Phuket Sunshine Village Foundation

Established in 2007 to assist children left without parents after the tsunami, The Phuket Sunshine Village is now home to over 100 children in need, most who have come from a place of abuse or neglect, from homes with drug or alcohol problems, or where single parents are unable to cope. The foundation endeavours to give them a better future. The children come from Phuket and surrounding provinces.

This independent foundation is the result of the cooperative efforts of The Lions Club of Phuket Andaman Sea and Child Watch Phuket and is a local non-governmental organization that was set up in 2005. With the assistance of the French Red Cross, the village opened on Koh Siray in 2007.

The main objectives are to protect kids from body, mind and sexual abuse, help and support to endangered children, inform children and the community about their human rights, provide education and give access to public health services to underprivileged children and to cooperate with other charity organizations for the benefit of the community.

The village is a residential community that consists of a main building and 12 semi-detached bungalows, a dining area for up to 150 children, manager house, maintenance room, a parking area, a garden and a large playground. In the main building, there are three day care rooms, administration effice, computer room and library, multi-purpose room for training programs and Entertainment, first aid room, laundry room and kitchen. The bungalows are fitted with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living area with kitchen, mother's room and veranda.

The children are involved in numerous activities - sports, gymnastics, swimming, meditation, handicrafts, dancing, gardening, cooking, religious and social studies, educational and fun excursions and lots of playing plus there's an annual anniversary party and Christmas and New Year celebrations - to integrate them into the community and develop their social skills. Staff and volunteers assist them in learning about Thai society and culture and teaching them about family values and responsibilities.

The children get involved with sports and activities with the assistance of local businesses. For example the Phuket Youth Sailing Club in Ao Yon has been working with some of the kids for several years. Some of the kids are now skilled sailors and compete in regattas in Phuket and in Thailand.