I have recently returned from one month in Thailand where I was able to visit all of the various initiatives that we are supporting. Overall the visit was more successful than we had anticipated thanks to the help of the Mercy Project Staff: Fred and Dianne Doell, Lhen Lhen, Liz and Anan, their help in taking me around Pattaya ensured that I saw all of the various projects that they are working with as well as meeting all of our Scholarship Students.
Our fifth New Year’s Party for the 350 children at the Hauy Pong Home was to be extra special for the kids this year as last year’s event was curtailed owing the to tragic events of the Tsunami. All appeared to going smoothly and the kids started gathering for their meal and the disco when a four trailer truck overturned on the main highway outside the entrance to the home taking with it a power cable pylon which resulted in the home being plunged into darkness.
Candles were hurriedly located and lit and the children sat down to a candlelight supper while staff from the home tried to persuade the electrical repair team that were now at the scene of the accident to rig up a temporary power supply even if only for a few hours so that the disco could take place. Time moves slowly in Thailand and after what seemed an eternity and just as we were planning to abandon the disco a few lights flickered and eventually the staff at the home managed to take enough power from the lights to run the disco. Looking at the way the power cables had been rigged to allow us lights I would imagine scant regard had been given to any Health or Safety regulations!
Naturally enough the children were delighted and the music and dance continued for three hours. After the disco each child received a bag of gifts, which thanks to some very generous donations to the party this year meant we were able to increase the number of items each child received. The parcels contained a selection of items ranging from, watches, sweets, underwear, toiletries, games, footballs, cosmetics and clothing and all the parcels had been assembled with the individual child in mind. It was good to meet so many of the children again many of who had been there on my first visit to the home in March 2000.
Many improvements have been made to the fabric of the home but more are required. The number of children is planned to increase again this year owing to the closure of a children’s home near Bangkok. This is proving a headache for Kwan, the social worker in charge of the boys’ section of the home as six of her staff are due for retirement during this year and there is no funding from the Thai government to pay for their replacements.
Back in Pattaya I accompanied Fred Doell and Bobby on one of their prison visits, which they carry out four times a week. Although I made a visit to the same prison a few years ago the conditions that confront you as you enter the cell area always shock.
The cells are basically one large cell divided in two areas one for male and one for female although the prison officers in charge often ignore this segregation. There is also a VIP cell, which is for any prisoners (generally foreigners) who have the money to bribe the guards to be kept in a smaller cell area. The only respite from the blistering heat is a ceiling fan paid for by the Mercy Project and with each of the main cells holding up to fifty people at a time and without running water or any but the most basic sanitation and just one meal of rice and bread a day the conditions are by western standards deplorable.
When a parent is arrested unless there is someone in the family to care for the child then that child is also kept in prison with the parent. Pregnant women are kept in the cells until the time of birth when they are sent to hospital until the baby is a few days old when both are returned to the cells. Other children who have been arrested for any offence are also kept in the cells with the adults, a situation that often leads to abuse of the children but one that the prison officers chose to ignore.
The Mercy Project takes food, water, toiletries and milk to these women and children and tries to liase with their families or the court authorities on their behalf.
In all eighty students attended and an afternoon of music, games, competitions with prizes and entertainment by Anan (the manager of the street kids home) and Lhen Lhen a Filipino social worker with the Mercy Project whose never ending enthusiasm and incredible energy for her work is admirable.
At the end of the 3 hour party every child received a food basket for his or her family and a personal gift for themselves. Some of the students also received gifts from their sponsors and at the end of the afternoon the children went back to their homes fully laden and happy.
The only unhappy part of the afternoon was when I asked Lhen Lhen why one of our small nine-year old students, Jikarit, seemed so unhappy. After speaking to the schools Deputy Principal Lhen Lhen told me that the boy’s father working as a security guard had been murdered a few weeks earlier whilst trying to stop a robbery. After the party we took the boy to his home in the hope of seeing his mother to ascertain what help they needed. However now the family only have the mother as a wage earner she works in the morning as a cleaner and then from early evening until 3am as a bar girl. This means that Jikarit sees his mother for only an hour a day the rest of the time being left alone when not in school. Lhen Lhen is now working with the mother to see how Jikarit's sponsors and we can best offer support to Jikarit for his immediate future.
We have accepted a few more students in the under 13 years age group onto our scholarship project as this will give them long term support for their education. One family of five the Somsamai family live in a tiny room without electricity or water near their workplace. Both parents work on a construction site and the oldest sister had to quit her schooling to work in a restaurant to help the family. The two small children Gewarin age 5 years and her sister Gewanee age 3 years both attend kindergarten and we have agreed to sponsor their education. Often after kindergarten has finished or during school holidays the children have to go to the construction site with their parents as there is nobody to take care of them and they do not go home until 9-10pm. Life becomes more difficult for the family each time a construction project is completed, as the family have to relocate yet again.
