Fundraising visit to Phuket Sunshine Village Foundation Children's Services

As you all know I work with children’s services here in England as a psychotherapist, and consultant. Working with children in care to overcome their trauma and past experiences is my passion and while there are many difficulties the children’s services face here in England it’s nothing in comparison to other countries.

This year I took my two children Max and Leo to Thailand, and we visited the children services in Phuket so I could gain a better understanding of the global difficulties children face. We managed to raise £790 before we visit which we donated and after the exchange rate was the equivalent of almost 35,000 Thai baht, which is a lot of money to them. We are keeping our fundraising open and I will send them anything extra in due course.

They originally set up to home 100 orphans after the 2004 tsunami however the village now focuses on family based, long term foster care for children whose own families cannot care for them currently. They provide a safe space for children to develop their social skills, knowledge about Thai society and learn about family values and responsibilities.

The Village focuses on family-based, long-term care of children. The children will experience reliable relationships and love once again, meaning that they can recover from what they have experienced, which has often been traumatic. They grow up in a stable family environment and are supported individually until they become independent young adults or until the family situation improves drastically.

They assist children to achieve a better future through developing their social skills, knowledge about Thai society and culture, teaching them about family values and responsibilities. An upbringing in a loving family-like environment with a nutritious diet and good health care are the most important aspects to ensure a better future for these children. The concept is based on four main aspects:

·         Every child needs the care of a parent who establishes a close relationship with each child.

·         The children grow up in a family with girls and boys of different ages as their siblings.

·         The family is part of a community that functions as a support system.

·         Biological siblings are not separated if possible and if this is in the children’s best interests

It was an absolute pleasure to visit Phuket Sunshine Village Foundation and a wonderful experience to hear about how they operate, their ethos and their values.

Firstly, I was pleasantly surprised to find this foundation is so well resourced. With a huge reception and office in the centre of the village, with a playground and hall for activities and socialising. This is all under shade and I noticed books, a TV screen, and lots of games and educational things around.

The Village currently has 95 children they are looking after and has two children per home with one ‘Mother’ taking care of them full time, with the exception of 1 day off per week. Every child lives in a home on the complex which they call Phuket Sunshine Village.

There is a school on the same complex where all the children go, except the ones who have scholarships to Bangkok College and other surrounding colleges.

The staff work in partnership with the families and help facilitate children being reunited with their families or at least having lots of time with their families on weekends and holidays when they are not at school.

The head of service told me that the main barriers they face are the following:

·         Families not being ready to have their children back

·         Stigma the children face at school with others knowing they live in the foundation

·         Lack of money – this service is FULLY funded by donations

·         Lack of trauma information available and lack of tailored therapy for children

Some of these problems are the similar to problems our children face in the UK children’s social services but the work that must go into fundraising for this beautiful village and environment must be huge. Hats off to them all.

We discussed the ethos and values they believe in and Vilaiwan told me that she has observed the children and the staff and believes that the best connections and success stories are when the adults around the children ‘feel the children in their hearts’. We talked about the importance of building a trusting relationship with the children, and how this impacts the children in a positive way. Vilaiwan sees a direct connection to positive behaviour from children and the adults having a bond with that child.

I didn’t get to meet any of the children unfortunately as they were all on school holidays and the staff at Sunshine Village had taken them to the water park for the day for a well-deserved treat day.

The village supports the children to engage in lots of activities throughout the year such as:

-  sports- gymnastics-  swimming-  meditation-  handicrafts-  dancing-  gardening-  cooking-  sailing lessons-  religious and social studies-  educational & fun excursions-  and certainly lots of playing

So, in conclusion, Thailand children’s services are not all that different from ours, but they have much less resources and have to work even harder to raise the funds to continue the great work they do!

Thank you to everyone who donated, it is so appreciated. I will keep our fundraising open and send more money to them if we receive more. And for now myself and Vilaiwan will stay in contact to liaise on trauma informed practice and opportunities to collaborate. If you would like to donate please go here: Fundraiser by Kay King : The Phuket Sunshine Village Foundation (gofundme.com)