What began as one small organization challenging the orphanage system in a remote district in Thailand is now shaping national policy. This is the story about our partner One Sky Foundation and how they with our support are transforming child protection in Thailand.
We first met with One Sky Foundation in 2013. What we saw was a small, determined organization with deep community roots, a clear vision, and the courage to challenge the system. What they lacked was resources, capacity and the network to grow. That’s where Childhood stepped in, with the belief that they had the potential to make a difference.
Through commitment, expertise, and determination — and with long-term, flexible funding from us — they have step by step laid the foundation for national reform.
The Challenge
We know that institutionalized children face a heightened risk of sexual abuse, exploitation, and violence. While much of the world has moved away from institutional care, Thailand has struggled to redirect resources toward family-based alternatives. The country has one of the highest numbers of children living without their parents, in the world. Yet the root cause is rarely a lack of family — it is poverty, lack of support, and systemic failures that push families to place children in institutions, orphanages, temples, and school dormitories.
The solution
By establishing a local assessment system, One Sky Foundation addressed the challenge of unnecessary child–parent separation. The system determined whether a child requires placement in care or what support could enable the child to remain with the parents. When placement was necessary, kinship care was prioritized, with foster care considered a secondary option.
By conducting over 600 interviews with children in residential care, they documented that more than 90 percent had at least one living parent, and that poverty — not family breakdown — was the primary reason for institutionalization. Evidence that became the foundation for change.
One Sky Foundation has not only proved that family-based care is possible — it has proved that it is better in every aspect: for the child first and foremost, and for society at both local and national level.
This dedicated work has also resulted in Alternative Care Thailand (ACT) — a coalition of 18 civil society organizations driving national reform, in which One Sky Foundations is a key actor. Together, they have successfully strengthened families, expanded kinship and foster care, and advocated for policies that shift resources away from institutions.
Our partnership with One Sky foundation illustrates how targeted, long-term support in combination with joint advocacy creates ripples far beyond the original project. It also shows that the investment in local leadership that challenges established structures can become the starting point for systemic change at a national level.
“Childhood understands that the journey is not a straight line. Childhood’s willingness to invest in us as change makers and to sail together through uncertain waters with no guarantees is a real strength.”
Andy Lillicrap, One Sky Foundation
Text: Petra Alexander
