There are a number or Projects being undertaken both here in Australia and in Thailand. Below are some of them.
THAILAND
BridgeWorks Youth Transition Centre : a Centre incorporating residential care, nurture, equipping and training of at-risk transitioning youth. Development of this is family-focused care. Currently BridgeWorks is renting a large home to meet the care and residential needs of at-risk youth. Land suitable to build a permanent facility has been acquired and fund-raising for the building project is currently underway.
BridgeWorks Youth Transition Program : many children’s homes are often only able to care for the children up to the completion of their 3rd year of high school, due to higher care and educational costs, and also a lack of resources and commitment in the care of teenagers. The youth become vulnerable to trafficking and other forms of exploitation from age 13 years on (sometimes earlier), and so a majority do not finish school. (Most trafficking and exploitation occurs via a relative, or broker acting on behalf of a relative). The BridgeWorks Youth Transition Program seeks to develop pathways that enable the children/youth that need to leave a children’s home to continue their education with ongoing nurture, equipping, and empowerment.
Educational/Vocational Youth Scholarships : To fund/enable further education and provide a viable future option for those in their mid-teens. These funds allow for education/training costs to enable them to continue in school, learn a trade, or continue to college/university and ultimately paid employment. The education costs per student vary from A$20/mth (Yrs1-3 High School); through to over A$100/mth for university. BridgeWorks scholarship sponsorship is A$50/mth per child/youth. In the spirit of fairness, this is “pooled” in the BridgeWorks Scholarship Fund, to make it possible to assist those at every level of education. If you wish to contribute to this, please click on the “Donate Now” button to the right (this will take you to PayPal where you can use a PayPal account or a credit/debit card).
Income Generation Projects : BridgeWorks aims to identify marketplace opportunities for the developing of projects that are suitable for the young people of BridgeWorks. This is for the purpose of skills training, as well as providing some financial assistance for the participants.
– Dinki BakeAdemy/Dinki Cakes is a bakery project started in 2011 originally with girls from a local children’s home. See separate page for more information – Dinki BakeAdemy.
– BridgeWorks also runs a Workshop project, which provides training and employment opportunities in technical/mechanical/maintenance skills, etc.
Fair Trade product : BridgeWorks sources and sells Arabica coffee grown by local hill-tribe coffee farmers. Proceeds from coffee sales support BridgeWorks projects. (This can also be purchased in Canberra, Australia at the Fyshwick Niche Markets stall run by Project BridgeWorks. See separate page for more information on the stall at Fyshwick Niche Markets.)
AUSTRALIA
One of our main projects in Australia is running the Project BridgeWorks stall at the Fyshwick Niche markets on the first weekend of the month. Click on the link for further details.
Project BridgeWorks also hold stalls at various other places in Canberra, including Independent Lifestyle/Retirement Villages, churches, fetes and markets, etc. Please contact us if you wish us to hold a stall at your location or event.
Project BridgeWorks has previously held trivia nights and had a member ride across Australia on a bicycle (see the separate page on Bob’s Ride Across Australia!). If you would like to become involved or have any ideas or suggestions of what you would like to see Project BridgeWorks doing, please go to Get Involved or Contact us.
