ABOUT CHILD FRIENDSHIP
We are Child Friendship, a non-profit foundation active in
Myanmar / Burma – Cambodia – Indonesia / Bali.
The story
A Burn-out in 2008 laid the foundation for the creation of the Child Friendship Foundation, Alexander took his backpack and started a tour through Asia. There he visited Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Bali. During this trip he had an appointment with a Dutch friend, Frank Dirks and he told him the terrible developments that had taken place in Myanmar / Burma, the country he had just visited. A cyclone had raged over this land and the tidal waves had made one million people homeless.
One hundred thousand people had drowned and tens of thousands of children were staying overnight in the travel fields or had ended up on the streets. He had met a monk who had visited the disaster area and told about people disgraceful scenes that took place there. Children who had lost their parents and family and who slept in the fields or on the streets were put in camps. At night these camps were besieged by men who climbed the fences and kidnapped these children for the sex industry and child labor in Laos, Cambodia or Thailand.
OVER CHILD FRIENDSHIP
Wij zijn Child Friendship, een non-profit foundation die actief is in Myanmar/Birma – Cambodja – Indonesie/Bali.
Het verhaal
Een Burn-out in 2008 heeft de basis gelegd van het ontstaan van de Stichting Child Friendschip, Lex nam zijn rugzak en startte een rondreis door Azië. Daar bezocht hij o.a. Thailand, Cambodja, Laos en Bali Tijdens deze reis had hij een afspraak met een Nederlandse vriend, Frank Dirks en deze vertelde hem de verschrikkelijke ontwikkelingen die er hadden plaatsvonden in Myanmar/Birma, het land wat hij net had bezocht. Een cycloon was over dit land geraasd en de vloedgolven hadden één miljoen mensen dakloos gemaakt.
Honderdduizend mensen waren verdronken en tienduizenden kinderen overnachten in de reisvelden of waren op straat beland. Hij had een monnik ontmoet die het rampgebied had bezocht en vertelde over mens onterende taferelen die zich daar afspeelden. Kinderen die hun ouders en familie waren verloren en die in de reisvelden of op straat sliepen, werden in kampen gestopt. ‘s Nachts werden deze kampen belaagd door mannen die over de hekken klommen en deze kinderen kidnapten voor de seksindustrie en kinderarbeid in Laos, Cambodja of Thailand.
What have we achieved?
In 20 years time, with support from abroad – in particular aid organizations from Germany, Switzerland and Australia – a school has been created where more than 7000 children are now attending school. 170 teachers and 20 staff members are currently working. More than 5,500 children come every day on foot, by bike or by bus to school. In connection with limited space they are divided into a morning or afternoon study. The remaining 1300 children live permanently on the school grounds. These are more than 700 novices (young monks), 400 girls from villages in the region, 160 children of ethnic origin, 80 street children and since the cyclone of May 2008 some 140 (orphaned) children.
From 2011 we started with the construction of a large primary school for 350 children in Village 31, located in the Thabekkyin region, this school was put into use in 2013. In 2016 a start was made on the construction of a high school for 250 children, which will be opened in the course of 2018. The start has also been made for secured accommodations for the 150 children, who stay permanently on the premises.
This region is not yet accessible without a special permit, about 4 hour drive from Mandalay and only accessible by jeep through the riverbeds.
OUR PROJECTS
Help and build a future together
Sponsoring
