Care for Children’s Regional Manager for SE Asia, Thomas Abbott (R), recently visited some foster families around Chiang Mai with his family to talk to them about their experiences of foster care.
The father in this picture (L) is a caregiver at Chiang Mai Home for Boys, where Care for Children launched the Thailand pilot project. Recognising it was a good opportunity to better care for the boys, he and his wife agreed to be one of the first foster parents when the opportunity arose almost five years ago. The boys joined the family at a very young age and have noticeably grown in their self-confidence and behaviour compared to the boys he also works with in the CWH.
He said:
In a country where we are often told by people both outside and inside the country that foster care couldn’t work in Thailand because it’s not ‘cultural’, these are remarkable – and refreshing – words to hear! But for us at Care for Children, it’s not surprising, as we know that Thai families can be amazing foster carers.
Thomas remarked:
