BAMBI Charities Report: Supporting Baan Dek Foundation

BAMBI Charities is pleased to report its support of Baan Dek Foundation for the third year. Through the generosity of our members, many young children and their families have received much needed support during this tough time.

By Supriya Kasaju, Partnerships Manager, Baan Dek Foundation and Yoshiko Swinney, BAMBI Charities Coordinator

Since 2019, BAMBI has been supporting Tchin Tcho Nursery—a critical nursery for vulnerable toddlers in Chiang Mai. It is one of nine programs run by Baan Dek Foundation (BDF). This year, BAMBI has supported the nursery with both monetary and physical donations. 

BDF’s nursery provides childcare for babies and toddlers between the ages of 18 months and 4 years old who grow up in especially difficult circumstances. These children are at risk of neglect or abuse, or live in otherwise unsafe environments. Tchin Tcho Nursery provides a safe environment and quality Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), while BDF’s social advisors work closely with the children’s parents to address the families’ critical circumstances. All of the activities organized through Tchin Tcho Nursery are designed to promote the children’s fundamental physical, cognitive, psychosocial, and linguistic development.

The Covid pandemic forced the closure of the nursery on April 19th 2021 as a result of government-mandated regulations and BDF’s internal Covid-19 protocol. The children and their families have been adversely affected by the third wave, as many parents have experienced either job losses, or significantly reduced income due to the resulting economic downturn and unstable job market. 

To support young children and their families during this time, BDF’s social advisors have been delivering food and hygiene sets, which include items such as milk suitable for young children, non-perishable food items, and diapers. To ensure the children’s development remains on track, nursery teachers have prepared instructional recordings of educational activities for parents to lead at home. As most parents are illiterate, teachers have recorded videos to help parents understand how to independently run the learning activities. 

Following approval from the BAMBI Committee, BAMBI donated ฿100,000 to Tchin Tcho Nursery in July. These funds will be used to run the nursery for the next 12 months. It is our great pleasure to continue our support for the nursery and the children with critical needs.

In June, BAMBI also joined BDF’s Toy Drive campaign—toy donations for the most vulnerable children living in Chiang Mai. Since the start of the most recent wave of Covid, circumstances for the families the foundation supports have continued to worsen. In particular, children have been greatly impacted as schools have closed, meaning they remain isolated in their homes with very little physical or mental stimulation. Many BAMBI members answered our call for donations on social media, and we collected a total of 14 large boxes for donation, which included toys, stationery, books, sports equipment, child and adult clothing and shoes, and hygiene supplies. On 23rd July, the collected donations were shipped out from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. They were received by the BDF Chiang Mai team the following week, then swiftly delivered to each of the six communities. We are sincerely grateful to everyone who participated in this donation drive. 

If you would like to know more about Baan Dek Foundation and how you can support their programs independently, please visit: https://baandekfoundation.org/ 

Photos courtesy of Baan Dek Foundation.

The views expressed in the articles in this magazine are not necessarily those of BAMBI committee members and we assume no responsibility for them or their effects. BAMBI welcomes volunteer contributors to our magazine. Please contact editor@bambiweb.org.