ACTIVITIES

Who is eligible?
  • Children from poor regions, especially from Isan (Northeast of Thailand).
  • Income limit per family: 7,000 Baht (€ 175) per month, plus 1,000 Baht (€ 25) per dependent child.
  • Sufficient intelligence to follow general secondary education.
  • The explicit demand and strong motivation of both the child and the parents.
Selection

The selection of candidates is done by staff members of the Good Shepherd Sisters in collaboration with Luc Mestdagh (honorary secretary of our association) who has been living in Nong Khai since his retirement. These people have a thorough knowledge of the region and the language. They personally visit all the candidates at their home.

selection

Organisation
  • A file card of all candidates is made with their personal, family, economic and education data.
  • An aid budget is drawn up together with the school. That budget currently ranges from 6,000 Baht (€ 150) per year for lower secondary education to 8,000 Baht (€ 200) per year for upper secondary education and 15,000 Baht (€ 375) per year for higher education.
  • The file cards are sent to the associates in Belgium, i.e. Mr. Benny Mareel and Mrs. Heidi Ramault (board members of our association). Subsequently, sponsors who want to support the child are looked for.
  • After approval of the grantor(s) a savings account with the Thai Savings and Pensions Fund is opened for the child. The required annual amount is transferred to that savings account. The child is only entitled to withdraw money with the signature of the responsible teacher or director.
  • The grantor receives the school reports of the child and about three personal letters per year. The association provides for the translation (free of charge).
  • The child, the family and the school are visited by one of the leaders of our association. Obviously, the grantor(s) can visit the child, accompanied or not by the association's person in charge.
  • Operating costs are charged to the amount of 10% of the aid provided. This amount is used to pay the wages of the staff members of the Good Shepherd Sisters hired to take care of all the administrative work. The Belgian staff members work for free.

The grantors

Preferably 1 to a maximum of 3 people or more people together represented by 1 person commit themselves for a period of at least 3 years (lower secondary education) or maximum 6 years (upper secondary education) to annually bear the costs of studying of a child according to the annual budget with a prefixed maximum amount. Currently, these costs range from 150 EUR to 375 EUR plus 10% operating costs. In the current school year, about 40 children are being supported by our organisation. In total, about 530 students are supported to attend school.