish to schedule meetings or arrange for talks to your groups. Please contact me directly at eugene@radion-international.org

We'll be back till 12 Feb before returning back up to Thailand.

Some updates :
1 ) Streetkids! - 3 more kids scheduled to join the streetkids! programs
2 ) Streetkids! - We have just managed to secure a new site to house the children from the streetkids! program
3 ) Project Lives! - On schedule and we are looking for weekday volunteers. If you can afford your time, drop me a note.

Blanket Mission

2009-01-20T19:40:00.009+08:00

Today, we delivered the remaining blankets reaching a total of close to 400 needy families. Over 6 villages.

Today, we rushed to deliver aid to 3 hilltribe villages.

Converting the village meeting room to a first aid/medical clinic.

Attending to the elderly and destitute that have no close access to medical. Some were abandoned and did not have the means to get to the hospital.

Hand outs to the destitute. Most of them had to wear additional clothes at night as their existing blankets were too thin.

Group picture of Lau Nu Village - Hmomg hilltribe. Outside the village meeting room.

Lau Nu Village - Hmong & Thai Hill Tribe

Completed distribution of blankets at Lau Nu Village. This village consist of both Hmongs and Thais. Medical mission was not rendered as they are in close proximity to the provincial hospital.

This elderly lady was tearing as she was telling ben about how her son was involved in drugs & alcohol and abandoned her with her 3 children.

RADION team followed up with a home visit and conducted a needs assessment for her family and children. (more updates to follow. 2 children will be screened for eligibility for the Radion StreetKIDS! program.

Ben putting on a beanie for a unwell Lisaw child who came to collect blankets as well.

Pet Dam Village - Lisu Hilltribesmen
Completed relief distribution among the poorest of the 1000 strong lisu population

Medical mission was not scheduled but due to the number of sick turning up to collect the reliefs, we activated it. Attending to children running high fevers and colds due to the weather.

Weather Update : Northern Thailand

2009-01-20T01:18:00.000+08:00

Weather Forecast

From 23:00 - 23:00

Cold and morning fog with thick patches in some places. Minimum temperature 10-15°C. Maximum temperature 27-32 °C. Very cold on mountain tops, minimum temperature 3-6 °C. Light wind 6-12 km/hr.

Issued Date Jan 19, 2009

7-day Forecast

Jan 19, 2009 - Jan 25, 2009

1-3°C rises with morning fog and thick patches in many places. Cold, minimum temperature 10-15oC. Very cold in the high mountain, minimum temperature 4-6°C. Light winds 6-12 km/hr.

Relief Mission : Day 2 Relief Distribution

2009-01-19T17:05:00.003+08:00

This is the second day of our blanket & warm clothes distribution in response to the extreme cold weather.

Setting up for medical mission & blankets distribution at the first village - Hua Sai Nue

Site preparation for distribution

Briefing at the village head's office

Distributing of reliefs

Each needy family receives a big blanket and if there are children, they are given one more nylon blanket to tide over the cold.

Medical mission running in tandem with the relief distribution. Medical care was rendered to more than 40 needy people.

Relief distribution at the second village (Huay Nam Khao) in collaboration with the local church leader.

Children getting their share as well.

Children beanies were distributed to keep the little ones warm.

Relief Mission : All In A Day's Work

2009-01-18T22:59:00.010+08:00

Reliefs arrive on Saturday at 1500hrs consisting of almost 400 blankets

Unloading of cargo as detailed planning was ongoing in the field office.

Launched on Saturday 2100hrs with 2 vehicle loads to reach remote village at midnight.
Mountainous roads were heavily eroded and narrrow, only passable for one vehicle at any time.
One of our girls threw up due to the rough terrain.

Photo of the village-Poo Kat, taken in the morning 0700hrs.
The village is deep in the mountains without electrical power supply.

Elderly lady broke into tears, grateful that somebody came.

