Volunteer toy packing day
Sasha, Judy, Bunny and Gorilla (watch for the gorilla relocated in Thailand)
Judy, Sasha, Maria, Genel and 24 boxes of toys at LAX
17 hours later going through Customs
lst stop, Sathira-Dhammasathan Center for Meditation
Mae Chee Sansanee Sthirasuta, founder of the Center
Walking meditation
Tee shirts arrive
Anouk from Holland; Maria from Cardiff, CA; Genel from Orange County, CA; Ruby from Holland and Oceanside, and Sasha from Carlsbad, CA.
Another flight on Thai Airlines to Chaing Mai in the north - Judy, Maria, Ruby, Genel, Sasha, Anouk
Chaing Mai marketplace
Monks waiting for people to fill their bowl
Ruby making friends at the House of Blessing Day Care Center
Children with HIV, abuse in the home, no families, live in the slum
Center is funded through Swedish Gov't and run by an American
Anouk getting a hug goodbye
Khun Chan and “Mama San”, Khun Wattanspon, our support team in Thailand
Visit to Wat Don Chan Temple School and Temple, Chaing Mai
Monk in charge of the temple and orphanage
School supplies we bought for the school
Older boys line up for backpacks
Girls giving thanks for backpacks
Lunch time; waiting for everyone to be served before eating
Standard meal, noodles and rice
Two pots of noodles and two pots of rice for 500 kids!
The “thanks” and appreciation chant for each meal
Everyone washes their own dish
The girl's dormitory
Washing dishes and clothes
Bolt family giving toothbrushes
The kitchen
Same lunch
but today with a piece of chicken and ice cream - treat from Genel; servers - Ruby, Genel, Lise
500 kids to feed twice a day
the play ground
Boys section without table and chairs
“thanks chant'
After another flight and long windy drive up a mountain
Arrive in torrents at Mae Hong Song
Electricity goes out and we toast to arrival
Our group expanded, ready to visit the orphanage
Warm welcome for “T for T” from the Romklawpangtong School
Romklawpangtong School near Burma (Myranmar) border
Student dormitory
140 girls
125 boys
Most are orphans, 68 are here only during the week
Letters from an elementary school in Carlsbad
Sasha interviewing students
A student volunteer shares life at the school
Pictures of the King and Queen on the back wall, all volunteers and teachers
Hunter and Tayah passing out back packs
Students enjoying receiving letters in English
Special dolls from Holland
Kids get up at 5 am to do chores
Sasha interpreting letters
“read mine!”
A little one left out
but still gets a toy!
Each child is responsible for chores including feeding the pigs, chickens and ducks
Breakfast is at 7am
Remember the gorilla?
The school presented us with a gift of honey
and purses or scarves
Many thanks by the children
Group presented a special dance for us
Dressed for a special dance presentation
Even the big boys enjoy the toys
and the teachers do too!
Our gift to them - 4 sewing machines, filing cabinets, soy milk making machine, fax machine, kitchen supplies, saw table,
water purifier, water cooler, hair cutting sheers, athletic equipment, megaphone, weed wacker and more!
Bye bye
Ah, that was exhausting!
Visit to a regular school in the hill tribe region
Khoosonsrang School, Chaing Rai, with career component
Girls making purses for sale - we bought 35
Finished product
Boys learning silver jewelry making
Flight to Phuket in the south
Shopping for 5 bicycles
and then the delivery
Gig and Quan in front receive bicycles
What do you guess the boys are thinking?
“thank you” - “kop khun kha”
Tsunami Volunteer Center still thriving
Over 5,000 people perished in the tsunami. 52 bodies still unaccounted for; mostly Burmese, undocumented workers in Thailand
Delivering 6 computers to the Tsunami Children's Foundation, Khao Lak - with help from Klaus, owner of the Poseidon dive shop and head of the Poseidon CrusAIDers devoted to helping Tsunami victims
Klaus assembled all of the computers
Group therapy room of the Tsunami Children Foundation, Khao Lak
Ruby taking a break
Dr. Sunyaratana Ratjatawan, Director/Psychologist of the Tsunami Children Foundation
Back to Phuket
The older children arriving from the orphanage, Yaowit School, Kapong, 5 hours away, for a special evening
Hunter Bolt giving out tee shirts before dinner
next, back packs for everyone
The older children from the Tsunami Children's Foundation
Evening at FantaSea, Phuket
Kids with Kittikorn Kewkacha, Chief Executive Officer of FantaSea
Happy volunteers
Getting receipts for the bicycles from the Dang Prateep Foundation, Tsunami Relief Center, Phruteaw
Maria
More monsoon
Tsunami beach front
Sign on boat, “Please help remove boat!”
New housing
Volunteers helping with new construction
Moken fishing village
Fisherman family and new house
Boats in foreground given by the Thai Redcross. Used for garbage. Boats not up to the preferred standards for fishermen.
This boat was used to keep catfish
Real Estate in Tsunami area not “prime”
Back to Phuket town
Rawaii School, Phuket
Remember this expression
Three children from Moken Fishing Village invited with two schools for day excursion
Going for a day at the aquarium and the zoo
Children from the Watsuwankeereeong School, Patong
Collecting beach trash
This little boy lost his father in the Tsunami and was anxious at the aquarium
Little ones get back packs as large as them
Klaus, Anouk and Maria passing out back packs
lunch at Khun Geed Seafood
Genel serving
Yum, ice cream!
Happy cooks
Last stop, Phuket Zoo
They're real!
Not real
Ruby being brave
Genel having fun!
Anouk teaching digital
Remeber her face earlier?
Was a pretty good day!
Really good!
We sponsored this child for the next year
Mural by Tsunami orphans
Many thanks to Vasing Kittikul, Chairman of UniLink travel, who helped organize travel
Many thanks to Mariott Hotel, Bangkok
Many thanks to Khun Wattanspon who helped purchase and transport school supplies
Many thanks to Claude Baltes, Mgr., Evason Hotel, who is supportive of Tsunami relief work and workers
Many thanks to Kittikorn Kewkacha, Chief Executive Officer, FantaSea, who offered an evening at the FantaSea to the orphans free of charge
Many thanks to Klaus Orlik, supportive in countless ways to Tsunami relief and our efforts
Many thanks to Sasha Bilar, motivator, organizer, counselor and the inspiration for Toys for Thailand
Many thanks to all of the contributors in the US who gave toys and money to help the poor and unfortunate childen in orphanages in Thailand
