SaiLom

Where do your children enjoy going? We take our children to the shops and they learn about choosing what we need and paying for it at the cash register. Soon they mature enough that we can send them to the shop to get something for us. After that they are earning their own money and heading to the shops on their own. This comes "naturally" for the children living with their family but for the hundreds of children with disabilities living at large government homes it does not. They have rare opportunities to get out into the community living and learning by watching and doing.

SaiLom (Supporting and Advocating for Inclusive Living Opportunities Ministry) comes alongside young men with developmental delay due to disabilities so that they can learn from real life situations. Community skills training starts from the time that our members put their socks on until they return to greet their caregivers on their dormitories. In between time our members learn by doing everyday activities. Need to know how to take the public transportation? There are many choices of ways to get to where we're going from buses, taxies, vans, two row trucks and of course our feet! Need to know how to do housework? At SaiLom house we work together and let each one do what he can. While some cook lunch, another will wash clothes or do a specific job for the day. Need to develop job skills? We improve our members' job readiness skills by sorting recycled materials; using the laminator, paper shredder, or paper cutter; sorting and cleaning donations for example. After our members show their job skills, SaiLom links with businesses which are open to giving our members the opportunity to practice and work with them. Businesses which employ over 100 people are required to hire one person with a disability. SaiLom offers job coaching so our members can be supported as they learn their job. Our members also enjoy volunteering as well. Volunteer positions are valuable as our members learn social skills and basic work skills.

"Where are you going?" is a common greeting in Thailand. SaiLom gives our members the opportunity to decide where they'd like to go. Each month SaiLom plans to take a group to join an activity in the community. Our members favourite destinations are local shopping malls, tourist sites, or places where they can feed the fish. If you are interested in helping to bring the young people on a day trip please contact us.

A Real L.I.F.E. Story

"Where are you going?" is a common greeting in Thailand. SaiLom gives our members the opportunity to decide where they'd like to go. Each month SaiLom plans to take a group to join an activity in the community. Our members favourite destinations are local shopping malls, tourist sites, or places where they can feed the fish. A real LIFE story. If you are interested in helping to bring the young people on a day trip please contact us.

Wee greets everyone cheerily.

"I never thought he'd get a job" the staff from the government home said. But he did get a job! SaiLom had shown a staff at a school pictures of the things that our members are able to do. Focusing on their abilities and matching them with the needs at the school SaiLom was able to place one member there. Wee joined our project in order to share a job with that first member. Wee's enthusiasm for his job of raking leaves and doing other gardening work is unwavering. He is now paid to do a job that he enjoys.

With the help of SaiLom staff Wee is still practicing to know the value of Thai money, how to take public transportation and how to improve and expand on his work skills within the limits of his disability. In the meantime he has a regular income that he can use to buy some of his favourite things. He enjoys listening to Thai country music on his new CD player during his free time at SaiLom house. SaiLom is like family to him encouraging him to be the best he can be. He helps around the house where he does the laundry while Mo makes lunch. He's learning to be responsible for paying his own way, buying his own supplies and deciding whether to buy a treat after work or not. He is saving money for the day when he'll consider moving into the community with the support and advocacy of his SaiLom family.