Our very first placement, Jack, is at heart, a very special boy, who likes nothing better than making others laugh and be happy.
Unfortunately Jack has many problems, that have become more and more apparent as time has passed since he arrived.
Having known Jack previously, whilst helping out at his previous placement, I had been a little baffled by the ending of his placement.
The possible reasons are now very clear, but rather than return him to an atmosphere of neglect and abuse we fully intend to help Jack conquer his problems.
There is a strong possibility that he suffers fetal alcohol syndrome and we are also investigating the possibility of ADHD as his behaviours strongly resemble those in the diagnosis criteria for this disorder.
Although there is treatment available for ADHD we feel that to move Jack forward to best effect will involve 1-1 staff for a significant part of the day, for quite some time.
As a new Foundation still in the throws of registration and with no major sponsors as yet, this will not be possible without sponsorship.
We estimate the cost of 1 extra staff (to be trained onsite); to work half day 1-1 with Jack and the other half as extra staff for all the children,(8 hours a day), 22 days a month, at 10,000 baht a month(approx.200 pounds sterling).
Despite his difficulties , Jack is well settled and very much loved here at Stratton House and part of our aims is to be able to offer such support for any child where needed.
If you feel able to help in anyway, either as an individual sponsor for the staff or to maybe hold a fundraiser for this special purpose, please contact us as soon as possible.
Part of the joy of running The Stratton ABC Foundation is getting to see yet more of what goes on in Thai society. Last week was the culmination of many weeks practice at school for the children, when a major inter school running competition was held for the local schools in and around Banthi, over two days.
There were stands and awnings erected around the outside of the sportsfield for all the different schools and their supporters.
Our team from Jacks school did reasonably well, taking home several medals and their fair share of the Trophies at the end of the second day.
So, after lots of hard work we have at last been able to open Stratton House Childrens Home and our first placement has gone to Jack, a ten year old boy from a Lamphun rural village, who desperately needs some stability in his life.
