At this point in time some people will think of Thailand as an emerging Asian economy rather than a 3rd world country, and in the scale of world wide macro-economics, that is essentially true.

The problem with this assumption however, is best described in the words of a well educated Thai friend of mine who says simply "You must not forget that only 2 generations ago and in many cases 1 generation ago, the majority of Thai people were just poor uneducated farmers. That really means that there is still quite a mixture of both worlds here... "

The reality is that there is still a large number of rural Thai families that cannot even afford the cost of registering their newborn children's birth certificates let alone anything else like schooling etc. Which means that the government nor the systems within it recognize that child as a Thai National. No medical services, no school, and no rights at all really.

The problem with Thailand's relatively recent economic development is that it has been quite disproportionate. Mainly benefiting the industrialists and the educated that live in the cities. Poor communities from 'the-countryside' in this developing nation, have suffered at the whim of the rice markets, the fickle and changing weather patterns and now soaring fuel and living costs. For those farming families with almost no education, times are indeed much tougher now.

These days many of those families that have come across hard luck or bad times upcountry flock to the bustling seaside tourist resort of Pattaya City as they have heard rumours that "these streets are paved with gold" and there is an abundance of money to be made in this town where 'Rich' foreigners come to holiday and throw their money around.

The tough reality is, that there aren't many jobs in a tourist town for poor 'barely educated' ex-rice farmers and their families that cannot speak any English. So these families often end up collecting recyclable garbage and living in slums, and therein also live the little children.

With no town water, no hygiene to speak of, often no electricity, and definitely no money nor much likelihood of getting any, their prospects are bleak and their small children that they bring with them are

in an even worse dilemma. Many end up begging on the streets or selling chewing gum or anything they can, around the beer bars and open air restaurants. Remember, without the Government ID card they won't be accepted to go to any school... Well that was until about 13 years ago when the Fountain of Life center was born in a small run down shop house in North Pattaya.

The Jesters Care 4 Kids Charity Drive has also developed a famous life of its own, but there is still so much more still to do, and today we have 11 organizations that we call our beneficiaries. These are organizations just like the Fountain of life that care for the needs of those kids who are less fortunate here. Most of them have a slightly different focus, but all are working to the benefit of children. Click the links here to see more information about them.

Mother and daughter on their garbage collection run in the middle of a hot day in Theprasit road Jomtien.

The Jesters Care 4 Kids Charity Drive is indeed just that. A combined, well organized and efficiently run combination of events to raise money for the beneficiaries explained above. The Jesters MC and the large number of expatriates that are involved in the Charity drive, all do so on a voluntary basis and although there are some costs involved in organizing and running these large fundraising events, they are kept to an absolute minimum through the generosity of the suppliers and indeed all the people who attend. Last year 97.25% of the 8.4 million baht raised, went to the direct benefit of the children that are supported by our beneficiaries.

Today we have come a long way from the humble beginnings of 10 years ago, and indeed we cover many more facets that were even dreamed of in 1998. The monies raised are carefully managed and distributed and benevolent causes (such as helping the Tsunami relief a few years ago) are attended to quickly and efficiently when and where required. Beneficiaries are carefully vetted, chosen, and consistently supported through the program with long term benefits and efficiencies in mind.

You can see all about the events such as the CHILDREN's FAIR here and the PUB NIGHT here or you can see a lot more of the history of how all this came about here.

Herein we hope you can support this worthy program (see here for ways you can help) because in 50 years from now people might not remember what clothes you wore, or which car you drove or the house you lived in, but maybe the world might just be a better place because you were of a positive significance in the life of a child today.

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