PDA

PDA is short for the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), not Public Display of Affection (at least not in this case). The Population and Community Development was started in 1974 and is now considered as Thailand's most diverse Non-Government Organizations (NGO). The programs under the PDA are based on the belief that local people are best suited to shape and sustain their own development. When PDA first started they specifically focused on family planning in urban and rural areas of Thailand, due to the lack of knowledge and access to these types of services. Statistics have shown that between 1974 and 2006, PDA helped to lower the average number of children per household from 7 to 1.2, as well as, the national population growth rate from 3.3% to 0.5%.

Today, PDA focuses on much more than family planning. They have started various initiatives related health care, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, water resource development and sanitation, income-generation, environmental conservation, promotion of small-scale rural enterprise programs, gender equality, youth development, and democracy promotion. Most recently, PDA has aggressively approached the problem of rural poverty by empowering the poor through the Village Development Partnership, which establishes a community-owned Village Development Bank for the purpose of microcredit.

I have been researching a lot about the PDA, because Kelly and I will be visiting some of their projects in September. Most of their projects are located in the Northeast of Thailand, which is considered the poorest area. I could go on and on about their organization, however I'll stop here. Here is the link if you would like to read more about the fascinating projects PDA has started in Thailand. http://pda.or.th/

Along with reading up on the various initiatives of PDA, I have been researching "kimono sleeve robes." When I am at the orphanage, I will be helping to construct these types of robes. I've been looking for a pattern of some sort, but I haven't found one. I've looked online for hours and traveled to Joanne's where I ended up empty handed. Does anyone have any ideas on what to do?