Please help these needy kids

Please help these needy kids

Cash crunch forces group battling for victims of violence to halt funding community projects.

"Had we not met and helped these children, some may have turned into bombers (to avenge their relatives' deaths), posing threat all over the South," said Wannakanok Pohitaedaoh, chairwoman of the Association of Children and Youth for the Peace in the Southernmost Provinces of Thailand.

The chairwoman of the Association of Children and Youth for the Peace in the Southernmost Provinces of Thailand, Wannakanok Pohitaedaoh, is asking local and international aid sources to help children who have lost family members in the deep South insurgency, which has raged for the past 17 years.

Ms Wannakanok said the group -- also known as the Luukrieang group -- was founded in 2002, with the expressed aim to educate children in the deep South about reproductive health and improve access to education. In 2004, when violence flared in the region, the group expanded its work to help widows and children of breadwinners who were killed in violent incidents in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla.

In 2011, the group legally changed its status and became an association. Since then, she said, the group's members had been working hard to give the children the opportunity to study and do what children do every day.

The association began working with communities in the deep South after seeing how losing a breadwinner in a violent attack can impact a family, especially children, said Ms Wannakanok, 41.

Many children were orphaned as a result of the long-simmering insurgency, so the association is stepping in to help them with their emotional management and leadership skills, which Ms Wannakanok believes will help steer them away from seeking vengeance for the deaths. The training offered by the group, she added, included art therapy classes, as well as cookery and table-setting.

"Had we not met and helped these children, some may have turned into bombers [to avenge their relatives' deaths], posing threats all over the South," the chairwoman told a group of Class XI students from King Prajadipok's Institute, who visited Yala's Muang district to learn about the association's contribution for children affected by the violence.

As she acknowledged that the current relief effort wouldn't be enough to fully resolve the situation, Ms Wannakanok said the association had established a grant to fund a number of community projects to help the children become leaders in the future.

The association, she said, had helped all children affected by the violence in the South, regardless of whether they were Muslims or Buddhists.

"If they have no one in their family left to take care of them, the association will cover their study and living expenses," she said.

In return, for as long as they are receiving aid, the children will be required to help out with a project in their respective communities which is funded by the association's grant, thus empowering them to become advocates for peace.

Since the programme's launch 11 years ago, the Luukrieang group has taken care of 102 children across several communities in the South, said Ms Wannakanok.

Under the scheme, each primary school student receives 12,000 baht per year, while the annual allowances are 18,000 baht per secondary student, 20,000 baht for high school seniors and 33,000 baht for university students.

"To cover all of our expenses, including staff salaries and ongoing project expenditures, we need at least 3.1 million baht a year, which isn't easy to get in the middle of a Covid-19 pandemic," she said.

"That's why we have decided to come out and seek help from the broader society, especially those who are interested in social work and wish to see these children grow up to be good and responsible people in the future."

In the past, she said, Luukrieang had sought funding from a number of organisations, including the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development and the Australian government, but many turned down the request.

Due to a shortage of funds, the association's grant committee was forced to stop funding community projects two years ago, despite the fact that more children are being orphaned from the violence in the South every day.

She noted that since Luukrieang was formed, the association had never received any funding from state agencies, such as the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and the Ministry of Education, except the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre.

The chairwoman hoped more aid would trickle in as 24 participants have since gone on to earn their bachelor's degrees since Luukrieang began its programme, while two have obtained their masters.

Four former participants are still working for the association, while the others are still actively supporting the project through cash donations, she said.

"In addition to giving grants, Luukrieang has also taught the children social responsibility," she said.

Donations can be made via Bangkok Bank account number 7240236104, bank account name--the Association of Children and Youth for the Peace in the Southernmost Provinces of Thailand. For more details please contact Ms Wannakanok at 0814332495.

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