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| December 2004 Visit |
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| Students update on Dec 2004 - Siow Huat On the 17th and 18 Dec 2004, I had the chance to meet the children on the education opportunity program who are now schooling in Chiangmai Academy. I have been looking forward to meeting these kids when I was planning for my trip to Thailand. I hope to spend sometime interacting with them. In particularly, I wanted to meet Bumeu, the girl I'm sponsoring. I had told her in a letter that I would be coming. |
| I hope many people will reach out to help these less fortunate children. If you are interested in adopting a child to be their sponsor or you want more information, please write to me at [email protected] |
| Tamla, Malee and Somchai |
| Current students under EOP schooling in Chiangmai Academy. They were presenting a song to our team of visitors. |
| Surapon and Suraporn |
| Buta playing guitar |
| Our cutest and youngest girl, Day Wah, 7 years old. |
| Charon, Prateen,Wiboon, Tanongchai and Yaco |
| Bumeu, Mee Tei and Buta Bumeu and Mee Tei are sisters. The 3 girls belongs to the Ahka tribe. |
| Mee Tei, Bumeu and me. It was cold during the year end period, Each students received a blanket from the team of visitors. |
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| Maneerat (Mosa), Baw Baw and Chutima |
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| On the 17th evening, we arrived our destination later than we had expected. We had been to a hill top village earlier that week. I thought that I had to meet the children the next day. To my pleasant surprise, they were there waiting for us with dinner prepared. As we struggled to unload our bags from our "limo", the Ford Ranger trucks, the older kids came to help us. They were very helpful. I suppose that is part of Thai culture. It was half past seven and we couldn't start dinner because one of our "limo" carrying the rest of the visitors were late. I decided to meet the children, so I proceeded to the room where they were waiting for us. They were seated around the room and appeared shy initially. I expected that of most children, since I was a stranger to them.. |
| I saw Bumeu and she greeted me with the sweetest smile. I knew from her expression that she had anticipated and was glad to meet me. Her eyes glittered with apperciation. I was there to meet her too. I saw her sister Mee Tei. Right beside me was the litle girl, Day Wah. She was more adorable in person compared to the photo I saw. I just had to lay the palm of my hand on her cheek and said "Hi Day Wah." She must be very surprised that I knew her name. I recognised many faces and recalled their name, but I could not recall some. I called the name of those I knew. Their expression revealed that they were both excited and |
| Tida, Chankeo and Ladawan |
| surprised that this stranger appeared to know them. I introduced myself to them and explained to them that I knew their name because I had been helping them looking for people to sponsor their study in Chiangmai Academy. Mali immediately asked me if I was her sponsor. I told her that a friend of mine had sponsored her. I could see from her bright eyes that she was filled with gratitude to her sponsor. She wanted to know more about her sponsor. (I have already asked Susan, her sponsor, to write to her already) Pastor Phamor and I made fun of Yaco because he had not been active in writing to his sponsor. Kelvin, one of the visiting member, a 13 year old boy joined me. Being a friendly boy, he introduced himself and immediately become a favourite among a group of girls. |
| Don't under estimate this 13 year old boy from Singapore. When he heard about the Education Opportunity Program that these children were on, he asked me how much was required in order for him to help one of his new found friends. I was certainly impressed by the big heart he has. I knew his parents were able to help him do so. When the rest of the visitors had arrived, the children presented a song in Thai for us. By that time, it was about 8pm and they were very hungry. So were we. Mrs Phamor had prepared some delicious dinner for us. I spend sometime talking to Bumeu and Mee Tei. Bumeu was unable to speak English yet, but Mee Tei could manage fairly alright. So, most of the conversation had to be translated. I asked the sisters if they would like to visit Singapore during their school holidays. Mee Tei expressed her desire very quickly, but I was surprised that Bumeu declined. The reason was she couldn't speak English. I had earlier challenged her to learn English Language so that we could communicate. I even offered to reward her with a trip to Singapore. I guessed she was feeling the pressure, so I advised her to take her time to learn. She told me that she enjoyed Mathematics. I think she is going to be a mathematician or an engineer some day. After dinner, the children were sent back to their dormitory to retire for the night. We were tired from the 9 hours journey as well. The next afternoon, we visited an orphanage, which was beside Chiangmai Academy, the EOP students were there to meet us again. This time is in a more relax atmosphere. They kids were able to laugh and joke with us. It was great to see younger visitors from our teams made friends with them. In my hearts, the most important thing is these kids must know that there are some people out there who care and love them. This is probably the motivating factor in the education opportunity program. |
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| After the presentation of programs by the orphans, we gave out blankets to every children, including the EOP students. During the year end period, the weather in Chiangmai can be biting cold at night. So, blanket is a suitable gift from the visiting team from Singapore. When it was time for us to leave, I could see the reluctance of everyone, especially the students. We exchanged addresses. Mali, in particularly, had been very thankful to me for helping her. Older girls always know how to show their appreciation. It just reinforced my determination to help these kids. It was also heartwarming to see that these children are well taken care of in their pursue for better education. It is my prayer that more people will reach out to help these less fortunate children. |