One of the Hmong homes. This is a picture of the bed that sleeps 3.

The elderly's granddaughter standing by, watching.

The village was not equipped with a clinic and the closest hospital was in the next town.
Medical team rolled into action, seeing almost 40 patients.

RADION staff organising the distribution site.

Destitute villagers gathering to receive the much needed blankets.

Villagers waiting patiently as their names are called.

The people receiving instructions on the collection process and collecting the blankets and warm clothes.

Relief team departed at 1400hrs, safely arriving back at Phetchabun Field office at 1700hrs.
Monday we are scheduled to distribute more blankets to 2 more villages.

Operation Launched

2009-01-17T20:27:00.003+08:00

In less than 24 hours of receiving news of pending drastic cold weather, RADION responded with ah-hoc humanitarian relief operation. Logistics and relief items rolled into the field office in preparation for the work.

In less than 2 hours, RADION team will be launching into the province of Nakonthai into the mountain ranges to bring relief to the population.

The 1st wave would see close to 500 families being reached.

Standby for more updates.

Hmong Lao Refugees : Confirmed Deportation

2009-01-17T11:34:00.000+08:00

BANGKOK, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Thailand agreed on Friday with Laos's request to repatriate some 5,000 Hmong refugees from Thailand's northern province of Phetchabun by the middle of this year. Thailand has sheltered some 8,000 Hmong from Laos since 2004.

"It is possible that we are able to repatriate them in accordance with the schedule since it is now clear that the Hmong could return safely," the website by The Nation newspaper quoted Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya as saying on Friday.

The Thai foreign minister visited Vientiane on Friday for an introductory trip as Thailand's new foreign minister and to review all issues concerning bilateral ties, the website reported.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva also plans to visit Laos on Jan. 23 to introduce himself as Thailand's new Premier and to discuss further cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

Urgent : Disaster Relief Operations

2009-01-16T17:08:00.001+08:00

To All RADION’s Personal Friends & Supporters,

An unusual cold spell has hit Thailand with temperatures dropping to 2 deg c in northern parts of the country.
To date 5 deaths have been reported and the authorities have declared an emergency zone across more than half of the country.
The small villagers which are on the located on the mountains are affected by the cold spells with reports of temperature reaching minus 3 degrees in one mountain.

RADION International is launching emergency relief efforts to bring blankets and warm cloths the remote mountain villages.
In the first phase, RADION will be purchasing blankets to reach the most pressing villages in the circumference of RADION’s field office in Phetchabun.

RADION requires your financial support for the purchase of blankets and relief effort. Please donate generously.

For cheque donors, indicate : “Thailand Cold Disaster Relief”

CHEQUE DONATION
Please cross the cheques and make them payable to :
RADION International before dropping the cheques at any OCBC Cheque deposit box.
Or send your cheque to :
RADION International
Singapore Post Centre Post Office
PO Box 053 Singapore 914002

PAYPAL DONATION
Please IB to OCBC Current Account : 521-849620-001
Please include your full name for accounting purposes.

Eugene Wee
Operations Director
RADION International

Cold Weather Reports From RTG

2009-01-16T16:12:00.001+08:00

45 provinces affected by extreme cold weather conditions

Source: Royal Thai Goverment

Date: 15 Jan 2009

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation provides recent update on the extreme cold weather conditions nationwide, while stating that as of now a total of 45 provinces have already been affected.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) reported today (January 15) that thus far 45 provinces nationwide, consisting of 16 in the North, 19 in the Northeast, 3 in the East and 7 in the central region. All of which have already been affected by extreme cold weather conditions.

Meanwhile, 44 of these cold-affected provinces have been declared as emergency disastrous zone due to its climate that has posed significant threat to many lives. In response, 742,297 warm clothing were already dispatched to the affected victims.

The DDPM also has been coordinated with responsible authorities to provide further assistance to the locals in concerned areas.

