Step Ahead Annual Report 2017-2018

ANNUAL REPORT 2017 - 2018

2017-2002002018 A N N UA L REPO RT

TA BLE

of

CO N TEN TS 4

Message from the CEO

5

The Way We Step Ahead

6

Strengthening Families

8

Building Bright Futures

10

Child Safeguarding

12

Foster Care

14

Capacity Building

15

Collaboration

16

Our Leaders

17

Governance

18

Financial Summary

W it h hope and gr it , w e em br ace our r at her lof t y goal of leav ing no child behind and seeing ever y child in Thailand r each his or her pot ent ial in a saf e and nur t ur ing f am ily.

3

M ESSA GE from the

CEO HOPE IS JUST A STEP AHEAD Dear Friends, Thanks for your support and engagement with Step Ahead over the last year as we continued to serve some of Thailand?s most at-risk families, from the largest slums of Bangkok to the remote rural villages of Southern and Northeast Thailand.

We experienced an exciting year of growth. Our family strengthening work now reaches to help asylum seeking and refugee families fleeing persecution to see their children released from Bangkok?s notorious and overcrowded Immigration Detention Center and placed in foster care. This commitment formed an innovative collaboration aptly named by our board member: Born Free Foster Care.

We have delivered more capacity training this year than ever before and our collaboration efforts prove teamwork makes the dream work!

Partnering with the Thai government this year in greater measure has been exciting and hopeful as we dream that all children in Thailand will grow up in safe and nurturing families.

None of this would have been possible without our incredible staff and the generous support of our financial partners. THANK YOU! Sincerely,

John H. Quinley, Jr

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TH E W AY O F

STEP A H EA D To see comprehensive transformation that demonstrates love in action among poor individuals, families and communities in Thailand.

V ISIO N

M ISSIO N To build the capacity of vulnerable families through strengthening programs integrating financial inclusion, community economic development, mentoring, coaching, and training to improve outcomes for at-risk children.

VA LUES

5

FA M ILY STREN GTH EN IN G REPO RT Our Keeping Families Together program fortifies families through holistic development trainings, income generation assistance, educational opportunities, psychosocial support, access to health care services, and spiritual transformation. At a fraction of the cost of supporting a child in an orphanage, Step Ahead is able to support at-risk families.

87 f am ilies ser ved t h is year 543 dir ect ben ef iciar ies 2,160 h om e visit s 144 h ou r s of capacit y t r ain in g 30 f am ily f u n days 5 locat ion s

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The majority of families we support are single grandmothers raising their grandchildren.

20%

of ch ildr en in Th ailan d u n der

5

live w it h ou t t h eir biological par en t s.

UNICEF

7

BUILDIN G BRIGH T FUTURES Research clearly demonstrates that to have a positive impact on the lives of children, we must start early.

Step Ahead served 40 families with quality child care services this year. We believe early childhood development skills are a key to giving marginalized children bright beginnings preparing them for success in school and life. Our Child Development Center in a sea-gypsy village in Southern Thailand does just that.

Since 2005, we have served

more than

1,000

families.

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" The num ber of bir t hs by t eenage gir ls ages 15-18 incr eased

43% bet w een 2000 and 2011."

UN ICEF

Noy found herself pregnant at 18; and sadly, after she gave birth, her boyfriend left. She lives with her father, a fisherman, in a small village on the Andaman Coast. They took turns staying at home with baby Lek while the other worked. Even with both working, they struggled to make ends meet. They heard about our Step Ahead Child Development Center and came to visit. When our Head Teacher listened to their situation, she gave a full scholarship to sweet little Lek. Now that grandfather and Noy work full time, their income has increased and Lek is cared for during the day in a safe and nurturing environment.

Not the real names and Shutterstock photo

CH ILD SA FEGUA RDIN G Step Ahead staff deliver Child Protection and Safe & Informed Migration (SIM) training in Northeast Thailand. Educators, students, village leaders, religious organizations and families learn to understand the dangers of migrating to big cities and active orphanage recruitment.

Family plays a critical role in building resilient communities. This training helps adult participants understand the importance of valuing children, keeping them safe and keeping them in school.

Students learn about child rights and how to protect themselves from all forms of abuse and how to report it.

Strengthening families strengthens communities, which builds a strong and safe nation.

1,402 children participated

244 adults participated Children mapping the safe places in their community.

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HOME INSURANCE

FO STER CA RE

Foster care has always been on the heart of Step Ahead staff, so in 2017 we approached Sahathai Foundation (the leading foster care organization in Thailand) to look at ways we could help them recruit more families from Thai churches. This resulted in our first Information Meeting with about 30 church leaders.

A few months later, an unexpected door opened. One of our board members invited us to partner with her organization, Childline, to see children released from Bangkok?s Immigration Detention Center (IDC). It has been an exciting year seeing how the program has developed under the leadership of our Foster Care Director, Deneen Kelly. Our hope is for all mothers to be released with their children, which will shift our focus to providing foster care services for unaccompanied minors.

People attended Information Session:

79

People attended Pre-Service Training:

17

Number of foster and respite families:

7

Children placed in foster homes: Child placed in shelter care:

8

1

" Somet ime we want t o go, just go away from everyt hings."

Dr aw in g by 12-year -old r ef u gee gir l af t er spen din g t w o year s beh in d bar s.

