SPELD SA’s book donation helps students with learning difficulties in Thailand, thanks to Council Member, Abbey James.
My name is Abbey James, and I am on the council of SPELD SA. I have been teaching for 10 years in South Australia, and have just come back from Thailand, where I spent three months teaching there. I went to Chiang Mai, Thailand with the mission organisation, SIM to provide home school teaching for an Australian missionary family while they were establishing themselves there and the Mum had surgery. Whilst in Chiang Mai, I was also fortunate to teach at Connie's Home which is a group foster home providing care for children awaiting international adoption. Connie's Home was established to care for unwell babies and children or those who may have disabilities and/or learning difficulties. Often these children are set aside after being added to the adoption lists because their unaided health condition progresses and eventually results in being removed from the list.
When teaching at Connie’s Home, there was one boy in particular who had literacy difficulties and challenges with reading and writing. Resources for him to use were limited and so I reached out to SPELD SA who very kindly donated literacy resources to be used by the children there. I got to use some of the resources with the children and it was amazing seeing their progress. Other staff have started using the resources with children too.
Whilst in Thailand, I was also able to go on some school visits with the Hope for Life team and help teach English to large groups of children. Hope for Life supports individuals and families from disadvantaged areas. The Hope for Life organisation is opening a Shalom House in the next few weeks to support children and families. It will be a place where students can come outside of school and receive access to resources, and it will be a safe place for them to spend time. Other literacy resources from SPELD SA were donated to the Shalom House project and will be invaluable. The team was so appreciative.
A huge thankyou to SPELD SA for the ways you support people with additional learning needs and for the ways you’ve provided resources for these two organisations in Thailand.
"I got to use some of the resources with the children and it was amazing seeing their progress."
