Saan Jai Rak | Sprite and Kristen Chuenchum
Thailand
Project Saan Jai Rak (pronounced “sahn - jai - rock”, meaning “by weaving our hearts together, we heal”) exists because we believe poverty should never be the reason a child is taken from their family.
In Thailand, over 120,000 children are living in residential care facilities. 90% of them have living parents or relatives who could care for them. The primary reason for separation isn't abuse or neglect—it's poverty. Families hit desperate crises and feel they can no longer provide what their children need, so they resort to placing them in one of the 700+ institutions across Thailand.
We launched Project Saan Jai Rak to change this reality—to turn orphans back into sons and daughters by keeping families together and reuniting children with their biological families.
Our team includes Kristen and Sprite Chuenchum, who bring 13 years each of Thailand-based family strengthening experience. Kristen authored Thailand's Family Strengthening Handbook, which has been downloaded in over 50 countries. We work alongside our young son Asher, doing our best to demonstrate in every meeting and community visit the very thing we fight for: families belong together.
What makes us different: We train and equip respected community leaders—we call them "Hidden Figures" after the brilliant women who powered NASA from behind the scenes—to deliver trauma-informed family strengthening directly in homes. These local heroes already have the trust of families; we give them the tools to weave hearts back together. Because we work through community leaders rather than swooping in from outside, our support is sustainable, culturally appropriate, and builds the capacity of entire communities to protect children—not just the families we directly serve.
We serve families in two crucial ways:
PREVENTION PROGRAM: "No More Abandoned Children" We work with families identified by our trained Hidden Figures as being at high risk of separation due to poverty. Through a 1-year intervention, families receive emergency support, weekly coaching, financial literacy training, and income generation grants—everything needed to stay together despite financial crisis. These families are teetering on the edge of separation, and consistent support over 12 months gives them the stability to rebuild and remain together.
REUNIFICATION PROGRAM: "Reunite, Reintegrate, Remain" We partner with government shelters to support children returning home to their biological families after being unnecessarily placed in institutional care. Through 12-18 months of intensive support, families receive trauma-informed coaching, emergency funds, income generation support, and consistent encouragement as they rebuild their lives together.
Who are these families? They're mothers and fathers who never stopped loving their children but hit impossible circumstances. They're grandparents stepping up when parents can't. They're families who need someone to believe in their capacity to heal and stay together. They live in under-resourced communities where poverty is generational, but hope and determination run deep.
The Hidden Figures who serve them are neighbors, community health volunteers, local leaders who already have relationships with these families. They conduct weekly home visits, implement our research-backed curriculum, connect families to government resources, and provide the steady, consistent support that makes lasting change possible.
- For the children. Whether waiting in government shelters to come home or at risk of being separated from their families, pray for emotional healing from trauma, for hope as they await reunification or prevention of separation, and that they would know the security of belonging to strengthened families who can care for them with love and dignity.
- For the families—the true heroes of these stories. Pray that parents, grandparents, and caregivers would have strength and perseverance through their transformation journey. Pray for sustainable income opportunities, for healing from grief and trauma, for wisdom as they navigate complex systems, and for the confidence to believe in their own capacity to raise their children well.
- For the Hidden Figures who serve families in their communities. Pray for wisdom as they identify families in crisis, for skills to provide trauma-informed support, for sustainable commitment to families over the long 12-18 month journey, and for the courage to be everyday heroes in their own communities.
- For government partnerships. Pray for strong relationships with shelter staff and local government officials who work with us to prioritize family-based care. Pray that our prevention work would build credibility that opens doors for reunification opportunities.
- For communities. We believe deeply in the potential of local knowledge and resources. Pray that by equipping Hidden Figures with family strengthening tools, entire communities would become safer for children—not just the families we directly serve. Pray for the spread of family-first values throughout Thailand's child welfare system.
- For partnership and provision. Pray that God would provide the family sponsors, church partners, and resources needed to serve families. Pray for donors who believe in long-term transformation over quick fixes—partners who understand that sustainable change takes time and consistent support.
For God's sovereign work. That love would triumph over poverty and impossible circumstances. That families who have been separated would be reunited. That children at risk would stay safely with their families. That Thailand would become a place where poverty never again robs families of the chance to raise their children together.