Folks on the Top of our Hero List - DEPDC/GMS

We moved some folks to the top of our Hero List.  They are Sompop Jantraka, the founder of DEPDC/GMS (Development Education Program for Daughters and Communities/ Greater Mekong Sub-Region) and Patricia Oliver Martinez, International Volunteer. 

Sompop Jantraka has been nominated for the 2013 World’s Children’s Prize for his almost 25 year struggle against trafficking and exploitation of children in the sex industry and other harmful forced labor.

 

His organization, DEPDC/GMS, has given thousands of poor children from throughout the Mekong Region in Thailand, Laos, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam and China - protection and education. 

 

Daeng was one of the thousand that he has helped. When she was a young lady, trying to support herself and her Mother, she went through a program at DEPDC and learned how to sew.  She got up very early in the morning and worked putting fried pig skin into small bags.  She was paid  four (4) Thai Baht (about 12 cents US) for every one hundred (100) bags.

 

When she finished that work she went to DEPDC sewing class so she could learn to sew.  As she remembers, Sompop Jantraka even gave her money to help her buy gasoline for her motorbike so she could get to the sewing school.  To read about Daeng going to sewing school at the DEPDC/GMS blog CLICK HERE.

 

A few months ago, we saw that Patricia Oliver Martinez, an International Volunteer at DEPDC/GMS, had a fund raiser to help remodel the restroom area at DEPDC/GMS in Chiang Khong.  As a plumber, I'm always interested in projects like this.  We contacted Pat and last week we visited the Chiang Khong facility along with the 22 young ladies that live there.

 

Wow, what a wonderful experience!  We met all the ladies and each one told us their names, ages and school grade level.  Each one told us they liked school, which I was glad to hear as what folks like to do they usually do well.

 

We also met "Fanta" who will be traveling to Sweden with Sompop Jantraka.  He will be accepting the CHILD RIGHTS HERO Award.  You can read all about Sompop and Fanta, along with other folks involved in the program, on pages 70 through 89 in the PDF copy of THE GLOBE. Just CLICK HERE.  The file takes a little while to load but it is well worth it.

I also want to say: "Pat, I have been a plumber for over 46 years and you did a wonderful job putting together this restroom project!  Thank you for having us visit you and the young ladies at Chiang Khong."