Our Work
Baan Dek Foundation’s Mission
Baan Dek Foundation (BDF) is a Thai-registered foundation with the mission to improve the well-being of vulnerable children and their families in Thailand.
Guided by its 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, all programs within Baan Dek Foundation (BDF) are structured across the foundation’s three programmatic pillars.
Participatory Approach
Beneficiaries we serve are at the center of our work and program design. Annually, BDF conducts participatory workshops with beneficiaries such as children, families, and community members to gather feedback and increase engagement across all programs and projects. Beneficiary feedback and voices are integrated into BDF’s program design, allowing the BDF team to identify needs and jointly design future activities for BDF’s next programmatic cycle.
Our Programs
Child Protection Program
At the center of BDF’s work lies its Child Protection Program, which provides tailored case management, including direct and immediate protection, to children and families identified as at-risk. BDF delivers support to build strong families and creates action plans to enable access to food, public education, health care services, etc. BDF also offers counseling, financial support, and referrals to health, education, and social services with partner organizations for increased support.
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Child Development Program
The primary objective of the Child Development Program is to equip vulnerable children and youth with life skills and non-formal education to promote child development, prepare school-aged children for integration into Thai public schools, and prevent drop-out. Activities include Early Childhood Development (ECD) activities, Thai language classes, afterschool homework support and essential life skills education to name a few. Under this program, BDF collaborates with 70+ schools in Chiang Mai.
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Community Empowerment Program
BDF provides specialized training to community members, adults, and youth to become agents of change, who support children and families in their own communities in preventing child abuse, accessing public services and improving their living environment. These leaders gain parenting skills,gender-based violence awareness, life skills, and education information. BDF supports community action plans developed by leaders and community members to improve WASH facilities and community safe spaces.
Among those leaders, BDF recognizes women as essential agents of change in their community. To further support them, women leaders are invited to join BDF’s spin-off social enterprise, Dao Ethical Gifts, promoting empowerment by providing them with an opportunity to produce high quality products. Learn more about Dao Ethical Gifts here.
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Systemic Impact
To generate sustainable change at scale in the construction sector, BDF works with Thai property and construction sector leaders to change their practices. Building on its social expertise and in-depth knowledge of those migrant communities living in construction site camps, BDF developed a Framework for Action, practical tools and training to support companies in adopting improved practices toward migrant workers and their children living in construction site camps.
In early 2022, BDF launched the Building Social Impact Initiative to scale-up the adoption of the Framework for Action and its 12 recommendations. Through this Initiative, BDF offers open-source Tools and training to ease the adoption of the Framework. Since its launch, the BSI Initiative has already brought onboard major companies from the property and construction industry. Visit the Building Social Impact Initiative website here.
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