The Children Between the Cracks: Thai Child Development Foundation

Beyond the Familiar: The Thailand We Rarely See

There is a Thailand most of us know intimately, and another that remains just beyond our view.

For those of us who live in Thailand, the country can feel wonderfully familiar. We know the rhythm of tropical life, the warmth of its people, the food, the beaches and the freedom of living somewhere that people around the world dream of visiting.

But travel a few hours beyond the places we know, and the landscape, along with the opportunities, can change dramatically.

Beyond the beaches and international schools, beyond the luxury resorts and new developments, there are mountain villages along dirt roads, rural communities along rivers, and families living in places where opportunity can be much harder to reach.

This is the Thailand I have come to know through more than twenty years of working with children in rural communities through the Thai Child Development Foundation or TCDF.

And it is Thailand that deserves to be seen.

Thailand is changing. But not every child starts from the same place.

Thailand has made enormous progress.

Children across the country have access to education and healthcare, and communities are developing in ways that have created opportunities for millions of young people.

But opportunity is not always about whether a school exists.

Sometimes it is about whether a child can get there.

For a child living in a remote mountain village, the journey to school may be long and difficult.

For a family living with poverty, the cost of transportation, a school uniform or a pair of shoes can become a real barrier.

For a child with a disability, education may require additional support.

And when illness, family difficulties or financial hardship are added to the picture, even a child who desperately wants to stay in school can find the path becoming harder.

These children are not outside Thailand’s progress.

They simply need a little more support to be able to take part in it.

The things we don’t see

One of the reasons I wanted to write this series is because I believe that living in Thailand gives us a wonderful opportunity to see beyond our own familiar surroundings.

We may know Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

But do we know Thailand beyond the hubs?

Do we know the children growing up in remote mountain villages?

The families living far from specialist healthcare?

The children with disabilities whose education requires additional support?

The teenagers who are the first in their family to have the chance to continue their education?

These are not stories of hopelessness.

Quite the opposite.

They are stories of potential.

I have met children with extraordinary determination. Village school teachers who go far beyond what is expected of them. Families who, despite having very little, continue to do everything they can for their children.

What is often missing is not ambition.

It is opportunity.

Sometimes, the smallest things matter

At TCDF, we have learned that keeping a child in school is not always about one big solution.

Sometimes it is a school bus.

Sometimes it is a scholarship.

Sometimes it is medical treatment.

Sometimes it is a mentor who notices that a child is struggling and stays involved.

In TCDF Scholarship programs we do not simply look for the children with the highest grades and potential.

We look at the child behind the grades.

The child who is trying to learn while living with a disability.

The child whose family is facing illness.

The child who has lost a parent.

The child who lives too far from school.

The child who has all the potential in the world, but needs someone to help make the journey possible.

Sometimes, keeping a door open is enough to change a life.

A different kind of Thai luxury

Living in Thailand, many of us are fortunate.

Blessed to live in a beautiful country. We enjoy its food, its hospitality and its incredible natural beauty.

But I believe that one of the greatest privileges of living in Thailand is the opportunity to experience the kingdom’s many facets.

To travel beyond the places we already know.

To meet the people who make up the full story of this country.

To discover communities where life looks very different from our own, but where the hopes of parents and children are remarkably familiar.

Every parent, everywhere, wants their child to have a chance.

A chance to learn.

A chance to be healthy.

A chance to discover what they are good at.

A chance to build a life they can be proud of.

That is why opportunity matters.

Because the children growing up in Thailand’s most remote communities are not someone else’s future.

They are Thailand’s future.

And perhaps, if we are lucky enough to live here, they are also part of our story.

There is a Thailand beyond the Thailand we know.

I hope, over the coming year, I can introduce you to some of it.

Not through statistics.

Not through sadness.

But through the children, communities and extraordinary people who remind me every day why opportunity matters.

Because sometimes, all a child needs is someone to help keep the door open.

Rosalie (Roos) Tieges is the founder of the Thai Child Development Foundation (TCDF) and has worked with children in rural Thailand for more than twenty years. TCDF supports education, healthcare and sustainable community development in rural communities. Learn more about TCDF’s work, supporting or how to support a child’s education.