Thai Charities for Underprivileged Children by Katrina Sriranpong

April 19, 2025

Photo from the Foundation for the Better Life of Children

According to ECPAT International, an organization that coordinates research, advocacy and action to end the sexual exploitation of children, Thailand is a main destination for migrant workers, human trafficking and forced labour.  In 2019, there was an estimated 3.9 million migrant workers who mostly came from neighbouring regions such as Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Vietnam.  Thailand has approximately 610,000 human trafficking victims within its borders. 

Unfortunately, Thailand has a high demand for child trafficking for sexual purposes due to a multitude of reasons such as economic imbalances and foreign tourists demand for sexual services of children.  Trafficking of children for the purpose of sexual exploitation continues to be the most common purpose of trafficking in Thailand.   

As such, it is extremely crucial to support (either financially or through volunteer efforts) Thai charities who advocate and provide support for underprivileged children.  Below are a list of charities operating in Thailand to assist underprivileged children. 

Foundation for the Better Life of Children

Foundation for the Better Life of Children  is an established charity in Thailand that advocates for disadvantaged children, including children who are homeless, children of migrant workers, orphans, children of parents who are imprisoned, children who are victims of abuse, or children who are affected by AIDS.  They provide shelter in two homes: the Foster Children Home and the Creative Children Home. 

The Foundation accepts donations of funds, food, toys, and stationary for children to use in school.  They also accept daily essential items such as clothing, shoes, diapers, toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, etc.  They provide free education to children through the use of volunteer teachers.  The charity recruits volunteers from the public and various universities in Thailand to assist in the daily operations of the organization. 

The Foundation has been a strong advocate for children’s rights in Thailand and argued for police stations to have child interrogation rooms (usually to question child victims of human trafficking), child identification rooms, and female investigators.  The charity also established the “Center for the Protection and Assistance of Children in Education,” which receives reports of child abuse and works to provide justice for the child victim.  In 1991, the charity was also instrumental in advocating for the right to education of children who did not have their birth certificates and house registrations, which were required to attend public school in Thailand.  Their work led to significant changes in legislation. 

Please consider becoming a foster parent to a child or donating a scholarship to further a child’s education, which ends the cycle of poverty.   You can learn more here.  

CCF Foundation

The CCF Foundation was created under the Royal Patronage of Thai princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.  The Foundation aims to assist underprivileged children in Thailand with educational opportunities as well as health services.  The Foundation takes pride in the fact that many children they have assisted have graduated to become physicians, teachers, engineers and other professions. The charity has more than 58,000 children under their care.  The Foundation currently has four projects to assist children; the Life Merit Fund Project, the Scholarship Project, the Crisis Project, and the Birthday Project. 

You can also sponsor a child for as little as 20 baht a day or 600 baht per month.  As opposed to one time donations, continuous monthly donations allow the Foundation to budget for expenses and expand their operations.   The donations you provide will assist in obtaining food, health care, and education so children can achieve their full potential.  In addition, the charity educates the child’s family on child-rearing and provides career support.  Your donation will be combined with other sponsors in the same project region where your child lives to maximize the benefit to the child’s community and quality of life.  The Foundation also works to develop childcare centers, libraries, clean water tanks, and water filtration systems in various regions.  The charity currently receives donations from approximately 27,000 sponsors. 

You can learn more about the Foundation by visiting their Facebook page for recent updates. 

Duang Prateep Foundation

Duang Prateep Foundation was established in the 70’s to assist children and the elderly who lived in the slums of Thailand.  The charity originated when two teachers opened their home to underprivileged children living in the slums and charged only one baht per day for education and basic life skills training.  The school became known as the “One Baht per Day School.” 

As time progressed and the number of children increased, the school adopted the educational curriculum of Bangkok, known as the “Muban Phatthana Community School.”  In 1976, Bangkok secured control of the school to save it from eviction and the school expanded to educate more underprivileged children.  In 1978, the school accepted a large cash award of 20,000 USD and established the Foundation, known today as Duang Prateep Foundation.  

The mission of the Foundation is to provide quality education for children and vocational training for youth in poor communities, thereby, reducing the significant inequalities that continue to exist in Thai society. 

Please visit their Facebook page for current updates on their numerous projects. 

Katrina Sriranpong