12

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Our CRC Alternative Care group trained 42 senior officials from the Thai Government Division of Children and Youth on the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children.

CAPACITY BUILDING Life-Long-Learning is one of our core values at Step Ahead. That is why we constantly repeat the mantra, ?We build the capacity of adults to improve outcomes for children.?

It all begins with competent, informed staff. Here are some of the training our staff received this year: Secondary Trauma, Self-Care, Boundaries, Domestic Violence, Neuroplasticity, Grant Proposal Writing, and our Bangkok staff took an online course on the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children.

We absolutely enjoy training all the lovely single parents, aunties and grandparents that participate in our Keeping Families Together program. This year they learned about child protection, family finances, health and hygiene, human trafficking, domestic violence, child rights, positive parenting skills, valuing children and more.

Our Child Safeguarding and Safe and Informed Migration program saw over 1000 children learn about staying safe, human trafficking, why education matters, seven habits for highly effective teens and more!

Thanks to generous donors Step Ahead was able to take senior government officials from the Division of Children and Youth to trainings in Delhi and London.

" W e build t he capacit y of adult s t o improve out comes for children."

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COLLABORATION At Step Ahead we believe collaboration and partnership is critical as we embrace our rather lofty goal of leaving no child behind and seeing every child in Thailand reach his or her potential in a safe and nurturing family. We are honored to serve as active members of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Coalition Thailand (CRCCT), specifically the Alternative Care (AC) group made up of over 10 NGOs all committed to the same goal. Our AC group is partnering with The Thai government to push for policy changes and implementation of the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children.

Just like the African proverb says, ?It takes a whole village to raise a child.? We know it is not possible without genuine collaboration. Our Keeping Families Together program partners with faith-based organizations, community leaders, educators and government support services to build the capacity of adults to improve outcomes for children.

Another example of strategic collaboration is our foster care program. We partner with 5 organizations: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Childline Thailand and Asylum Access Thai to ensure refugee and asylum seeker children are safe.

We love working with this passionate group : CRCCT Alternative Care Group.

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our LEA DERS Step Ahead staff and volunteers are genuine leaders that love being with and serving families in Klong Toey Slum Community of Bangkok and poor remote villages in Southern and Th ai St af f : 16 Northeastern Thailand. They lead games and take families to waterfalls, manage programs, Th ai Volu n t eer s: 6 train community leaders, advocate for policy change, sing songs, mentor single parents, Non -Th ai Volu n t eer s: aunties, and grandparents, and do program accounting--- knowing together it all helps build the way for families discovering new hope in the midst of pain and challenge.

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Bangkok staff smile for a selfie.

LEADER: "An yon e w h o t ak es r espon sibilit y f or f in din g t h e pot en t ial in people an d pr ocesses an d h as t h e cou r age t o develop t h at pot en t ial. " Brene?Brown

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GOVERNANCE St ep Ah ead In t er n at ion al Advisor y Boar d David Bu ssau : Co-founder, Opportunity International * Bill Deu ch ler : Hedge Fund Manager Br ian Hick s: CEO, Custom Home Builder, Affordable Housing Advocate * Dr . Vict or ia Goode: Professor, Duke University Colon el Ted Jen sen : Retired, American Air Force M s. Gif t Kan t h am an ee, PhD candidate, Mahidol University Alice Webber : Co-owner, Blanco Labels * Ch ar lie Par k er son : Retired CEO, Lancaster Farms * Ron Oat es: Asia Director, Operation Blessing International * Bill Sn yder : Systems Engineer, Northrup Grumman Jan ell Rar don : Author and International Speaker * Governing Board Member

St ep Ah ead Th ailan d Developm en t Fou n dat ion Boar d Ch air m an --Som pon g Ch ir am an ew on g: Retired CEO, Natural Herb Company Vice-Ch air m an --Dr . Ch u ch at Nijw at t an a, Orthopedic Surgeon * Secr et ar y--Joh n H Qu in ley, Jr Co-founder and CEO, Step Ahead Th e Hon or able M om Rajaw on gse, Su pin da Ch ak r aban d: Founder, Childline Thailand, Member of Thailand National Child Protection Committee Kh u n yin g Fin ola Ch at r am a, Co-founder Queen Sirikit Center for Breast Cancer Dr . Fr edr ick Ch r ist oph er : Director, Save the Children Bangladesh Dr . Sr isu da Su psin , COO Step Ahead

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS: John H Quinley, Jr Dr. Srisuda Supsin Kimberly Quinley 17

FINANCIAL SUM M ARY

Step Ahead is committed to accountable and transparent financial management in accordance with internationally recognized financial principles. We adhere to strict procedures ensuring funds are received and utilized as intended. Annually we undergo a comprehensive audit by independent third party auditors and submit full year financial reports to an independent advisory board and foundation board for review.

Non-Thai staff are not funded from this budget.

2017 Total Resources: USD $160,602 18

THANK YOU!

st epah eadt h ailan d St epAh eadTh ailan d

St epah eadm ed

St epah eadt h ai Visit us or make tax- deductible donations at www.stepaheadmed.org Step Ahead is a 501c3 organization in the USA and a non-profit foundation in Thailand.

Photo credits: Step Ahead staff and Shutterstock