Slum kids & MERCY Home kids party

Today was the party for the kids from the slums and the kids from the MERCY Home.

There were less kids from the slums this year as many homes have been bulldozed by the land owners and the slum dwellers have had to relocate.

After starting the party with some songs and games it was then time for a lunch of chicken and rice and that was followed by all of the kids receiving a gift, the kids from the slums also received a bag of food to take home with them.

Christmas Day spent with the kids of the MERCY Home.

Christmas Day being a weekday this year it was school as usual for the kids at the MERCY Home so opening their Christmas presents had to wait until late afternoon.

After the opening of their gifts and the clearing away of all of the wrapping and boxes the kids had a Christmas lunch followed by a special treat of Svenson's ice-cream cake after that the sang and danced before watching a movie before turning into bed for a 5am start of the day tomorrow for another day at school

New Year shopping treat with Austrian sponsors

Today we has the pleasure of meeting Harry and Melanie two Austrian sponsors on holiday here in Pattaya. They took the opportunity to meet for the second time their sponsored students sisters Wanvisa and Thipwun.

The girls are cared for by an elderly grandmother who has diabetes and her husband. After picking the girls up from school and as the girls had already eaten we stopped off at Kiss Restaurant for the girls to have an ice-cream and then after and sitting in the horrendous New Year holiday traffic we arrived at Tesco Lotus where Melanie and Harry treated the girls to some toys, shoes and clothes. The couple also gave Suky money to buy food for the family.

We dropped Melanie and Harry off at their hotel and the girls were impressed by the swimming pool, so maybe on the next visit swimming will be on the agenda.

Hauy Phong Home 2013 New Year Party

Saturday December 22nd was the date of another very successful New Year Party for the kids at the Hauy Phong Children's Home in Rayong.

The kids had asked for Pizza and noodles and this was supplemented by gallons of Coke and other soft drinks, Crêpe Suzettes and chicken. All of the kids received a gift which they received after picking a lucky number from the Christmas tree. After the meal during which they were entertained with both traditional Thai and modern pop songs from a live band formed by boys and girls of the Home it was time for the Disco and first to take to the floor was professional dancer Ray Cornell of the Venue in Jomtien, www.thevenuejomtien.com and he was soon joined by all of the other kids. Ray has over the years been instrumental in raising money for PSK by putting shows on at his hotel and show bar so it was good that he was able to come along to the party despite him having to be onstage to perform in his own show later that evening.

Our thanks go to everyone who made donations to our party appeal for enabling the party at Hauy Phong to be such a success.

We now have two more parties during the next couple of weeks, these being the party for the slum and Mercy home kids and the party for the scholarship students.

A shopping treat for a slum kid

Today's shopping trip made on behalf of a sponsor was with a little girl nicknamed 'O'.

'O' is 8 or 9 years of age, the family lost her birth registration papers so do not know exactly how old she is. Her mother is suffering from severe mental trauma after seeing both her parents murdered and is in a semi trance like state whilst 'O's father is a casual labourer and lucky if he gets 2 or 3 days work a week.

The family live in a tiny dilapidated tin shack which is in desperate need of repairs, inside the shack it is stiflingly hot and the family share one mattress, there is little else inside of the shack. The family pay 1200Baht (£24) a month rent for the shack.

'O' is a very happy child and smiled a lot during our visit, she did not want to eat lunch but settled on chocolate and lime flavoured ice cream. After lunch we visited Tesco Lotus where she was able to choose clothes and shoes thanks to money sent by her sponsor.

We have asked the father to make a list of the materials needed to make the hut more habitable and we will see if we can help with the cost

Help for a disabled child

Today along with Lhen Lhen and 'Ceska' we visited this eighteen month old little girl by the name of 'Vic'. When the child was just a few months old the mother asked a neighbour to babysit for a few hours and has never been back for the child since.

A visit has been made to Dr. Phanu a specialist paediatrician to examine 'Vic' and Dr. Najaiung explained that 'Vic' only has a brain stem. She is capable of eating, smiling, urinating and bowel movements. The fluid on her brain will continue to increase over time, but surgery is not advisable as the risk of complications is high. The discomfort she feels is likely due to bowel problems caused by inactivity. The Doctor prescribed medication to slow the increase of fluid on her brain and help with the stomach discomfort. He recommended daily enemas and said she can eat regular foods. She needs to be moved frequently to prevent sores on her head as this can lead to fluid release and then infection.
She is spasmodic so he has referred 'Vic' to a specialist for treatment. The doctor said that the best case life expectancy for this type case is maybe to 10 yrs. old. 'Vic's' head size, 61 cm, is very large. This affects life expectancy. But with good palliative care her chances increase. Dr. Samchit prescribed meds for constipation, spasms, a sleep aid and vitamins .

The neighbours obviously care a great deal for the child caring for he 24/7 and now have legal custody of 'Vic'.

PSK were asked if we could help purchase a good heavy duty stroller to move her around as she is very heavy, the cost would be in the region of £120-150. As the couple caring for 'Vic' are not able to afford the cost themselves we have agreed to fund the purchase of a suitable stroller which will enable the child to be wheeled about outdoors, at the moment she has to be carried and her weight is be becoming to much for the couple caring for her to manage.

Go Karting for the kids

Today was a swimming, lunch and Go Karts day for for of our students.

Starting with an hour of swimming at the hotel pool we then ploughed through cheeseburgers and fries for lunch before heading off to a Go Kart track.

This is where the boys, 'Prem', 'Lek', 'Paper' and 'Chen' took charge of a Kart each and enjoyed 20 minutes of hurtling around the track. 'Paper' at nine years of age and he youngest of the boys and driving a Kart for the first time managed to drive his Kart across the grass and into the tyre safety wall four times and at the end of their driving time when coming into the safety lane he forgot to apply the brakes and shunted the three cars in front of him a few metres further along the track.

Everyone enjoyed the driving and we then went off for a round of Crazy Golf before returning home.

Grandma's bed

A few months ago during a home visit to two of our students (sisters) it was found that the two girls were living with elderly grandparents, the grandfather is handicapped as the grandmother is badly disabled with arthritis and had not been outside of the tiny airless room that the four of them shared for a number of years. Grandma is so badly crippled with arthritis that she is unable to use a wheelchair so is basically confined to bed for the remainder of her life.

We were able to assist with new bedding and clothes for the girls plus a monthly food delivery for the girls who were relying on left-overs from school lunches for food and a sponsor of another student helped buy some items for the home.

MERCY Pattaya took it upon themselves to try and get grandma help but the hospital said her condition was to far advanced for any surgical intervention.

After many months MERCY Pattaya have been able to source a hospital type bed for grandma and this was delivered to the home a few days ago, the doorway of the home has been widened to allow the bed to be wheeled outside so that grandmas get some fresh air.

As the photos show grandmas is now much more comfortable and is able to be in the fresh-air for the first time in many years.

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.