The Ever Changing Goal Posts -Part 2
Hey Friends and Family
Thank you to those of you who have been following and faithfully supporting us these last 10 years in Thailand. Yes, we are nearing the end of our 10th year with full-time feet on the ground in Thailand. Many of you may already know that there have been some new challenges in the last few months in addition to the changes made by the Social Development department late in 2024. Effective January 1, 2025, Visa Immigration rules have changed as well.
Thank you that they can dream the dreams they never thought they could!
Sadly, also since January of this year, we’ve seen attrition in monthly support and the lowest exchange rates we’ve ever seen, resulting in increased everyday expenses.
Here are some of those specific changes in a nutshell:
Brian and Karen had to change their visas yet again, just last month, which meant us paying for these services again. The only smart choice was to change to a more secure type of visa valid for one year. As of January 1st, the government was no longer issuing one-year visas on the volunteer visa type we’d been issued for many years. Now, these visas will only be issued for a maximum of one three-month stay in Thailand. This change became a top priority but also led to some unexpected additional expenses.
Secondly, many of you know about the plan to start World Wide Life Foundation Thailand to have a future platform for the girls to continue work in Thailand. They have already started a few small projects out of our House of Freedom facility, that will fall under the foundation. Last year we were told a deposit of 200,000 Thai Baht was the minimum requirement to even start this process, as we shared with many of you at that time. We have received a generous grant for this project, but the Thai government has again made changes and now the cost is north of 250,000 Thai Baht, just for initial set-up. As exchange rates are the lowest we’ve seen in many years this generous donation still doesn’t cover start-up costs. We are at approximately 165,000 THB, so we are still short of our goal. These funds are required by the government just to start and must remain in a bank account, and never be drawn against. The minimum amount doesn’t cover costs to pay an administrator to set up the foundation. At current exchange rates, we need to raise at least $5000 more to make this dream a reality for the girl’s future. They already have many ideas and plans, and we are excited for their futures.
Thirdly, the new homeschool year is fast approaching and we are expecting increased costs, we have managed to lower education costs for the last 3 years by switching to the Homeschool program, however as the girls get to higher levels and the dual enrollment in a physical US school becomes a requirement to get an American high school diploma, the costs are increasing. The girls are staying consistent at Honour Roll levels in this English program, with overall averages between 96 % and 99 %. In addition, two girls will be invited to continue playing sports at Chiang Rai International Christian School and two girls will be enrolling in music classes, these extra-curricular activities will count as credits for their American High School Diploma. We don’t have exact numbers yet but anticipate increases in overall education costs to be between $2000 and $3000 total for the four girls in the 2025-2026 school year.
#educationempowers #wearefamily #changinglives #shapingfutures
It is because of all of you who have supported this mission throughout the years that these girls can dream the dreams they never thought they would. That they can achieve goals they didn’t think possible for their lives. We are so grateful for that!
Would you share this post with your networks? Would consider becoming a monthly supporter or making a one-time donation to our Education fund or the girl’s foundation project? We are always thankful for any support, no matter how small the sum, we can use it all to make a huge difference!
Thank you for standing with us to nurture the human spirit, one child, one community, and one village at a time.
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