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COMMUNITY SERVICES

Sister Joan Evans r A Beacon of Hope in Klong Toey


By Edward Dever

by providing money for bus fares


Joan

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young man asks Sister

Evans for further helo with his


studres. Now workino fulltime for a

company in Bangkok, career advancement depends on more study which he cannot afford. He shows a gritty determinatron to better himself and avoid the life of intermittent work and limited options suffered by his father. With several family members to support, Sister
Joan is a lifeline to a better life.

other transport costs as well as money for breakfast or lunch. Learning is much harder on an empty stomach and ten or 15 Baht for food can make a world of difference.
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Sister Joan has assisted hundreds of


students over the years, some of whom

have continued with their studies and graduated from university. University
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day's education is better than nothing at

For 19 years Sister Joan, a retired religious sister from Perth in Western Australia, has lived and worked in the slums of Klong Toey. Education rs her core mission. She believes there is a real neec qnri .,^,,^^ tn holn nhilrlron , *,,^i,,l+^ +^ yuung auurLs LIle tu +Lpoint where they can help themselves. Sister Joan's mission uses a 'cradle to

all.

While Srster's primary focus is education, her days are often filled with ferrying sick people to hospital, helping out with requests for payment of bills or comforting those in the community
who are sick or dying. She also provides food assistance to 90 families each fort-

k**"'

the workplace' approach. lt starts with the Infant Milk Programme, popularly known as the 'Milk Run'. Created by Sister Joan in 1992, the Milk Run now operates each fortnight {rom two locations in Klong Toey providing baby milk formula and full cream powdered milk for babies up to 12 months of age. The
Milk Run seeks to improve babies' health

night, providing rice, cooking oil and


other essential items.

Sister Joan is a remarkable Australian who has devoted her retirement years to making a difference in the Klong Toey
slum communities

- one child at a time.

*
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and nutrition so they will be sufficiently


healthy to attend school when older.

How you can help

A key part of Sister's mission involves


buying school uniforms, bags
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. Funding for Sister Joan's projects comes


from donations and all donations go to help those in need.

Sister Joan's donation philosophy is simple a little bit of money goes a long way.

lonoI

nhilr{ron

attend school. Often, a parent's inability to afford these items means their child cannot obtain an education. Sister Joan's annual Education Project enables hundreds of children and young
adults to attend school each vear.

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. Donations can be made online (via PayPal),


by cheque or by direct bank deposit

see

www.sisterjoan.info for details. Offers of volunteer help are also welcome. Sister Joan Evans PBVM Presentation Slums Mission Bangkok PO Box 28, Kluai Nam Thai PO Bangkok 101 15 Thailand Email: milkrun44 @ gmail.com Website: www.sisterjoan.info

Providing uniforms is only part of the solution. Many parents in Klong Toey
cannot afford the transport costs so their children can travel to school and cannot provide them with food or money for breakfast or lunch. Sister Joan's Fares and Food (2F) Programme fills this gap

20 | January

2Ol

AustC hamTh ailand Advance

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