Thailand Foster Care Transition Homes

We currently have 2 foster children: Focus is living with Jay and Butsaba and NamNing is with Heather

Focus: He is in 9th grade, and at the end of this year, he has to decide if he will attend vocational school or academic high school. His mom has severe intellectual disabilities so she is unable to care for him full time, but he sees her every Sunday and spends holidays and 3 day weekends with her. Sadly, his biological father passed away a few days ago. He has not had much of a relationship with his dad for most of his life, but he still wanted to attend the funeral, so Jay took him and his brother (who lives in another foster home) to the funeral in his dad's province, about 4 hours from Chiang Mai. He has improved a lot during his 2 years with Jay and Butsaba but still has a long way to go in his healing journey. He will likely not live with Jay and Butsaba after 9th grade because there are no high schools near their home. Most kids in this situation move into student dorms close to their high schools in the city, but he will most likely move in with his church pastor's family who lives near the school he wants to attend. 

NamNing: Heather and NamNIng were able to get away to the beach for a week during her school holidays in October so Heather could attend some international ministry meetings. It was nice to see NamNing playing in the ocean and letting loose like a normal kid. The past few months have been a very difficult time for her (and Heather) for many reasons. She has complex trauma so it has been difficult for her to create secure attachment and adjust to life in a safe home. It's also almost the one year anniversary (Dec 30) of her sister's death in a car accident, which she witnessed and which happened on her sister's birthday. In addition to that, her biological family has legal and addiction issues, so it's just a really hard situation for a 17-year-old to handle. We are so thankful for her wonderful counselor who is helping her walk through these difficult circumstances and she has been attending school regularly, where she has good friends to support her. Our goal for her is to finish high school and be able to transition successfully to caring for herself. We would like her to stay with Heather until she graduates high school, which won't be for two more years, but she wants to move out on her own at age 18, so we will support whatever decision she ultimately makes and remain a support system for her regardless of where she lives.

Counseling is quite expensive (about $200 a month per child), so if anyone is interested in supporting this aspect of foster care, please let us know.