Disaster Relief - Extreme Weather In Thailand

2009-01-16T15:37:00.002+08:00

From Thai Meteorological Center

Warning
"Colder in Thailand and High Wave in Gulf"
No. 21 (21/2552) Time Issued : January 12, 2009
The strong surge of intense high pressure from China remains over Thailand and the Gulf and causes colder, 1-3 °C drop with continuous windy over the areas by 15 January 2009. Cold to very cold occurs in the North and Northeast including the mountain tops with isolated frost.

The prevailing strong northeast monsoon over the Gulf and southern Thailand causes high wave 2-4 meters

in the Gulf of Thailand and landward winds. All ships should proceed with caution, and small boats keep ashore during

12-15 January 2009.

Project Lives! - Logo Design Rave

2009-01-15T22:38:00.002+08:00

Friends,

As we draw closer to the collection dates for Project LIVES!
RADION has launched a funky way of getting our volunteers involved.

This round, you get to design our campaign logo which will be printed on posters and stickers. The stickers will go onto every carton which we send to Thailand.

Make your mark ! Join us !

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=44773284850

Project Lives! - E-Pamplet

2009-01-15T00:57:00.001+08:00

Project Lives! - Container Of Hope

2009-01-13T13:05:00.002+08:00

Every year, we pull together people from all walks of life to send a container shipment of relief items to reach the destitute and the marginalised people groups. The ones who really need them.

This project is now coined as PROJECT LIVES!

This year Project Lives! will be launched in tandem with the Chinese New Year festive season and we need your help again to make this 40 foot container shipment a success.

We hope that every item that is donated is given in love. Let me shift a little paradigm here. Yes these destitutes are poor, Yes. They need the items, yes. But they too have feelings and pride. Thus, I want to encourage every person to give generously of their used items, but only items which are in good condition. This helps us bring that measure of hope to these people.

I've attached a more detailed list of items which are required :

1 ) Dry/Canned food items (Staples or meat items with at least 3 months towards expiry date)

2 ) Used clothes, blankets, jackets, towels (Washed and in good condition)

3 ) Hygiene Items (Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap)

4 ) Medical/Pharmaceutical items (first aid kits/gloves/masks/bandages)

5 ) New Stationary/Educational Materials (Drawing blocks, coloring books, coloring pencils/crayons)

6 ) Electronics/Technology Items (Solar Panels, Water filtration systems, torch lights, batteries)

7 ) Foam sleeping mattresses

8 ) Baby clothes/Nursery Items (Feeding bottles, etc etc)

Our collection booth will be opened only for 2 days on 6-7 Feb. Mailers & pamplets with more details will follow.

Site X : Distribution Pictures

2009-01-05T09:35:00.004+08:00

Working with the refugee leaders for relief distribution

Children queuing up to receive food and milk in our MILK! mission
Providing medical attention to refugees who have no access to medical aid

A Blessed New Year

2009-01-01T02:17:00.001+08:00

Dear friends and supporters,

Wishing all of you a blessed 2009 !

From all of Team RADION here in Thailand.

CNY Clothes Collection Drive

2008-12-26T23:30:00.002+08:00

Every Chinese New Year, as part of the festive season, we buy new clothes to usher in a brand new year. This year, we are doing a clothes collection drive post-CNY and we ask for you to set aside all your old clothes which are in good condition and give them to the destitute.

We will be planning a container shipment up and we need the following things :
1 ) Carton Boxes (About 300)
2 ) Warehousing Space
3 ) Volunteers For Collection & Sorting
4 ) 4 Collection Point (North, South, East & West Areas) for people to drop off their stuff.

This drive is similar to the one before. We will be sorting the items and the items that have re-sale value, we will sell these items to help us cover shipping costs. The remaining clothes will go directly to the following people groups.

1 ) Destitute Villagers
2 ) Streetkids!
3 ) Hmong Refugees

Email me @ eugene@radion-international to be part of this effort !

