Grand Opening of the HHNFT Drop-In and Daycare Center

“Children with opportunities are children with a future.” Saying that, Mr. Ewald Dietrich, President of Human Help Network Germany, expressed his gratitude towards the various benefactors, government and non-government organizations that helped this large project become reality. Among the guests of honor were his Excellency Mr. Peter Prügel, German ambassador to Thailand, Mr. Didier Moly, president of Les Amis de L’orphelinat de Pattaya, Mr. Joachim Steinbach, Mr. Paul Majeran and Mr. Dirk Grossmann as representatives of Lufthansa Help Alliance, as well as Mr. Rodolphe Sambou representing the French embassy. In spite of the afternoon heat, some 300 guests and children had made their way to attend the ceremony and get an impression of the new facility.
 
In the days leading up to the opening, the center had already started activities for children as there was hardly any time to wait. Every weekday now, about 60 children are being picked up in the morning at the various construction sites and taken to the daycare center by our staff. They attend activities ranging all the way from fun games to reading classes, receive a nutritious meal at lunchtime, snacks and milk in the afternoon and have the opportunity to shower and take some rest. The center offers plenty of space and is equipped with a kitchen and computer room.
 
The new center is also intended to be a safe haven for children living on Pattaya’s streets. Open 24 hours, 7 days a week, the center will be accessible for children and young adults seeking help in their desperate situation without a home. They will be offered a place to sleep, food, hygienic facilities, medical care and consultation by our trained staff.
 
The need for outreach work and preventative activities to fight child abuse and poverty remains great in and around Pattaya. With the construction sector booming, the city attracts thousands of migrant workers from Thailand’s neighboring countries Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. These workers and their families, that, in most cases, entered Thailand without legal registration, commonly live on the construction sites under alarming conditions without access to medical care, bad hygienic and housing conditions and the kids being unsupervised during their parents’ long working hours. Most fatally, the children are denied access to the educational system as they are lacking official residential status in Thailand. These children of all ages are in great danger of ending up on the wrong track, being talked up by traffickers or pedophiles or starting to roam the streets steeling or begging.
 
With our new daycare center they have an appropriate place to stay at during the day, to play and to learn. We once again extend our best wishes and highest gratitude towards the Lufthansa Help Alliance, BILD Newspaper: Ein Herz für Kinder, Les Amis de L’orphelinat de Pattaya, the German Embassy and the countless individuals and organizations for their incredible support in this milestone project.
 
See also:
http://www.pattayamail.com/features/human-help-network-opens-new-drop-in-center-for-children-at-risk-57329