A Cry for Help!

Dear Friends, this entry is put up as an appeal, a cry for help.
A dear friend of mine is in her greatest moment of need in Thailand, Land of Smiles as it is known. However, my friend by the name of Namtip, a member in Flickr, is not smiling lately due to a series of unfortunate events that befallen her. The most recent of those sad experiences occurred just a few days ago. Her father had a serious illness & was hospitalized. They are a very poor family which can't afford much, definitely not the hospital bill which will incur with long-term treatment & hospitalization. Due to his illness, her father had lost his job. Her mother is partially blind, helpless. There's no social welfare in Thailand. Now, in order to lower their cost of living, to survive, her parents had given up their home in the city & moving back to the village where they were born. Poor fragile Namtip, now as her family sole bread winner, will be left alone in the city to cope by her own. She can't go back to the village as there's no job, no future there. She is currently working as a assistant photographer in a studio. Her pay is very low & within this year, she has to pay back in monthly installments, her educational loans which is not a small sum. All those recent ordeals had left her with very little money even for food. And now, without a house of her own, she has to bear an additional burden of monthly rental. Her situation is actually more grave than what she is willing to tell as she does not want people to pity her. This brave girl has a dream, a dream which she shares with another friend who is also an assistant photographer. Their dream is to operate a studio of their own & now, that dream together with her life, was completely shattered.

Read about Namtip's trouble in her blog:
http://thainamtip.blogspot.com/2009/03/sadness.html

One of my motto in life is always try to spread-the-joy. Help those who are less fortunate & who are worthy of help. When I see a good friend in trouble or in sadness, I cannot help but feel their pains. There are already too much sadness in our world. Help spread the happiness! Help someone worthy to realize their dreams. Help them overcome their predicaments. I do it not for any benefit nor reward, but for the satisfactory of seeing more happiness occurring in our world. To bring light when there is darkness. The greatest achievement for anyone should be, to be a better human being. The world will have much lesser trouble.
There is this famous quote: "To have great friends, you have to be a great friend to others first." and this is what I strongly believe in. You can call me naive, idealist or tell me I will be easily cheated, but I assure you, I'm no fool either.
Namtip is a very nice decent girl with a beautiful soul. Do not judge her by her pics. That would be very misleading. I had already done whatever I could to help, but I fear it wouldn't be enough as I'm not well off either. I truly hope that there are more understanding & kind-hearted people out there who are willing to help.

So kind ladies & gallant gentlemen, if you are able to, please, I beg you, on behalf of Namtip, I implore you to help her in her greatest moment of need.
What she needs most now is money which can be donated at her site:
http://www.thaisisters.net/thailand/about.html

The site is put up with the help of another good friend.
Click on the 'Donate' button & key in whatever amount you're comfortable with.
You'll need a PayPal account for this.
Any amount will do. Even if it's just a dollar, we will be very grateful!
May you have great Karma & Blessings in return for doing this kind-hearted act!

THIS IS NOT A SCAM! This is a genuine plead for help. I am NOT doing this for myself. I asked for nothing in return. The PayPal account which the money will be transferred to is not mine. Rather, it belongs to another of Namtip's friend who is kind enough to give it to her. If anyone needs assurance, please contact me. I'm willing to answer any reasonable question(s) you might have regarding this issue.

Many heartfelt thanks in advance!