Thailand

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In Thailand, Handicap International works on:

• providing refugees with basic and essential knowledge, via mine risk education and rehabilitation before and after their repatriation

• community-based and society-based approaches to encourage people to participate in the prevention of child abuse and exploitation and involve them in disability and development.

CONTEXT
Thailand has a population of about 65 million and more than 70% of the Thai population lives in rural areas, earning their livelihoods from agriculture. As regards social economic issues, four urgent policies have been identified:

• one village, one product
• a people’s bank
• health insurance
• drugs control, prevention and rehabilitation

BACKGROUND
Handicap International has been working in Thailand since 1982 and its first activity was to provide assistive devices to amputees in refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border. Since then, the main activities of Handicap International in Thailand have been:

• prosthetic services and Community-Based Rehabilitation projects for refugees with disabilities, including landmine victims
• training for local prosthetic technicians
• Mine Risk Education projects

BENEFICIARIES
Refugees and Thai populations, especially people with a high risk of mine accidents and people with disabilities.

Read the story of U Mong Wing, who has cerebral palsy and is now learning to walk.

RESOURCES
Handicap International's team is made up of 32 people, including 2 international staff. We have offices in Bangkok, Maesod (Burmese border) and Chanthaburi province (Cambodian border).

CONTACTS
E-mail: bkkdp@thailand-hi.org