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Greetings from northern Thailand! After graduating from Valpo I packed my
bags and headed for the hills –the hills of the Mekong region
where I am currently working with an NGO called Development
and Education Program for Daughters and Communities.
The goal of DEPDC is to protect children who are at the
greatest risk of being trafficked into prostitution or some
other form of labor exploitation by removing the children from
situations of poverty or crisis and provide them with housing
and education. DEPDC
also operates a non-formal school, a vocational training program,
and an agricultural program.
I am working specifically with the Child Protection &
Rights office, which rescues children from abusive situations
and assists children and women getting out of prostitution.
Much of my duties involve international correspondence
for DEPDC & CPR, helping to facilitate relations with international
donors and others interested in our work.
This experience has taught me so much about the work
of NGOs, the social issues of the people in the Mekong region
(including Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, &
Yunnan province China), as well as local solutions that are
changing lives one at a time.
Yet, it is also my life that is being touched
and even changed by the children who live and or study here
at DEPDC. Approximately 200 children are enrolled
in DEPDC programs. They
continue to be my motivation for the long days of hard work. My evenings are filled with helping the children with their
homework, teaching guitar lessons, playing sports, or just chatting. Yes, my skills in Thai are improving each
day as the children as so good to patiently teach me. Some of my most meaningful moments are
spent sharing a song, a smile, a bowl of rice, a hug, or wiping
a tear. The children
amaze me with their efforts.
They really know that they have been given a chance and
want to make the most of it. Many return to DEPDC after they graduate
from the program in order to volunteer as a teacher because
they want to give something back.
One of the most interesting parts of my job
is going to visit village families whom we are assisting. This gives me the opportunity to capture a picture of real Thai
rural life. Imagine
entering a one room hut, sitting on the floor, and listening
to a mother explain that her daughter has gone to Bangkok to
work but she hasn’t heard from her in six months.
Or imagine visiting a mother in prison who comes to you
on her knees in tears as she asks you to take her three-year-old
little girl to live with relatives in Myanmar so she won’t have
to grow up in prison while her mother serves a 17 year sentence
for drug dealing. Simply
heartbreaking to face such realities.
Many families that I’ve visited are immigrants since
this area is right on the border with Myanmar (also called Burma). For a great variety of reasons people of
all ages are coming to Thailand hoping for a better life but
finding it difficult to achieve their dreams because they lack
Thai citizenship. Even the hill tribe people who live in
Thailand lack Thai citizenship.
This situation leaves people vulnerable to labor exploitation. Well I could go on for quite some time
about the web of issues here.
If you want to hear more or are interested in this type
of work, please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Angela Ortloff
ButterThaiFly@hotmail.com
www.depdc.org
www.journey2thai.com
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