Objectives:

1. To share the gospel of Jesus Christ with Hmong girls and make disciples.
2. To help improve the quality of life of very poor familes and girls who are at risk.
3. To build up Hmong girls to be mature Christians and servants of Christ in their family, church and community.
4. To keep Hmong girls from becoming involved in evil.
5. To give Hmong a girls a Christian environment to live in while studying in school.

In order for children to go to school in Thailand past sixth grade, children need to pay for books and school uniforms, as well as tuition. Schools in Hmong villages are few and far between (although now there are more villages with schools than without) and the schools aren’t very good. Many of the teachers don’t really want to be teaching in the first place. If the children decide to go outside of the village to study, they have no place to live. Many Hmong villages have no school past 6th grade. Hmong people are extremely poor and many times can’t afford to send all of their children to school. Because more importance is placed on men, the boys will get to study before the girls. Many girls get married as early as 13-15 years old. A traditional Hmong custom is for the boys to "kidnap" a girl and marry her. She has no say in the matter.

Most Hmong families are very large, having 8 to 10 children. Because of the lack of options available, many children don’t go to school, and many others are sent to Buddhist temples to study. (Education is free at Buddhist temples.) Even Christian church leaders send their children to Buddhist temples because they don’t see any alternatives.

When comparing all of the Christian hostels and orphanages in northern Thailand, those who help Hmong children are less than 10 percent. There also are some secular and Catholic hostels and orphanages that receive Hmong children. Hmong children rank first among all hill tribes groups living in Buddhist temples. Many Christian families also send their children to live at Buddhist temples so they can get an education. Some Hmong children also go to Islamic mosques in the southern part of Thailand to study. Sixty percent of all Hmong children stop studying after sixth grade. Another 10 to 15 percent of Hmong children don’t have an opportunity to study at all. This is because:

1. Parents have many children and can’t afford to send all of their children to school.
2. Parents separate or divorce.
3. Parents are addicted to drugs or are deceased.
4. Parents and/or children don’t have a Thai citizenship card which is needed for studying in Thailand.
5. Parents health is very poor.

The above reasons are big problems that Hmong people in every village face. This contributes to the continual downward cycle of poverty among Hmong children. Because Hmong people don’t have an education or Thai citizenship card, they aren’t able to find good-paying jobs.


Learn More About Girls' House:

Girls' House - Objectives

Girls' Photos & Bios