December Update

2008-12-26T23:26:00.002+08:00

Blessed Christmas to all our dear readers and supporters.

I know this came a little late as we lost internet connection up here for the last 11 days.

We have just completed a series of home visitations and tomorrow is the Hmong New Year. We'll be celebrating with the poor by treating them for a simple dinner, and on Sunday, we'll be having mass games with the children from destitute families :)

Please keep us in your prayers :)

Goods In Kind (CAA 18 Dec 08)

2008-12-18T01:35:00.003+08:00

Professional Skill sets
1 ) Ad-Hoc Medical Team (Doctors+Nurses)
2 ) Ad-hoc Dental Team
3 ) Resident Translator (Hmong English) (1 Year Volunteer Stint)
4 ) Resident Child Care Volunteer (1 Year Volunteer Stint)
5 ) Resident Care Volunteer(Early Childhood/Children's Development/Psychology/Social Work Grad)

Practical Items
1 ) Mosquito Nets (Prevent against malaria)
2 ) Blankets
3 ) Slippers
4 ) Torch Light + Batteries
5 ) Medicine Sponsorship

Structural Items
1 ) 2 Homes need toilets built
2 ) 2 Homes need help to fix their roofs

Logistics
1 ) Container Freight (Singapore to Thailand)
2 ) Transportation For Reliefs in Thailand

Streetkids
(*)-We have 10 kids are growing rapidly. We need a new premises
1 ) New premises rental
2 ) Renovation & clean up premises to make it livable
3 ) Kitchen Items
- Big Fridge
- Stove
- Utensils (Fork/Spoon/Knife/Cups/Plates)
4 ) Mosquito Netted Doors/Windows
5 ) Double Deck Beds (Space Constraints)
6 ) Vehicle to be converted with a canvas roof (To ferry children to school)

Guidelines For Volunteers

2008-12-18T01:10:00.004+08:00

Alrighty. Quite a couple of volunteers want to partner us for trips but do not know the guidelines. So here we go.

Guidelines
1 ) No tourist.
The work we do is depressing enough, volunteers who are insensitive will only add to the emotional strain of these people. Example : We had a man who loved photography, and he went up to the refugee camp and started snapping pictures away while distribution was ongoing and the refugees started to feel like it was a human zoo.

2 ) Religiously Neutral/Politically Neutral Volunteers
We work in a cross culture environment and as Christians, we strive to maintain a fine balance and we respect people for who they are. Distribution and relief is evenly distributed irregardless of their religious preference. This policy is non-negotiable.

3 ) Every volunteer is self-supported.
Some people come up to me and ask me to pay for their entire trip because they volunteer their time and effort (which is worth a lot back in the home country). Yes I understand, but again we can't pay for your trip/accommodation/food/everything. If We did, we would have to take money from the food budget for the destitute to feed you. Wouldn't be right there ya ?

4 ) Make a difference. I mean... a good difference
Now, volunteers like to give things which are considered necessities. ie necklaces, shoes, toys etc etc. You see in the place i live, the kids grow up without lots of unnecessary items. And its enough. 1st world necessities do not necessary translate to 3rd world necessities. You want to know what is needed ? Food. Water. Sanitation. Shelter.

You can write in to ask about the list of needs. Giving the wrong items creates an artificial need, which cannot be sustained on the long run. So yes. Write in :)

FRT : 23- 30 Dec - An Unforgettable Christmas

2008-12-12T11:50:00.002+08:00

This is more info for you late birds :)

We'll be operating another FRT (Fund Raising Trip) to Phetchabun Thailand.

I'm hoping to gather about 30 volunteers to run the show as I'm targeting about 300 children from the Hmong village. Now, this event will be the largest children's outreach the village has ever seen and you can be part of it !

We are expecting children from ages 8 to 15 in this event, mostly from poor and less fortunate backgrounds. So what we hope to do ? We hope to bring the Christmas cheer to these little ones.

