Suky and I went along to pick Thanachok up yesterday and take her for lunch at Pizza Co (her choice), and to see if there was anything special she would like for the 1500 B gift sent by her sponsor. The only thing her 'caretaker' felt she needed (and with which she concurred), was a bicycle.
She enjoyed her pizza, and ate some salad (which is something we could never get Prateep to do), and opted for a Pepsi to 'wash it down'. During the meal she told us that she'll now be in Grade 5, is 12th in her class of 43 and her favourite subject is Art. Although she is still quiet she smiles readily, and was very proud of the little red bag she was wearing.
We asked how she got to school at the moment and she said she was taken (along with her brothers) in the motorcycle sidecar, but that she would be able to ride to school if she had a cycle. She is eleven years old at the moment, and it is usual here for children of twelve and up to ride to school. I assume they ride on the pavement, as the Sukhumvit Road is extremely busy as you know, and then go over the pedestrian walkway which drops them right in front of the school.
Since the home details had obviously changed dramatically since our last visit, we spoke with the 'caretaker' It seems that the husband of the owner of the business (previously recycling, now selling building materials and perhaps also renting out garage space, looking at the number of bays that have been built) is an American, and she is now in America with him. However, she left the business in the hands of this lady (and other long time workers) and sends money periodically from the 'States.
The place has been changed completely, structures knocked down and others put up, and the rooms seem all to be being renovated. Suky took some photo's of the room where the boys sleep. It was dark and totally airless - no windows. (It is behind the living room area, where new, bright coloured lino has been laid and the doorways are being prepared against the coming rains.) This is where the bunk beds are, and it's like an oven. They really need wall fans - perhaps even an extractor fan and a wall fan. I thought I'd get one of our volunteers, who's an engineer, to look at the place and see what he would recommend.
Thanachok is fortunate, because she sleeps with Aunty Noi and she has air-conditioning in her room! As you can imagine the boys aren't thrilled about this.
There were a number of other school age children about the place, who it seems are blood relatives - but they go to private Thai schools. There is a definite distinction made between 'our' kids and the others.
So, there we are, that's the current sitrep (as somebody used to say!).
We will pick up the bicycle (it seems she's a friend of Wanrudee , so she'd like a bike like hers) on Monday and take it over for her. I'm sure she'll be so happy.
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.
