The reality for many underprivileged people in Pattaya is a life that is entrapped by poverty and abuse. Their lives are marked by a lack of adequate care, food, shelter, and uncertainty about the future. Many of these people earn a meager living as street vendors, garbage collectors, prostitutes, or beggars. Drug and alcohol abuse is common in these communities, making them very dangerous places for children to grow up in.
Those living in poor communities are also at constant risk of abuse and exploitation, and a way for them to break out of this cycle of poverty seems almost impossible. Poor communities dwellers are often without the benefits of a house registration, which is needed to access healthcare, education, and other government support services. In addition, without a birth certificate, a child faces an entire lifetime of living as an ‘alien’ in their own home country.
Hand to Hand is a Christian organisation that is based in Pattaya, which recognises that human rights apply to all age groups. We seek to protect those who are marginalised regardless of their race, age or religion. We achieve this by showing them the love of Jesus Christ through prayer and, on a much more practical level, by providing services such as helping them acquire legal documentation and offering food, clothing, and a chance to get an education.