CCD stands for ‘Christian Care Foundation for Children with Disabilities’ and is run by Wasan Saenwian, pictured here with his wife Chariya.
When Martin Lee, Director of Christian Outreach Relief & Development (CORD), Wasan and Chariya first witnessed the conditions of the government orphanages 17 years ago, the effect upon them was so great they felt utterly compelled to do something.
CORD encouraged Wasan and Chariya to apply for Thai NGO registration. In 1997 their work with disabled children became a registered Thai NGO and CCD was founded. brief, the situation is as follows. In Thailand some children born with disabilities are abandoned. Their disabilities might range from Cerebal Palsy through to something as minor as a missing toe or a cleft pallet.
The reason for their abandonment is often due to poverty and to cultural and religious beliefs and the stigma surrounding disability. The children are frequently abandoned and left outside of the government orphanage, a huge establishment housing over 2000 children and adults. It is here that they are likely to spend the rest of their lives.
As you might imagine the conditions are appalling and the children exist in an environment where the most basic human needs of physical touch, care and stimulation are simply not provided.