Thank you for visiting Children of the Forest's Flood Appeal page to help rebuild vital infrastructure for our children’s home and school.

Late last month, Sangkhlaburi – along with many other parts of Thailand - experienced unusually heavy monsoon rains, causing severe flooding and landslides in the area after mountain rivers burst their banks. The flooding damaged vital infrastructure, including local roads and 150 bamboo houses, and caused a section of the iconic Mon Wooden Bridge that connected local Thai and Mon communities to collapse.  

 

Unfortunately, the heavy rain and floods also affected Children of the Forest (COF) and the homes of several children attending our school. It caused major structural damage to our sewage tanks, flooded parts of the COF child protection school and residential home, and washed away sections of the main road to access Children of the Forest, cutting off vital access to our school.

 

Until the COF main road is fully repaired, we are reliant on an alternative makeshift route that makes it difficult for us to collect the over 300 local children that attend the Children of the Forest School every day. It is also imperative that we replace our sewage tanks and repair any water and mud damage to our children’s home as soon as possible to prevent a potential disease risk due to poor sanitation. Through our outreach program, COF is also assisting many local families whose bamboo homes were damaged by the flooding. 

 

More photos can be seen here: Sangklaburi and COF Flooding

 

How you can help                                                                            

In the eight years that Children of the Forest has operated in Sangkhlaburi, this is the first time that we have ever experienced heavy rains on such a large scale. We have launched our 2013 Sangkhlaburi Flood Appeal as we urgently need your help and support to rebuild and repair our vital infrastructure. You can choose to make a donation as well as participate in an art auction to bid on paintings made by ChongRak, a talented Mon student attending our COF Borderlands Youth and Anti-Exploitation Program. The COF Borderlands program engages vulnerable youth through art, providing a safe yet creative learning environment for children to develop their skills and knowledge.

 

Art Auction - Mon Bridge and Surrounding Area

As a tribute to the iconic Mon Bridge that sits at the core of the Sangkhlaburi Thai and Mon community, we are auctioning six acrylic on paper paintings of the Mon Bridge and the surrounding area (pre-flood) made by ChongRak.  A percentage of funds raised from the auction will contribute to a special scholarship fund to help ChongRak fulfil his dream of attending an art school in Bangkok. All remaining auction proceeds will help rebuild Children of the Forest’s vital infrastructure.

 

To bid on a painting, please list the item name/number and amount you wish to bid in the ‘leave a message of support’ comments box, alongside your donation. We will contact the highest bidder for each painting by email once the auction has closed to confirm the winner and arrange payment and shipping (inclusive of postage and packaging fee of approximately £20 depending on the final destination).

 

 

Auction items in gallery

Bids start at £50 minimum reserve price per painting.

1.     Mon Village (code:COF-Flood Appeal -001) 

2.     Mon Bridge (code:COF-Flood Appeal -002) 

3.     Don Sak (code:COF-Flood Appeal -003) 

4.     Sunken Temple 1 (code:COF-Flood Appeal -004) 

5.     Sunken Temple 2 (code:COF-Flood Appeal -005) 

6.     Temple Doves (code:COF-Flood Appeal -006) 

 

The appeal and auction will close on Wednesday, 21 August 2013.

 

 

Donations

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to Children of the Forest's bank account. We will then acknowledge your donation with an official Children of the Forest receipt and a report on how your money has been used. 

 

Thank you for your help and support.

The Children of the Forest team

admin@childrenoftheforest.com