Focus and Pray - May 2023
Find below the focus and prayer requests for the month. Each month you can learn more about GROW and have a focused way of praying for the ministry. Subscribe and donate to help rescue more children.
Education in Thailand is vitally important for the children’s survival
Lack of Schooling – Causes
Hill tribe parents generally have very little education. Often, they cannot read or write. This causes a cycle of poverty where the parents have little income, and they cannot afford to send their kids to school. Many villages only offer elementary education or early education schools anyway. For children to continue, they must pay to board in another village. These fees added to the fees of tuition, uniforms, books and supplies are usually too much for a lot of families. Many children do not have a Thai ID and would not be able to continue their education outside of their village even if they have the money.
Lack of Schooling – Result
This creates a very vulnerable situation for the young children, where parents are tempted to traffic them for income. Even if a child has a caring parent, the risk of a pre-teen or teenage girl being taken by a man in the village and forced to marry is high. Uneducated children will have little choice in the jobs they choose as they will be forced to do any kind of work to make a little money to help the family put food on the table.
How GROW helps – Educational Opportunities
For children to go to school outside of their village, they must have their Thai ID’s. Faa works with specialized lawyers, social workers and the U.N. to secure these required documents. This process takes between 6 months and two years depending on the difficulty of the case. Since GROW has a high standing with our area schools, Faa is able to register the children for school even before they have their ID’s. This is the case again this year with some of the new children GROW is rescuing. As the children finish high school, they can attend college visit days if they choose to continue their education. Because of the support GROW has from its donors, the ministry can support the children through their post-high school education. Faa encourages them to seize the opportunity and learn all they can. In 2023, GROW has three children beginning their college education, one continuing and one finishing up her degree.
PRAYER:
*Pray for the children as many of them will start the new school year this month. College students are generally on a different school calendar. Many will attend new schools as they move up into higher grades.
*Pray for the friends they make at school and the positive impact the GROW children can have on them.
*Pray for strength to stand firm against the pressures of their Buddhist society.
