Bill & Susie

Bill and Susie live in a small village north of Chiang Rai, Thailand, near an area known as the Golden Triangle where Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet. They are leaders of a foundation called Shoulder-to-Shoulder (S2S), whose primary task is to help very poor Thai students to continue their education beyond the 9th grade. S2S also comes alongside poor families struggling with HIV. Its vision is to bring people to a knowledge and understanding of God through long term relationships and teaching the Bible. S2S supports students with educational donations and scholarships, and by providing a place to live. The students come from nearby mountain villages, with a focus first on orphans, second on single-parent families, and then families that are desperately poor. Bill and Susie believe that education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty. For HIV families, S2S provides supplemental food and encouragement. Because of better nutrition, HIV medication, and spiritual growth, people that were too sick to work are now able to be somewhat self-supporting.