New Project: ZOE Health Plus Program Grant for 2019

Agape Fish Fund partners with ZOE International in Thailand to provide preventative medical, dental, and nutritional healthcare to over 60 children and their caretakers.

A ZOE girl receives a health check.

Agape Fish Fund, in partnership with The Chao Foundation, is pleased to award ZOE International in Thailand an $8,000 grant for their Health Plus Program. This is the third annual grant that ZOE has received from Agape Fish Fund/The Chao Foundation/Transparent Fish Fund to fund the Health Plus Program. This grant for December 2018–November 2019 will provide the 60+ children and their caretakers with preventative medical, dental, and nutritional healthcare, including:

• Flu shots for all children and their caregivers
• Comprehensive dental care for all children
• Daily multivitamins for all children
• Deworming medicine for all children and their caregivers

Impact

​ZOE provides all the basic needs for its children: shelter, food, education, clothing, medical and dental care. However, the Health Plus Program improves the health of the children through preventative measures. 

The annual flu shots decrease the incidence of flu-related sickness for the children and their caregivers. During flu season, as many as 25-50% of the children and caregivers come down with the flu if they have not been inoculated. 

The comprehensive dental care ensures that all children receive comprehensive dental care, such as x-rays, teeth cleaning, cavity repair, and extractions. Prior to our grant funding of this program beginning in 2016, ZOE children only received dental care on an emergency basis, when they got a toothache. At that point, the children would often lose the tooth due to advanced decay. 

Teeth cleaning

Vaccination

Dental X-ray

The daily multivitamins supplement the children’s diet to enhance their overall health. The semi-annual deworming treatments also enhance the health of the children and their caregivers. 

Lice medicine and multivitamins

Making family first aid kits

Family first aid kit

A portion of the funds from the 2nd grant was also used for the following health purposes:

• Lice treatment for children (both remedial and preventative)
• Glasses for two children
• Height/weight scales
• Basic first aid kids for each family

Any remaining funds will be used for one or more of the following:

• Purchase glasses for one child
• Hygiene supplies for children
• Providing an extra healthy snack for children on school break
• Supplementing the milk budget for ZOE children

​About ZOE

ZOE exists to share the gospel as they work to be an effective participant in ending human trafficking of children worldwide. They work to prevent human trafficking of children and to rescue and restore those who have been trafficked. 

ZOE Children’s Homes in Thailand currently cares for 65 children on a long-term basis. These are children who are orphans or who have been rescued from human trafficking and have no other place to go. ZOE employs a “family” unit model where each child is in a family with a mother and father as well as auxiliary caretakers. Each family administers the Health Plus Program to the children in their family, such as administering the daily vitamins and going to the clinic together to get the flu shots.

ZOE says, “We appreciate our partnership with Agape Fish Fund/The Chao Foundation/Transparent Fish Fund because we share the same goal of seeing a sustainable long-term NGO culture in Asia.”