Yogananda Foundation started the pilot project March 2007, the road toward self-reliance, for the disabled group at Wang Nua District at Lumpang Province, northern city of Thailand.
The program is a combination of massage to improve physical condition - to relieve stress,
and to earn income for some that undergone career training. The foundation provides full financial support to set up and organize the activities for the members from March 2007
until October 2007.
Another important factor to the success in any activity is to correct the financial difficulty of the disabled members. Though the foundation sponsor all the transportation, lunch and activities expenses, but the time being at the center some family of the members can not earn income that they live day-by-day.
Yogananda Foundation created the Earth Bag project to sustain the financial burden.
The model project Earth Bag is the key tool originated by Yogananda Foundation
with full support to the members to paint the bags and to market for them.
The Earth Bag creates creative activity for the disabled and to earn income.
The center receives full amount from the proceeds of the Earth Bag.
Yogananda Foundation does not charge any administrative fee.
Only a period of 5 months, Yogananda Foundation is able to set up, organized, and established the self reliance project successfully at Wang Nua Disabled Center.
The center had been around for 9 years and unable to set and maintain functional activity until Yogananda Foundation set up the self reliance project for them. At the present time, Wang Nua Disabled Center is able to continue their activities and serve their members
Yogananda Foundation donated and trained the center the rehabilitation
exercise for the children while they are at the center.
Yogananda Foundation accomplished in arranging for 13 disabled children from Wang Nua district to receive education and rehabilitation care. The foundation is providing education grant and support for these children to attend appropriate schools to suit the needs and conditions of the children. They are 5 boarding schools in 3 provinces, since Wang Nua
is too far for daily commute for these children.
Yogananda Foundation Chiang Dao Center for the Disabled
Yogananda Foundation continue the search for disabled people in need of help and found that the disabled in Chiang Dao, a mountainous district 70 K.M. north of Chiang Mai, has no existing organization to facilitate their need from basic to urgent one. The foundation creates a model disabled center and supporting system starting from scratch.
The center commenced the first service to the community on 24 October 2007.
At the present, there is over 80 members join the center with more to follow.
The disabled at Chiang Dao are caught in the dilemma they have no way out.
Some are born disabled and grew up without career training to support themselves.
Many of them are adults that become disabled later on from accident or illness.
They are not capable of adapting to the disability. They lose out their income.
They have to depend on their family and many of them are heads of the household.
They are not only disabled but also live with illness conditions. They have no place to go
but only to rely on their family. Several are left to fend on their own. Fortunately, the great part of being in Thailand is that people are very kind. Many that are by themselves get food from their neighbors enough to get by.
Chan had an accident 6 years ago, unable to control bladder and partial paralyze on one side of the body. His wife took off with all the children, since she could not take care
all of them and him. He depends on his neighbors for food and had not touch money since became ill.
The center provides transportation to bring members in. Joining the center activity, gives Chan a new life. He receives massage and gets to meet his fellow members and share
the day of painting Earth Bag with them.
Chan receives income the first time in 6 years. That was from his expression when he earns his share from the Earth Bag.
Sa was working at a factory in Bangkok. Middle of 2007 she had an accident from her work and lost her right arm to above the elbow. She returned home and stay with her father. Sa’s father has been disabled for the past 10 years from accident and has been living with Sa’s younger brother who is also has a disabled leg.
Her compensation from work ran out and no other mean of income insight. Yogananda Foundation project for the disabled in Chiang Dao comes in time to mend her heavy load. She gets to join the activity, helps other members at the center and care for her father
at home.
Sa will receive her prosthesis from the hospital. Yogananda Foundation will support her with transportation and household expense while she is undergoing the treatment.
The road to improve quality of live…
Yogananda Foundation has been working toward helping poor children to support their education since the establishment of the foundation in January 2006. Since then, the need to help is even greater to both the disadvantage children and disabled people. But the urgent need is for the disabled people that have been suffering for so long. Wang Nua Disabled Group was the successful module activity arrangement to help the disabled.
