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Australian Embassy’s Discretionary
Fund for Thai NGOs
Ms Bronte Moules, Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Embassy Bangkok, recently visited two projects funded through the Australian Embassy’s 2006-07 Discretionary Fund.
The first visit was to the Christian Care Foundation for Children with Disabilities (CCD) at Nonthaburi. The CCD supports three day-care centres within the Pakkred Government Home for Disabled Children, a facility which houses over 2000 disabled children with disabilities ranging from mild to severe. Under its discretionary grants program, the Embassy gave a grant to the CCD for education supplies and equipment. Part of the fund will also enable participation by 60 children in the CCD's annual Rainbow Camp. The camp helps disabled children to learn self-help skills and to participate in the community through fun and creative activities.
“The Discretionary Fund is a small way that Australia is able to assist community groups and non-profit organisations (NGOs) in Thailand to alleviate basic humanitarian hardships, to help children in need and other disadvantaged groups, and to support education, rural development and poverty alleviation,” said Ms Moules.
The second visit was to Chiangmai, where Ms Moules attended a seminar and training on ‘Voluntary Counselling and Testing’ organised and run by the Thai Harm Reduction Network. The seminar aimed to increase participants’ understanding and knowledge about harm reduction through voluntary counselling and testing and to provide assistance and advice in relation to the prevention of HIV transmission. Participants included prison nurses from prisons in both Bangkok and Chiangmai, psychiatrists, senior officials from drug dependence treatment centre and public health personnel.