Thailand: real lives

"I quit the job at a garment factory to work with ChildFund's sewing group because I am not forced to work overtime here. At the factory I had to work 30 days a month from 8am until 10 pm. With such work, how could I spare the time for my children?"

Sodsri, aged 38, is among many women, most of them 30-40 years old, trying to earn a living as day labourers due to their lack of education and land to farm.
"Thanks to ChildFund, the sewing project is in our community and I don't need to go elsewhere for a job," says Sodsri. She and her two children live in a one-story, 24' by 18' house rented from a neighbour.

ChildFund Australia's affiliate organisation in Thailand established the sewing project in an effort to create job opportunities for uneducated women in a semi-rural area of Chiang Rai province. After starting the program with 40 industrial sewing machines donated by the Japanese Embassy in Thailand, ChildFund in Thailand worked with the Foundation for Thai Textile Industry to ensure quality standards on the production lines.

Operating as a small garment factory, the sewing group adheres to the same product quality standards as other sewing factories. The ChildFund in Thailand sewing program also adheres to high occupational safety and health standards, ensuring a clean work environment and zero-tolerance for exploitation, with working hours set strictly at 8:30am to 5pm.