Sunflower Farm Update
We are on track to complete the Girls’ House and Sala by year’s end. Roof trusses are up, the second floor is built, walls are being built and 45,000 adobe bricks have been made.
We Raised The Roof!
We are so grateful to all of you who joined us at our “Raise the Roof Sweet Sixteen” event in July. We celebrated two major milestones: 16 years of preventing child trafficking and the construction of our Sunflower Farm.
Thanks to your generous support we raised over $230,000! This leaves approximately $70,000 left to raise to complete Phase One by December 31, 2021. We invite your support to help make our dream a reality.
For our Friends considering a major gift, we would like to offer the following Naming Opportunities so that your support will be recognized in your name or that of a loved one. Please contact us at info@FTDThai.org for more information.
- Commercial Kitchen – $50,000. The kitchen will serve our Farm-to-Table restaurant, generating income and job training opportunities
- Computer Lab – $15,000. The lab will be equipped with state-of-the art technology to support on-line learning
- Girls’ Dorms – $10,000. Rooms will be furnished with bunk beds, desks and dressers.
- Permaculture Garden – $5,000. Gardens will produce fresh, organic produce to nourish our Daughters and the community
Rotary Update – First orchard is planted!
Thanks to our Rotary International Grant, our Daughters have planted the first fruit orchard. 100 seedlings of pomelo, rambutan, avocado, mango, guava and banana trees are in the ground. A big shout out to all of our friends at the Rotary Club of Quincy!
Daughter Update and COVID Update
Due to the fourth COVID outbreak in Thailand, the Daughters’ schooling fluctuates between online and in-person learning. They remain healthy and in good spirits, but the situation in Thailand is dire. As the pandemic persists, our Daughters’ villages face devasting economic consequences. Many of their families are unable to afford food and staples. FTD has coordinated with other non-profit organizations to bring rice, oil, blankets and other supplies to hill tribe villages.
After school, our Daughters stay busy with exciting extracurricular activities:
- Entrepreneurship: Our entrepreneurial Daughters continue to purchase honey from their villages and are “adding value” by rebranding and marketing it on Facebook. They use the proceeds to support learning and educational workshops and activities at the Rainbow House for village children.
- English Hour: FTD Volunteers Hallie McBride, Cody Colleran, Barb Glenn and Susan Nivert hold weekly English classes with our Daughters via ZOOM – and the results are amazing!
- Girls Rising: This program empowers the girls to create a collaborative learning space. Daughters are developing self-confidence and leadership skills, learning to overcome obstacles and pursue their dreams.
During their free time the girls love to exercise together, play badminton and ping pong, ride bikes, read, dance and sing, play guitar, help each other with homework and tend to household chores.
Meet Our New Daughters!
Smile is welcomed into the Chiang Khong Sunflower House. She is 13 years old and attends 7th grade. Her mother lost work during COVID and has become chronically ill without money to pay for treatment. Smile wants to become a nurse to take of her parents as well as other sick patients.
Film is 15 years old and is thrilled to join the Chiang Khong House. Film’s parents are drug users and her family survives on support from the temple. Film wants to attend university, pursue a career as a military nurse and create a stable and loving family of her own.