23-24 - Pre Christmas Preparations
25-26 - Christmas Celebrations At Huay Nam Khao
27-28 - Christmas Celebrations At Khek Noi
29 - Home visitations
30 - Return

Where are you ?

2008-12-10T23:27:00.005+08:00

Today was a public holiday and I had been trying to find time to contact an old friend who is a missionary up north in Chiang Rai area. This family uprooted themselves from Canada to Thailand to serve here and they came without any financial support.

I have met many missionaries in my work and some have such lavish lifestyles which makes you wonder the prudence of their spending.

Now this family is different, they live humbly, eat simply and have assimilated into the society unlike other couples which I have seen. And many times they had to live by faith to get by. Did i mention that they have 4 children ?The husband works with children and his wife goes out in teams to bring prostitutes in and give them a new sense of hope.

Today as we spoke, he told me that he has been working with an NGO in Thailand and has not been paid for the last 4 months. And their family funding is running dry and they have no choice but to return to Canada.

The leaving portion is grieving but what saddened me further was his drive to serve God. He tells me, "Eugene its alright, we'll go back. I'll find work and raise more funding to come back to Thailand again.... hopefully in the next few years"

I hate to say this but I've seen people who call themselves missionaries and live in huge houses with lavish lifestyles, with hardly any lifestyle to back their words. Yet in less than 1 year, I seen 2 couples leave the mission ground because of a lack of funding.

What is going on ? Where is the Christian support these godly people need, where is that prayer support to those who gave everything to serve God ?

Streetkids! : A Problem With Numbers

2008-12-09T22:38:00.003+08:00

Just a few days back when I was in Phetchabun, I was just sitting casually when my staff told me that we need to start finding a new premises for the streetkids as some of them are reaching their teenage years and my current place has only one room to fit all.

So right now we are looking for a bigger place to house these kids and run the streetkids program.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Streetkids! : Saa

2008-12-09T10:24:00.002+08:00

Saa plight was brought to us through John(Beang) who is on our Streetkids! Program. John told us of his half brother who was slowly getting involved in glue sniffing and vices. So we did a home visitation and needs assessment at home.

In our visitation, we noticed that the mother son relations were poor and the mother had little control of what Saa was doing. When asked about his activities, his mom was surprised that her child was involved in vices, substance abuse and missing school. This gave us a good indication of the care and attention provided to Saa was lacking in the family.

In our conversations with Saa, he comes across reserved character, speaking only when he is spoken to. This boy seldom smiles and keeps most of his thoughts to himself. Of late, he has been opening up and we see hidden hurts in his life that have yet to be addressed.

Update : Saa has been sponsored by Lee Minwei

Extracts From Our Mailer

2008-12-08T01:39:00.002+08:00

For the next few months, we are focusing on our awareness and support raising campaign – CORE SUPPORT 300 (CS300). This is critical lifeline campaign to us at RADION and we need each and every one of your support.
For the past year, many of you gave generously and this year our main hurdle is to maintain a steady flow of financial support for our operations.

Every single cent which is given is stretched to reach more lives. This year alone we expanded our operations :
- Reaching 2 additional Laotian Hmong refugee sites (Project HMONG LAO)
- Created jobs for ladies who have been subjects of physical abuse (Project SHOPHOUSE)
- Started a children’s work among 6-15 year olds who come from high risk families or drug abuse backgrounds

Yes, global financial crisis hits home, but we still have our meals on our tables. But these people relay on your support to have a simple hope to live on.

RADION needs you to be part of that hope through CS300. 300 people to come together to support with just SGD50/month for 1 year. Help us bring hope.

See through our eyes and see the very lives we reach. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frVIQIX8OeM

Help us create awareness. Be part of this life changing effort. Sign up for CS300 here http://www.radion-international.org/core-support-300

Eugene Wee
Founder & Director
RADION International
www.radion-international.org