"Some 40 years ago, a group of kind hearted Thai and expatriate ladies living in Chiang Mai volunteered their help in looking after orphaned children who were left, with nowhere else to go, in care of SuanDok Hospital - now called MaharajNokrn Chiang Mai Hospital. The group formed in Chiang Mai Orphanage Foundation with the purpose of establishing a home for the orphans, a safe haven where the children would find loving care and attention.
The Chiang Mai Orphanage Foundation was the first charitable foundation in Chiang Mai to dedicate itself to the care of needy children. The orphanage itself was opened on July 20, 1966, thanks to the generosity of Miss Kingkaew Wiboolsanti, who donated her home with 2 rai of land and financing. It began by caring for just 25 children, and in honour of its major benefactress the orphanage was named after her.
Baan Kingkaew Wiboolsanti has since worked continuously to improve and develop living conditions for poor and otherwise homeless orphans" (ARI Orientation Handbook, May 12th, 2016).
This morning we arrived there at 10:00 am and Carina would be giving the workshop which was very similar to the one I had posted (under workshops). Therefore I was very excited! There were about 15-20 orphans ages about 5-7 yrs old. They were adorable of course. Once Carina delivered the activity for the morning (which was tracing their bodies and having them draw in the nose, eyes, mouth, etc.) we paired up and began. I decided to work with one little boy and only then realized how hard it is to communicate ideas when you don't know the language. He didn't want to lay down and I couldn't persuade him like I normally would with kids back home. So instead we did a lot of hand signals and I tried to demonstrate. In the end he ended up tracing my arm, hands and foot and scribbling which is still very creative!
"Urban Light is a grassroots organization dedicated to awareness regarding boys who are victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation. Most of the boys are from hill tribes surrounding Chiang Mai, so their backgrounds are limited education and low-income families.
The Youth Centre is located near the Night Bazaar and close to the red-light district. The purpose of the centre is to have a place where the boys, ages 14-24, can seek refuge and community away from harsh everyday realities. Urban Light is made up of a team that works 24-hours a day to empower boys to live healthy, happy and safe lives. The team also provide immediate assistance regarding education, health services, housing and emergency care" (ARI Orientation Handbook, May 12th, 2016).
I was able to accompany Cat and Pepo to the workshop as there are only allowed to be four people who go because it is more beneficial for them to see a reoccurring face, plus it is much less intimidating. Cat was giving the workshop which involved music and art. Essentially, the boys were asked to listen to some songs and paint what they feel. And then after the were asked to do the reverse, paint anything and explain how they could make it into a song. It was a lot of fun, the second part of the workshop was a little harder but everyone seemed to have a lot of fun with the painting. And who doesn't like listening to music while they paint?!
Lah is an amazing teacher, she makes learning a new language so much fun and she is hilarious! The second lesson went really well, we learned the months, days of the week, and how to ask important questions like where is the bathroom? or can I have a cold coffee please? (Because it's too hot to drink regular coffee!) I really wish I was able to take more lessons as it's helpful in workshops when you want to encourage someone or ask them to do something. Definitely going to continue practicing everywhere I go!