Sam (the Director) has a partner of Thai heritage. Her family have a house in Rayong, Thailand and so she visits regularly. On her trips she has witnessed true poverty and so wanting to help the less fortunate in the area she started collecting clothes, toys, stationary and any other useful donations for the local orphanage- The Camillian Social Center Rayong.
About Camillian
The Camillian Center is concerned with both treating and preventing HIV/AIDS. This encompasses the orphanage, a palliative care unit, a sponsorship program to enable local children to attend school, an independent living centre for older teenagers, a prevention centre and the Eastern region HIV/AIDS network.
The orphaned children at the Camillian Childcare Center come from very poor circumstances or have been abandoned at local hospitals. They have been referred to the Center through the Government’s Social Welfare Department, whom they work closely with. Many of the children arrive in the AIDS stage of the infection and with the proper care and nourishment have returned to living with HIV.
The children need special care and attention because of the effects of the virus and the side effects of the medicine. Presently, there are 69 children in their care. 40 children live at their main Center, 17 live at the Independent Living Center and 12 live at the Garden of Eden (rehabilitation community for people living with HIV/AIDS). Currently their youngest child is just 2 years old.
The HIV positive children are receiving the anti-retroviral treatment and are enrolled in the Thai Government’s Paediatric Access to Care (PATC) program.
For more information on the foundation visit www.hiv-aids-kids.org/index.html
How you can help?
We’d be very grateful for any donations of toys, clothes ranging from baby to adult sizes, toys, games, stationary, colouring books, accessories (bags, hair clips, hats, sunglasses etc) and other useful items such as hair brushes, sponges, makeup, nail polish and unused toothbrushes.
Items going direct to the orphanage will need to be able to fit into a large suitcase. For any large bulky toys or other items of value we will attempt to sell to raise money for the orphanage.
There is also a just giving page for any monetary donations Camillian Thai Orphanage Appeal.
Update - May 2018
Beyond Heating would like to give a big thank you to all those who donated in the last collection period. Over 10 large bags and boxes of toys, clothes, stationary, hair brushes, bags, hats and other accessories were delivered to the orphanage. Sam’s 22 month old was welcomed by some of the kids and had great fun playing with them while the adults sorted out the drop off.
A couple of workers told us about some of the work they do there. It was heart breaking to see such young children affected by these diseases. Seeing the outside of the palliative care unit really brought home the devastation these diseases can cause. However, it was also amazing to get a glimpse of the great work the centre does and see so many smiling children.
