The Human Development Foundation (HDF), also referred to as the Mercy Centre, is a
non-profit and non-denominational organization in
Bangkok,
Thailand. It was established by
Roman Catholic Redemptorist priest
Father Joe Maier
Father Joseph (Joe) H. Maier, C.Ss. R., (born 31 October 1939) is an American Redemptorist priest who lives and works in the Khlong Toei slums of Bangkok, Thailand, where he co-founded the Human Development Foundation (HDF-Mercy Centre) with ...
with Sister Maria Chantavaradom in 1975.
[''Inter Press Service, HIV/AIDS-THAILAND: Mercy for Children in the Heart of a Slum'']
The Human Development Foundation is represented in the US by the Human Development & Children Foundation (HD&CF), a registered 501(c)3 charity, and in the UK by the registered charity Mercy Centre UK.
[Who we are. Mercy Centre UK]
The organization and its Mercy Centre (the first and largest free AIDS hospice in the Klong Toey slums of Bangkok, founded in 1993) is a declared partnership with the poor, committed to building and operating schools, improving family health and welfare, protecting
street children
Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policym ...
's rights, combatting the AIDS crisis, responding to daily emergencies, and offering shelter to
orphans, street children, and to children and adults with AIDS.
References
External links
The Human Development Foundation and Mercy Centre web-siteThe Mercy Centre USA web-siteThe Mercy Centre UK web-site
Organizations established in 1975
1975 establishments in Thailand
Religious organizations based in Thailand
Children's charities based in Thailand
Children's rights organizations
Poverty-related organizations
Organizations based in Bangkok
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