By Jeff Rexeisen

Dateline: Doi Chiang Dao, Thailand. October 4, 2008.

The Kids of Baan Mae Maeh Orphanage Need Your Help

These days, many visitors to Thailand are tiring of mass-market-style packaged and staged attractions. Experiences need to be more authentic, highlighting the uniqueness of the country, the richness of its culture, and the lifestyles of its people. “Voluntourism” describes providing an opportunity for overseas guests to engage and interact in a socially positive way with local communities.

For the past couple of years, we’ve been acquainting our guests with the work of the Ponheary Ly Foundation in Siem Reap, founded by a Cambodian guide who we’re very proud to work with (see www.theplf.org). The success of this program, which focuses on aiding children at primary schools in rural Siem Reap Province, led us to begin a hunt for a similar project that we would be able to support in Thailand, where the majority of our guests spend most of their time.

We suspected that hilltribe people (ethnic groups living in Thailand’s mountainous border areas, many of whom have not been accorded official Thai citizenship despite living here all their lives) and some refugees from the ongoing conflict in Myanmar might have fallen through the cracks of Thailand’s social welfare system and escaped the attention of international NGOs.

About a month ago, I heard a story about the small village of Baan Mae Maeh, located deep in the mountains near Doi Chiang Dao, a two-hour drive north of Chiang Mai. The elementary school there also serves as an orphanage, with a current population of about 120 kids – mostly from the Karen and Lahu ethnic groups, aged from about 6 through mid-teens. The Thai government provides teachers and basic school equipment, but there is virtually no funding for food or other necessities of life.

I decided to take a look for myself in early September. I was met at Chiang Mai Airport by Jong Noja, the young and energetic Thai owner of Field Village Resort (www.thefieldvillage.com) who has been almost single-handedly supporting the school with periodic deliveries of rice and other essentials. We headed out of Chiang Mai early the next morning with a load of supplies in the back of Jong’s 4WD pickup. An affluent, Thai, single parent of two teenagers and possessing an admirable concern for social responsibility, she discovered Baan Bae Maeh while looking for a cause relating to children which she could support…she obviously loves kids! Jong pointed out that Buddhist, temple-based schools and orphanages often attract donations from Thai people as a means of making merit, but she was more interested in finding a place where kids weren’t getting effective government, NGO, or community support.

Off the main highway, the one-lane road leading to the village, though paved about half the distance, became increasingly steep, muddy, and partially blocked in some areas with rain-induced landslides. As we drove further up the mountain through the dense green forest, the air became noticeably cooler and less humid. We finally reached the village—a few rooftops visible in the valley below—and shifted into 4WD again to cross a rushing mountain stream (about a foot deep, studded with slippery rocks, no bridge) to enter the grounds of the school. Dozens of little faces peered out of the classroom doors…visitors are rare, especially during the rainy season.

Assembly

In short order, the truck is unloaded and a school-wide assembly is called—row upon row of kids, many wearing colorful, traditional, tribal dress and all very well-behaved—with one of the older students delivering a “thank you” speech. After meeting the teachers and headmaster, I was shown around the two classroom buildings, one with an extremely basic kitchen and dining area, and two dormitories with outhouses nearby.

The "Kitchen"

They explained that after classes were finished for the day, one adult stayed to supervise during the afternoon and overnight, but with no sports or recreation equipment, there wasn’t very much for the kids to do.

Nothing to do...

All the kids pitched in to help with chores, the older ones helping and looking after the little ones. As with groups of kids everywhere, there are always a lot of (endearingly shy) smiles, but there were also some youngsters here who weren’t smiling. The road to Baan Mae Maeh is essentially a one-way street. For one reason or another, their parents are gone, and in all likelihood there is no one coming to take them home. Once they complete the highest grade, they’re sent down the mountain to a secondary school and orphanage in the town of Chiang Dao, distancing them even further from their traditional heritage, community, and culture.

It’s clear the school needs some help, and frankly, so does Jong – she’s been spending a small fortune out of her own pocket every month and the well is running dry. A 45kg bag of rice costs about THB1,000 (~US$30) and 120 kids go through one bag per day…and the list of needs obviously doesn’t end there. While cabbage and other locally-grown vegetables are a dietary staple at the school, things like cooking oil, noodles, fruit, and sources of protein such as meat, poultry, and tofu are harder to come by in the mountains as well as being more expensive to provide. The school’s “library” displays contents that were well-meaning donations, but not very appropriate—fashion, travel, and business magazines. Dormitory-like sleeping quarters, consisting of thin pads on wooden platforms, are lacking blankets, and with winter just around the corner (near freezing temperatures in the mountains), Jong is scouring the local markets for second-hand warm clothes.

The Dormitory

We’ve sourced good quality, inexpensive blankets from a local manufacturer (US$2-3), and based on response to date, we’re hopeful that at least 120 blankets will soon be on their way north. Following this project – made urgent by the impending cold weather – we intend to send some simple sports gear—footballs (soccer balls), takraw, and volleyball equipment, as well as to assist as much as we can with their day-to-day food needs.

In addition to letting our overseas clients know about this opportunity to contribute, the owners of @Richard’s Pub & Restaurant, Silom Soi 2/1, Bangkok, have started a collection toward our grassroots “Baan Mae Maeh Blanket Fund” – patrons who celebrate birthdays at the pub are suggesting to their friends that they contribute cash in lieu of buying gifts.

Jong & Jeff

From Edward Carter:

Uncle Ted

See more photos of Baan Mae Maeh School & Orphanage: http://tiny.cc/blankets

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If you would like to make a donation to Baan Mae Maeh School & Orphanage simply click below to securely send a contribution through a credit card and Paypal. Obviously, the orphanage does not have a PayPal account, so I am doing the collecting on its behalf. Edward Carter Please note: The email address in the box below does not always seem to work. A better one to use is eglcarter@yahoo.com Copyright 2008   Please email me your travel tales, "postcards," and questions. I'll publish the most interesting, appropriate or outrageous in Correspondence - All the best, Ted (short for Edward)

copyright © 2006, EDWARD CARTER