Justice and Human Rights Thailand Project #33686

EMPOWERING THE POOR WITH EDUCATION AND SKILLS

by Hand to Hand Foundation

Project Report | Feb 21, 2022
Skills training create future opportunities!

By Margaret Leonie Grainger | Vice President Hand to Hand Foundation

A local vocational students preparing to teach.

In addition to our job training projects that give people the opportunity to learn sewing, cooking, beading and furniture making skills we have included skills training in computers and poultry husbandry.

Having skills in basic computing is a huge advantage when applying for almost any job in this modern world. Many of our scholarship students graduating from high school, vocational courses and university have had limited access to computers which greatly affects their proficiency in using basic programs such as word, excel, publisher and other tools. Graduating students often do not have the skills to prepare a simple resume which results in them often being overlooked when applying for jobs. Hand to Hand Foundation recently began a computer training course for students, workers and even children every Saturday and Sunday. Some students have taken an interest in graphics and training for them is becoming available.

The foundation purchased 5 computers and 3 teachers are giving of their time every weekend. One of the computer teachers is a student in a local vocational skills program and he is already showing students how to make simple software and hardware repairs. The program has been operational for 3 months and due huge interest it will continue for a long time.

Our participants in the furniture making program have recently put their hands and skills to build a chicken coop at our housing estate. They have built the chicken feeders and water spouts from simple PVC piping using diagrams from the internet to direct them. They are now caring for the chickens and teaching children to do the same. These participants are now skilled to build more chicken coops for paying customers.

Young ladies learning computing skills

Socially distancing and covid safe.

Solving problems together

Some of our younger students

Building water feeders for the chicken coop.

Using furniture making skills for nesting boxes.

Happy chooks!

Successful feeders

Links:

Hand to Hand Foundation

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Oct 25, 2021
Jobs and Life Skills

By Margaret Leonie Grainger | Vice President Hand to Hand Foundation

Learning to plan and shop efficiently.

Pattaya City is still a city with curfews, restrictions on openings and no tourists. This is devastating for a town that relies almost 100% on tourism. "In regions almost solely relying on tourism for an income – Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui, Gulf and Andaman islands and touristy areas around Bangkok – up to 90% of the front-line tourism businesses have closed." (Thai Tiger, online news forum).

Thousands of people are desperate for food, housing and of course employment which not only give financial income but also self-esteem and a hope for the future. The Hand to Hand Foundation has been providing employment for 36 people since January 2020 through skills training programs which include sewing face masks, cooking, growing fruits and vegetables, furniture making and jewelry making. Our goal is to not only provide employment opportunities to meet immediate needs but to also equip people with skills that can be used when the economy and city begin to flourish again.

With these skills many of these people will be able set up small enterprise businesses such as selling food, jewelry, furniture from small market stands. It is important therefore for these people to also be equipped with skills of budgeting, shopping and basic accounting and administration skills. During the past few months we have been training these participants to help with the registration and recording of families who are seeking help and food from the foundation. They have been involved with the planning and purchasing of food and other resources to equip them with the skills of managing finances.

We continue to help support the local ice cream vendor who comes to give free ice creams when we are giving out food care packages. At the end of the day Hand to Hand Foundation pays for all the ice cream given, which is helping keep not only him, but his supplier in business. The smiles on children's faces makes this an even more exciting project. A little bit of joy in the desperation brings great relief.

Thank you so much for being a part of this program which is helping families today and in the future.

Learning to budget efficiently.

Using fresh herbs and spices from our garden.

Using fresh vegetables from our gardens.

Learning administration skills too!

Learning to carve fresh vegetables.

Learning to prepare fresh meals for the hungry.

Serving food in reusable containers.

Our trainees... a job well done!

Links:

Hand to hand Foundation

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Jun 27, 2021
Jobs bring hope in a hopless situation!

By Margaret Leonie Grainger | Vice President Hand to hand Foundation

Making masks

There seems to be no end to the closing down of more businesses in Pattaya, Thailand which was once a famous tourist town but is now a ghost town! The number of unemployed people grows daily and the opportunities to find work are becoming harder. Families are so desperate that Thailand has now reached the highest number of suicides per capita in Southeast Asia. This dramatic rise is due to the hopelessness people feel with no means to feed their families and they have lost hope for a future.

The Hand to Hand Foundation is employing 22 people in its micro-enterprise projects. Ten people are engaged in making fabric face masks after receiving training and all the materials they need. Workers are paid per mask they complete and these are then given to the poor for free. For the last month, our workers have been making plain masks which have been given to Thai students who are about to return to school. The students have had the opportunity to decorate their own masks to personalise them. (In Thailand mask wearing is still compulsory in some situations.)

We have 6 people in our construction program. These men are building everything from planter pots, stools and over the past month, have been building a chicken pen. These men are mainly construction workers who have no employment.

We have 4 women and 2 men involved in our cooking program. The participants are being trained to cook so that when the economy recovers they will have new skills to reenter the workforce. They are being taught to make both western and Thai dishes. The food they cook is used to feed over 200 people several times per week and also their own families.

In addition to this, there is a small agricultural project where participants are taught to grow food. All the training and resources are provided freely by Hand to Hand and the gardeners sell their produce at the market or to the foundation to provide an income for their families.

Training, equipping and giving a bringing hope to a hopeless situation.

Making plain masks for students to decorate.

Receiving payment for masks made

A Thai student with the mask he decorated.

Workers building chicken pen.

Learning to make scones

Learning to grow plants to eat!

Harvesting vegetables.

Cooking the harvested vegetables for the poor.

Links:

Hand to Hand Foundation

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