Foundation for Older Persons' Development - Thailand

Foundation for Older Persons' Development Serving the Underserved FOPDEV is a national network of Thai grassroots NGOs working with and for the disadvantaged older persons' in Chiang Mai Thailand. Our mission is to improve the overall quality of their lives as they continue to age. FOPDEV works with partners throughout Thailand in areas of income generation and poverty alleviation home care volunteer training, advocacy, and the promotion of community participation.

Our program's objective is to improve the standard of living of disadvantaged older persons in Thailand. FOPDEV also concentrates on sustainable community-based care programs. Our primary programs include:

1   Disaster Risk Reduction (DDR): DDR is the systematic approach to identifying and reducing the risks of disaster in a fixed area. FOPDEV addresses this by strengthening a community-based organization’s capacity to promote consolidation and expansion. Not only does it address this problem but also the rights of older people as well as their income security. 

2   Home Care Service: Home care service program encourages independent living for older people and lightens the burden on family caregivers by helping to provide volunteer home-helpers to older people with physical or emotional limitations. The program also focuses on building the capacity of the volunteers club so that they can deliver services directly to older people.

3   Income Security: With the large population of the elders in Thailand the government is restricted to provide the maximum pension of 600B (20$) to one elderly per month. The Income security program here in FOPDEV educates and provides knowledge through workshops. These workshops teach the elders to use their skill to generate income.

4   Volunteering: FOPDEV also provides a volunteering opportunities for individuals to gain practice experience working in NGO’s and the field work that is involved in our programs. Our volunteering opportunity provides the volunteers knowledge on the issues that elders face and the way we address it creating awareness of the issues.

5   Buddy Home Care: Buddy Home Care is a social enterprise created as an extension of the program Home Care Service. Buddy Home Care provides care for the elderly and develops processes to help them enjoy a healthy life-style by offering specialized home care to the consumer.  

6   Media Development: The use of technology is growing in Thailand among all age groups. Our team works to promote the mission of FOPDEV through different media projects. An "Older Persons' Short Films Competition" was held last year in Bangkok. To see more visit: tv.fopdev.or.th

We currently have 13 employees of all ages who are all dedicated to the establishment of older persons' human rights in Thailand. Everyone can speak basic English, but meetings are usually spoken in Thai. We are currently working towards the development of the social enterprise in the services we provide to the community. These efforts are supported and aided by our partner HelpAge International.

Age demands action! Because aging is the most human thing we do.