Yogananda Foundation utilizes the successful experience from the self reliance project at Wang Nua Disabled Center to apply for the new dream project for any disabled group or center in Thailand. The foundation built an opened air building for the center activity on
a land own by Jan Chaithavuthi, president of Yogananda Foundation. The foundation will have full organization direction over the center plan, policy, activities and the future.
This is different than the Wang Nua Center which the foundation can only provide support and offer suggestion but does not have organization authority.
Yogananda Foundation Chiang Dao Center for the Disabled will work toward the 4 objectives:
- To apply Thai massage to help ease the discomfort of the body and to relax the mind.
- The set up the workable product to offset the members’ financial difficulty.
- The third objective is toward more production life for the members of the disabled members in term of basic need in living and in maintaining health.
- To cooperate and assist other disabled groups or centers in providing massage training; working with the Earth Bag project and share income from donation.
To achieve the objective number 1, Thai Massage School of Chiang Mai (TMC), in cooperation with Yogananda Foundation, provide massage service for health and rehabilitation for the members. Also set up massage training class for the parents to massage their children, relatives to massage the disabled adults, and the physically capable members to massage each others. Eventually, there will be career training for the capable disabled members who wish to gain knowledge to offer massage service to the public.
The outcome is so fast. The group is very happy to meet and feel the combined vibration during the meeting and the massage service. Receiving massage results in improve health
and wellness for the members. Some members, like Lha who is blind from birth, had never have contact to any one outside the family, surrender to the hands with love from massage.
No matter young or old, ill or well, they could enjoy the massage from the hearts.
The road to become self-reliance financially…
To achieve the objective number 2, Yogananda Foundation supports the group members
to make the cloth handy bag by calling it “Earth Bag”.
This bag is made with high quality natural cloth and preparation to be a sturdy handy bag
for daily use. Earth Bag is washable by hand or machine. The aim of the bag is also to reduce garbage from plastic when more people carry this Earth Bag to everywhere.
No one wants to live off from someone else hard work. When the disabled can perform any kind of work, they are very proud. Painting the Earth Bag is the most ideal task for them.
No matter how disabled a person – young or old- he or she can move the brush and color the Earth Bag from their hearts for you. If they cannot see, some one will help them “see” through their hands. If they cannot move their body, someone will help holding their hands and move the brushes for them.
Only here at the Earth Bag activity, you can see and feel the love flowing and transfer on your Earth Bag. Each Earth Bag - each work of heart for you to keep in your mind of the joy you share with them.
The road to improve their physical condition…
The third objective is what we dream of and try to make it come thru for some kids to be able to help themselves and live a normal lives on their own. The next most important issue is to make every possible arrangement for them to go to school.
For every disable adult, once they are able to earn income they can improve their living conditions. The activities they get to meet regularly at the disabled center enable them to gain physical strength and improve their condition. The support and activities they receive create vibration of love and healing and open up the world of happiness for them. They gain the sense of belonging and acceptance. They can be proud of what they can do and help others.
If you want to call it a miracle, it happens here, some are able to walk after being at the center for a month! Jareon has been partial paralyze from stroke for over 10 years. His usual life was stay at home and every 2-3 days he would have seizer. After joining the center activity everyday, his is now healthy and able to walk with only the use of a cane.
The amazing result can be seen repeatedly from the appearance to be “normal” from several mentally disorder disabled young adults and adults at the center. During the first meeting, most of the members had relatives accompanied them. After the second meeting, they wait and board the transportation on their own. While at the center, they can now paint better and volunteer to help out some chores.
Yogananda Foundation is working toward implementation of some basic rehabilitation tools at the center for the members to exercise while being here. The foundation assists the members for transportation when going to receive medical treatment at the hospital. When Chan first came to the center, his urine bag was of a regular grocery plastic bag and was leaking, the catheter had white muddy color! His last visit to the hospital was 3-4 months ago. He did not have money for transportation. His 3 legged cane was down to only 2 legs. The foundation provided transportation to the hospital the next day for the new urine and catheter set, and also gave him a new 3 legged cane that week.
