Vol. VII No.44 - Tuesday
October 28 - November 3, 2008
6 Years' voluntary services with New Life Foundation.
Cory Croymans receives award 6 years’ voluntary service with the New Life Foundation Many of you will have the privilege of knowing Cory Croymans, either through Reiki at her Asian Healing Arts Centre, through her invaluable membership of Soroptimists International Chiang Mai, or through simply meeting her and becoming friends. Some of you may not be aware that, as well as the above activities, Cory has found time, for the last 6 years, to be a volunteer for the New Life Foundation. Exactly how she has found the time is another matter – certainly Reiki practice will have had something to do with it! | |
 | Cory Croymans (right) prior to receiving the award, with Khunying Bupphan Nimmanhaemindha, President of the New Life Foundation. |
| the rehabilitation of patients who had recovered from leprosy or from mental illness, helping them lead a normal life and find gainful employment. In its original form, the charity was founded 40 years ago through the inspiration of Khunying Bupphan Nimmanhaemindha. Khunying Bupphan, now 86 years of age, is still its president, having worked tirelessly and successfully over the intervening years for those unable at first to help themselves. At present, there are three village-style complexes; the Trisapawakarn Village Complex in Chiang Dao, now self-sufficient, the New Life Village Complex in the Lee district of Lamphun province, and the Halfway Home Village in Hang Dong. The Chiang Dao village includes a Public Welfare School for hill tribe children, which now has boarding facilities for 800 students whose villages are too far away for them to travel to school every day. In addition, at the Chiang Dao and Lee villages, medical services and care are provided to 70 elderly disabled ex-leprosy patients who have no other means of support and no-one to take care of them. The Foundation provides much-needed benefits to all the residents, from young to old, of the three village complexes, including monthly allowances and distributions of rice, monthly medical follow-up visits and medical services to families, including hospital transfers where necessary and education in fundamental healthcare and vocational training for the children. In the Lee and Chiang Dao villages, pre-school childcare services including nutritious free lunches are also provided. The focus of the Foundation remains as it did at its inception – to encourage and ensure that recovered sufferers are able to lead a normal life and face obstacles by themselves, by teaching them how to re-integrate into society. At the same time, the Foundation urges the general public to acknowledge them and to avoid discrimination. Each member of the villages has the right to own a piece of land on which they can build a home, which can be handed down to their children. Members are encouraged to work their land. The Foundation also works jointly with Lampang’s region 5 Leprosy Centre in treating the disorder, with doctors from Phrapadaeng Hospital making regular visits to sufferers. For suitable students, there is now a scholarship fund available to enable secondary education where advised and wished. From this brief description of the Foundation’s work, its caring, and its aims, it can be seen that unfortunates who have suffered from two of the most feared human diseases, leprosy and mental illness, are receiving the support and practical necessities essential in reclaiming their lives and living them to the full. For more information on the New Life Foundation, to donate, or to help in any way, please visit www.asianheal ingartscenter.com or email Cory on cory@asianhealing artscenter.com. | |
