Quote Originally Posted by bobsaigon
Was this topic covered on SGT beforeтАж or was it on Thai Visa? I remember that some time last year I cataloged a long list of my failed attempts at helping Thai boys.

While I tend to be more moderate in my language compared to zinzoneтАЩs postings, I have to agree with him completely on this one. When I started helping Thai boys (English lessons, university study, houses, businesses, etc.), I would have been shocked by zinzoneтАЩs conclusions. Now, ten years later, I can only report that more than 90% of what I have tried to do has been a waste of money, time and emotions. Only a few of the many boys have shown any promise of being able to achieve self-sufficiency, which was my original goal for them. Sometimes it is their fault; sometimes the reasons are beyond their control. Limiting factors are intelligence level, business acumen, demands by immediate and distant family members. If youтАЩre lucky, the one(s) youтАЩre helping will be smart enough to study or run a business, and will have a family that is not intent on extracting every last Baht from the farang. (A boyтАЩs poverty stricken farm family is simply not capable of planning for, or looking towards the future. TheyтАЩll want as much as they can get right now.) More often than not, the boy has unrealistic dreams of becoming self-employed even though he hasnтАЩt a clue about business ownership or operation.

Yes, there are success stories, but certainly they are in the minority. Still, I admire those farangs who are willing to provide help, though I would admonish them that their success rate will be similar to direct mailing campaigns тАУ about 3 per cent. ThatтАЩs three boys out of a hundred --- but less than one boy out of ten.
I think the key if you want to help the boy... don't offer what you might logically think is the right path. Coming from a developed country... we automatically think... oh... a good job is what we need for a better lifestyle... and we need education for this etc. So the thing to do is to give the boy education!

In many cases... if the boy wants to be educated, they'll get out there and make it happen for themselves... or at least go part of the way to making it happen.

I think if the boy has a certain amount of drive... and really wants to get into studying something... then great... give him a little boost (support him). But I think picking up a boy and pushing a "better life" on him won't always work. Like someone else said... there's a reason why these kids dropped out of school. Family circumstances are a common reason, but often, it's because they lacked the desire to finish.