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The last objective is to reach out, to cooperate and assist other disabled groups or centers in providing massage training; working with the Earth Bag project and share income from donation. At the present, there are 2 groups, one in Nakonpatom and another in Nakonsritamaraj Province that join the Earth Bag project. The massage training for disabled children is being implemented for the disabled children in Lumpoon Province.
The Earth Bag project during off school time for the disabled children at
the disabled group in Nakonsritamaraj.
Come and be a part of Yogananda Foudnation to share burden and joy with the member
of the disabled group. If every home in the world uses the “Earth Bag” Hand Painted by Disabled People, we will have less plastic trash at least a bag a day per household.
That is a lot of trash to reduce! The disabled artists will be able to make a living on their work and improve their lives and other around them!
HOW CAN I HELP? …
You can help by buying the Earth Bag for yourself and for every occasion you
want to give a present or something nice to someone.
You can use it for the promotional items for your business.
You can encourage your company, your organization, and your colleagues to do the same.
You can turn this Earth Bag to be a fashion item that everyone should have
and seeing people carry Earth Bag across the world.
May be we will see Earth Bag being used even in heaven!
Each Earth Bag is hand painted by a disabled child or disabled adult.
May be if they cannot hold the brush, their love ones will help holding their hands,
but all painting will come from their own hearts.
The cost of 10 Earth Bags from your request means one week of healthy meals for
an artist who painted the bags for you. The more income means they can live a normal life and manage to go to school or seek help to improve their physical condition. You give them
a chance to be proud and you – a chance to give and receive the joy of giving.
Your donation for each Earth Bag will result in 3 ways:
- Improve the quality of living
- Establish bond for the group in the community to work together
- Reach out to more in need for a helping hand
The road to join the Disabled group…
USE “Earth Bag” Hand Painted by Disabled People
Why use Earth Bag made by disabled people?
- To reduce the burden in living with little help from the outside world.
- To share joy with the disabled people by making everyone a part of one world.
- To save earth by reduce pollution from using plastic and paper bags.
- To give ourselves a chance to share the same dignity with disabled people
to earn a living from their own work.
How can we be a part of the disabled group?
- Use Earth Bag in our daily living.
- Give Earth Bag to friends and everyone you care and tell them
to do the same to others.
- Suggest to your organization or firms you do business with to use
Earth Bag as their promotional tools for their clients or customers.
- Refer disabled persons to join Yogananda Foundation
disabled group in their location.
- Volunteer to help with the disabled group in your area.
Roll up and give Earth Bag as a present this Christmas, New Year or any occasion all year round.
LARGE SIZE (approximate) 15”W X 15”H X 5”D
MEDIUM SIZE (approximate) 14”W X 13”H X 4 ½”D
Use the Earth Bag to put gift to give to the special person in your life.
Order in 50, 100 bags. You can give them out in a few days. People who have the bag will use it and think of you and the joy of the disabled member. Click here to order
Earth Bag appreciation lists:
LARGE SIZE 15”W X 15”H X 5”D
1 Earth Bag is 190 Baht each plus shipping
10 Earth Bag is 1,900 Baht receive 11 bags plus shipping
50 Earth Bag is 170 Baht each total 8,500 Baht plus shipping
100 Earth bag is 150 Baht each total 15,000 Baht plus shipping
(100 bags order will ship in 2 boxes)
MEDIUM SIZE 14”W X 13”H X 4 ½”D
1 Earth Bag is 160 Baht each plus shipping
10 Earth Bag is 1,600 Baht receive 11 bags plus shipping
50 Earth Bag is 140 Baht each total 7,000 Baht plus shipping
100 Earth bag is 130 Baht each total 13,000 Baht plus shipping
NOTE: To order combination of large and medium sizes,
please email for shipping cost.
No charge for shipping in Thailand.
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