Jo and Bo spent their childhood travelling back and forth from the west of Thailand down to Malaysia. The exhausting journey, sometimes by train but mostly on foot, would take months. The constant journeying had no purpose. With no mother, they were simply following their father, a man who had lost his mind to drug-induced meth psychosis. Every day they would wake up by the road, tired, hungry and aching. If they refused to continue walking, they would be beaten. With no documents, they were sometimes arrested briefly by the immigration police. The brothers described these days as being the easy ones. One night, after receiving a particularly severe beating, the brothers, now 10 and 14 years old, decided to run away. They passed village after village, trying to get as far away as possible. They slept in gazebos, and kind villagers would, despite being poor themselves, sometimes give them food.

After a few months of living like this, they met a man selling meatballs by the road. He had studied at COF’s Free School and took the boys to our protection centre.

The COF social worker heard their story and checked the facts with villagers and village leaders. Everything they said proved true. When asked if they would like to try living at the centre, they said, ‘Why not?’

3 years later, the boys are thriving. They can read and write and continue to enjoy full-time education. Jo is now 13, and loves to skateboard, play football and watch off-road trucks on TV. Bo is 17, a popular boy, and a very hard worker. This year, he requested a part-time job to save for his future. Every day after school, he goes by 3-wheel motorcycle to the market to buy food for the COF kitchen. Though many more years of education are needed, the COF staff feel confident that both their futures are looking very bright.