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 A Precious Child will expand to reach other countries and regions of the world as funding and resources permit. Thailand Thailand is located in Southeastern Asia on the border of the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. Thailand was known as Siam until 1939 and remains the only Southeast Asian country that has never been taken over by a European power. In 1932, Thailand led a revolution to a constitutional monarchy and later in World War II was an ally with Japan. When World War II was over, Thailand became an ally to the United States and is today facing great violence with the southern Malay-Muslim provinces. Many Thai people go into Burma daily to work and unfortunately often become casualties of the violence occurring in Burma, often leaving behind orphaned children. Thailand also has a relatively high infant mortality rate, and life expectancy has varied estimates due to a great AIDS epidemic that causes many deaths. In fact, the infant mortality rate is 18.2 per 1,000 live births and the life expectancy is 72 years. There are an estimated 570,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Thailand and many other infectious diseases continue to affect the public’s health. Moreover, water borne diseases, malaria, dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis pose a very high threat to the Thai people. Thailand sees many orphans and street children as a result of infectious disease, epidemics, and violence within the country and in Burma. While there are various local agencies attempting to help the children who have become orphaned, ill or homeless, the numbers of children in need far outweigh the amount of resources agencies can provide. For these reasons, Thailand is the first country that will receive assistants from A Precious Orphan Program. Burma Burma is located in south-east Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal between Bangladesh and Thailand. This is a strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes. The country occupies a total of 678,500 sq km of which 657,740 sq km is land. The country has 1,930 km of coastline. It has a 5,876 km long land border, sharing 193 km with Bangladesh, 2,185 km with China, 1,463 km with India, 235 km with Laos and 1,800 km with Thailand. Burma has a population of 43,455,953 (July 1993 est.) consisting primarily of Burman (68%). The predominant religion is Buddhist (89%). Nationals in Burma are known as Burmese and they speak mainly the Burmese language. Burma, also known as Myanmar, is ruled by a military junta which suppresses almost all dissent and wields absolute power in the face of international condemnation and sanctions. The generals and the army stand accused of gross human rights abuses, including the forcible relocation of civilians and the widespread use of forced labor, which includes children.
Living conditions  This is a Burmese dormitory community in Mahachai. Sometimes 15 people or more live in one room, in cramped and unsanitary conditions. In some provinces even Burmese migrants with work permits are banned from owning motorbikes or mobile phones. Despite this, most say they are much happier in Thailand, because of the wretched conditions back in Burma, where they have little chance of making sufficient income to sustain a family.
Raising Children This young Burmese mother and daughter live in Mahachai. Both are wearing thanaka, traditional Burmese face cream believed to improve the complexion and protect it from the sun. Many Burmese migrants leave their children behind with relatives when they come to Thailand, sometimes not seeing them for years. For those that bring their children, giving them an education is difficult. They are not eligible for state schools, and many end up working with their parents in factories. Learn More… The following are just a few links that can provide more information about the countries and their current state of affairs. The Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bm.html BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1300003.stm Free Burma Rangers Centers for Disease Control traveler’s health page |
