Monday: Drop in Centre and Half-Way House

Tucked away near the intersection of two of the busiest roads in Pattaya, the Drop In Centre is the current incarnation of the rescue work which gave Fr Ray Brennan his huge reputation as a fearless defender of children's rights and safety.  There is a heartbreaking story of a child who had been kept caged, whom Fr Brennan rescued, and which clung to him for hours.

Today we were told about two little boys.  One was offered to the Drop In by the police.  He had been caught red handed, stealing DVDs.  He came from way down in the south of Thailand, he knew no-one in Pattaya, but had been told there was a lot of money here.  The Centre took him in.  Gradually they unearthed his story.  He had been travelling alone, living on the streets, for two years.  He had been all over Thailand.  He had parents, but he had fallen out with them because he had an uncontrollable temper, he had run away.  He wanted to go home.  'But will my family want me?' he asked Khun Jupe, the senior Social Worker, with tears in his eyes.  'That's my problem', said Jupe.  And solved it.  She contacted the family, who were delighted and relieved to know their boy was alive and well.  She put him in front of a psychiatrist from the local Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, who gives his time free to the Drop In.  The psychiatrist discovered that the child had a small illness which caused his temper tantrums, and which was easily managed by very light medication.  The boy was returned to his family in the south, and - so far - has lived happily ever after.  The Drop In organises about 30 such family reunions every year

Not all stories have a happy ending.  Khun Jupe and her team found a mother and son living on the beach.  The mother, a working prostitute, had to find minders to look after her boy when she had a customer.  Jupe was able to persuade her that this was an unsuitable life for the boy.  Mum gave up the boy to the Drop In, but has not given up her profession.

Numerically, the biggest problems faced by the Drop In are not children or families living rough, but the many children of building workers living in the shanties that typically accompany any major buidling project.  Hidden behind high walls of corrugated iron, these temporary villages are not immediately obvious to visitors unless they know what to look for.  Most building workers are from outside Pattaya, so their children are not eligible for education here.  The Drop In will help by adding children to its House Registration - the document that determines where a child may be educated - thus clearing the way to school.  This sometimes requires hours of patient work, locating birth certificates and identifying schools prepared to accept a new pupil of somewhat uncertain background.

Some young people cannot be reunited with their parents.  Some of these, the younger ones, can be found a place at the Fr Ray Children's Village where they settle successfully into family life.  Others may settle more easily at the Children's Home.  A very few are unable to leave the Drop In, and live there until their education and training is complete.  Two such young men, one now a trainee chef, the other an electrician, have started earning and have moved into the recently opened 'half way house' (above) where they are learning to manage their own lives, and their own money.  Paid for by the Danish supporters of the Trust, the house is small, but well-equipped and comfortable.  It fills a gap in support, and will benefit hundreds of children over coming years.

This project is tiny in numbers and costs, but does vitally important work which helps children in their hour of need.  Under Khun Jupe's management it has a planned and professional approach which brings a sense of method and order to work which can be confused and emotional.  It is great to see that this quiet professionalism brings regular happy results.