The Mercy Project are hoping to be able to move the family to a room in one of the slums as even this would be a vast improvement on their present living condition. Sponsorship for these two delightful children costs £5 a month for each child.
I also confirmed our sponsorship of another family whilst in Pattaya. The Patpang family, mother, father, two boys Chinnawat age five and brother Thaskin age 6 along with their twelve year old sister Jerawat live in a tiny slum room and the two adults work as garbage collectors using their old motorbike and wooden sidecar both to collect the rubbish and to transport the family around. Twelve year old Jerawat was involved in a traffic accident six years ago and owing to disastrous medical treatment was left crippled below the waist and has to be carried everywhere. The family are hardworking with the children helping sort the rubbish for recycling and trying to be self-sufficient but are not able to meet the school fees of the two boys. After visiting the family and meeting the children (which included, much to the children’s amusement, a ride with them on the motorbike) and then speaking with the school principal I decided that the boys would be able to benefit a great deal from our sponsorship; which would also alleviate some of the pressure on the family’s meagre and unpredictable income. As with the family previously mentioned sponsorship for the children is £60 a year per child.
The Christmas party for the slum children which we held at the street kids' home was attended by almost 200 people. It was a chance for the kids and their families to come along and have a day of fun, games and entertainment. Lhen Lhen arranged for the Filipino dance group that her son attends to come along and entertain everyone. Both the children, parents and staff joined in a variety of games with prizes for everyone. A large buffet meal was provided and at the end of the party each of the slum families received a parcel of food. The day not only gave the kids and their families the chance to escape from their usual routine in the slums but also helped the staff of the project to find out more about the needs of the families all of which be followed up and acted upon in the coming months. The photos on these pages will give you a flavour of the days' events.
On my final day in Pattaya I visited the Go-Pai slum project. This is the largest slum in Pattaya and there are approximately eight hundred people living there. The land that the slum is on belongs to an elderly brother and sister and they are prepared to donate the land to the Pattaya City Council on the proviso that the council agree to it becoming a permanent slum. The Mercy Project are planning to build a small community centre on the slum which will enable mothers to leave their children during the day as well as provide them with basic medical treatment. The slum itself is a close knit community comprised of the usual tin and wooden dwellings with open sewers running criss-cross throughout, most of the adults that are able to work have jobs in the garbage recycling business or the bar trade in Pattaya. If a small community centre can be built on the slum the children will have the opportunity of some on-site schooling with a view to them being able to enter full-time education as and when funds permit.
We hope to be in a position to give some support to the part of the project that will be caring for the children. A decision on the long-term use of the land as a designated slum is expected from the Pattaya city council in March.
There are still many street children living on the streets of Pattaya and as always these children are at risk from sex tourists. The gangs that work these kids appear to have an endless supply of children, as when a few children are removed from the streets others appear very quickly to take their place. Other children work selling gum and flowers around the bars and there are still many children begging on the streets. In most cases if a child does not collect a certain amount of money a day through their activities the gangs that ‘care’ for them beat them. This is one of the reasons that the Street Kids’ Home run by the Mercy Project is in the throes of moving to larger premises; the move will enable the home to care for many more children. The premises formerly a diamond-cutting factory offers plenty of scope for enlargement and the provision of living accommodation for both children and young mothers with babies. The Mercy Project has been given three years to raise the five-million Baht (£77,000) required to buy the premises outright and in the interim are renting the property for 5000Baht (£700) a month.
We are hoping that the scholarship student sponsors who are at present sponsoring a child or making a donation towards our education fund will continue with their support. The new Thai school years starts in May 2006 and apart from the children already on our scheme there will be more that require sponsors before the start of the school year.
If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child we would be delighted to hear from you and let you have further details without obligation. If we are able to find individual sponsors for the children that our charity is supporting at present it will mean that other children can be brought into the scheme. We will complete all the necessary documentation and sponsorship fees can be paid to ourselves and we will make the payments to the Thai schools. The school fee for a child under
13 years of age is £60 a year. Each sponsor will receive a brief biography and a photo of the child. At the end of each school year the school will provide a report on the child for the sponsor.
We are pleased to confirm that 100% of all donations made to the project have been used solely for the benefit of the children. All of the costs associated with my visit to Thailand have been met privately.
On behalf of all of the children that this project is helping the trustees send their thanks for your generous support. Should you have any questions regarding any part of this report or the projects in general please do not hesitate to contact us.
If you wish to make a donation to the charity you are able to do so by cheque. Direct Debit, Standing Order of by credit card through Paypal. For further details please vist this page
100 Years From Today
It will not matter how big your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But the world may be a little better because your help touched the life of one child
