PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR GENERATIONAL CHANGE THIS EASTER
- Alaina Paradise
- Apr 14
- 2 min read
By Alaina Paradise, NightLight Board Member
Sunrise in our Northern Thai village was always busy, and loud. The air was thick with smoke from farmers burning their crops in preparation for the new season, a group of older women was preparing food, and a gaggle of children joined the cacophony of roosters, chickens, and dogs in the morning commotion. I'd peel myself off the cement floor of the home where I slept just to see them before they left for school.
Before becoming a NightLight board member, I had the privilege of serving with a missions team from my local church to build a water filtration system for the villagers, who were part of one of the many diverse tribal groups that live in the area. We stayed in their homes, worked side-by-side, and ate meals with them for a week. It didn't take long to notice there were no young women in the village when we arrived — they all had jobs in the cities far away, so the village grandparents were raising the little ones.
Once dressed in their school uniforms, an elder would place a coin in the kids' palms as they set out down the dirt road for school each morning after dawn. They would walk to a nearby town where they caught a bus to school. My favorite time of day is when they'd return in the evenings, full of excitement and proud to show us the Thai characters they were learning to write.
It wasn't until later that I met Annie and connected the dots... the women NightLight serves in Bangkok are the missing moms from similar villages all over Thailand, and the kids I met are the ones who can break the poverty cycle their parents are working so hard to get out of, if they're given the chance.
This Easter, Nightlight is raising $5,000 to fund scholarships for 22 children like the ones I met. The funds will pay for their school uniforms, supplies, and transportation. We've already raised a third of our goal, and I'd like to ask you to help us reach it this week.
By investing in these children, we're blessing the mothers we serve at NightLight, and giving their kids a head start on a better future — one we pray will include dignifying work that keeps them free from exploitation.
