Harrowing yet inspirational

Harrowing yet inspirational

19 March 2014

WHEN Strangford man Greer Lowe picked up a book about poverty while on holiday in Australia, he had little idea of the chain of events that would unfold as a result of his chance read.

The book Make Poverty Personal impressed Greer so much that he made contact with its author, Ash Barker, who had left Melbourne with his wife Anji to live among Thailand’s most deprived people in the country’s largest slum, Klong Toey.

Greer and his wife Maureen travelled to meet the Barkers in the slum where they saw first hand the workings of a project they had developed to improve the lives of its residents.

The Lowes were introduced to the fair trade project Klong Toey Handicrafts, which aims provide an income with dignity to the poor of the slum, and now import jewellery made by the women of Klong Toey to Northern Ireland where they sell it on their behalf.

Yesterday, they welcomed a group from Klong Toey to their home in a bid to increase awareness about third world poverty, while drumming up more local support for Klong Toey Handicrafts.

The group from Thailand, which will travel the district over the next few days, includes Pi Blah, who has a horrific story to tell about being forced into the sex industry to help feed her mother and 12 siblings, and celebrated local cook Poo Saiyuud Diwong, who has developed a cookery school in the slum, which has unexpectedly become one of Bangkok’s top tourist attractions.

Their itinerary has been carefully put together as part of an engaging publicity drive about the charity and the work of Klong Toey’s determined women and includes a cookery demonstration and talk at Blackwater Integrated College and the Cuan in Strangford, a talk by Anji Barker in Ballynahinch Baptist Church on Sunday and cookery and jewellery-making demonstration at HomeStart in Ballynahinch on Monday.

Greer, who has now visited Klong Toey several times with Maureen, said he was amazed when he read the story of how the Barkers had left their comfortable western life to deal with the daily strife of slum life.

He said the open sewers cause a permanent stench in the slum, which is densely populated and as a result rife with disease.

“People across the world are moving from the countryside into slums, which is causing a massive problem in the developing world,” he said.

“They are a tough place to live.

“Firstly the Barkers got the jewellery-making women started, then Poo got the cookery school started and began to invite tourists into the area to cook with her. The project has steadily grown and we are hoping to boost that growth by spreading the word throughout the course of the week.

“There is such a need for people to get engaged with the poor and to recognise the extent of this issue.

“People in the developed world should be playing their part in helping to combat poverty.”

Anyone interested in supporting Klong Toey Crafts can do so via the website www.handicrafts.org.au/klongtoey

Full details of various events being hosted this week are available from the individual venues.

For tickets to an event at the Skainos Centre in Belfast which will be held on Saturday evening access the website www.eventbrite.co.uk and look for Stories of Hope from Bangkok in the Belfast section. Tickets to this event are £10.