Working with the blind and disabled children in Thailand

My name is Eleni - I am just someone who wants to make a difference. I have taken it upon myself to travel to developing countries and start training alternative therapists in the places they are needed most - orphanages, blind schools and schools for the disabled - all off my own bat and out of my own pocket. I also happen to be 90% blind. In September 2015 I created an alliance with the Christian Foundation for the Blind (or the CFBT) in Bangkok, Thailand.

Our mission

Our mission is to empower these children, through our ES Healing practices, to discover their greatest potential and live it joyfully. While we are unable to cure their blindness, we can assist them with their mobility, their flexibility and their ability to communicate, improving their overall wellbeing in a holistic manner, and bestowing upon them the gift of a greater awareness. With this awareness of who they are and the greater world in which they exist, we will be giving these precious children the power to invoke change.

Who are the CFBT?

The CFBT runs nine schools that supports more than 4000 blind children and young adults with education, accommodation, life skills and job placement assistance. Most of the children at these CFBT schools suffer from more than just blindness. Some are unable to speak and respond to work the teachers are trying to do. many have Cerebral Palsy or other undiagnosed physical deformities and are confined to wheelchairs, if there is funding available, otherwise they are placed in one spot in the morning, and that is where they stay for most of the day.

There are children with genetic or intellectual impairments, such as Downs Syndrome or Autism, and there is very little communication with these children, who have been left in these schools by their families who view their impairments as a curse and are very superstitious about the bad karma that these children will invoke on them and their villages

Our work with the CFBT

Along with Eaw Petchngam, one of our local therapists in Thailand, I met with the founder and the head teachers of Ban Dek Ramindra, the principal school of the CFBT, as well as with a social worker and medical doctor to discuss implementing change within the school environment to improve communication between the teachers and students. While the teachers were very competent in their skillset and carried out their roles dutifully, the relationship the teachers seemed to have with the students lacked a sense of soul and nurture. Eaw and I worked with the teachers on developing more of a connection with the students, demonstrating aspects of ES Healing and providing suggestions of maintaining this work with the children on an ongoing basis.

In October and November this year (2016) we want to return to Bangkok, and take with us eight other Oasis Foundation therapists, including Eaw’s sister, Audy, to work with the CFBT. We would like to reinforce the work that we started with the teachers of the principal school, Ban Dek Ramindra, with further ES Healing training, and then extend our work by placing two therapists in each of the other eight CFBT schools, to treat the children and train their teachers for at least two weeks, but ideally a month or two if we can obtain sufficient funding.

So, I am appealing to you. To carry out this work, we need funds. Will you help?

To learn more about the Foundation and other work that my team have been doing,

Visit our website at www.oasisnaturalhealthfoundation.org

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/oasisnaturalhealthfoundation

About Project Creator:

Eleni Seitis

In 2008, Eleni Seitis attended a seminar introducing her to a Social Entrepreneur, Roger Hamilton. As Roger spoke of his 2020 Vision for his organisation, XL, he invited members of the audience to share their own visions of their future businesses and organisations. At that stage, Eleni was working for herself as a Bowen Therapist. She hadn’t planned the future of her business…until that moment.

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Link to the Project:

https://www.chuffed.org/project/working-with-the-blind-and-disabled-children-in-thailand