Whispering Seeds - Sangklaburi
So, I am now, and have been for the past week, in Sangklaburi, on the west of Thailand, right on the Burmese border. I didn't really know what I was going to be doing when I got here, but 'Whispering Seeds' is the name of the project, which is run by Jim, an American guy who has lived in Thailand for a number of years. He runs a childrens home with 10 kids in it, they are all very cute, and they live on a farm, in the middle of the jungle, and grow their own fruit and veg. Jim is Buddhist, so brings up the kids as Buddhists too - they don't believe in killing animals either, so they are all vegetarian (I've quite appreciated the lack of chicken feet and egg foetus' since I left Cambodia).
This is some of the kids clambering up a banana tree...
The toilet facilities I have used so far on my trip have been mixed, this is what we have at the farm...
There is no electricity (except for one solar panel which provide a light in the evening) and no running water, so we bathe in the river, it's kind of novel, although I haven't actually felt completely clean for a while, you get used to it though! Here are some of the kids at bath time!
This week there has been a group of 'World Challenge' kids from Dubai, they come over to do some work for a charity and picked this home in Thailand. They have been helping with some maintenance of the buildings. As it is coming up to the rainy season, the buildings need to be repaired, especially the roofs, so that they can last through the heavy rain that they get. I helped to build/lay a brick patio.
The farm is separated from the roads by a river, so every day water has to be brought from the local village and then carried across the river to the farm, so everytime you leave the farm you have to cross the river and climb a steep ladder, I am just about getting to grips with the ladder, it is not my favourite, especially with wet feet once you have just crossed the river!
There is no internet on the farm, but today we have come to the office, which is in the nearest town and me and Felicity (another volunteer that is here at the moment) have just popped in to an internet cafe, so I thought I would update you all on what I have been up to!
I am having a really good time, the kids are cute and as quite a lot of the volunteers that pass through the home are western, they know quite a bit of English, which helps, as well as Burmese and Thai. Since I have been here we have watched a couple of films about the political situation in Burma and I have learnt a lot, as I pretty much knew nothing about it before. One of the films, 'Burma VJ', really showed me what the situation is like - if you don't know anything about it, I would really recommend watching this film, it was really good, and I think it was only recently released.
The kids from the home come from different backgrounds, quite a few of them have come from a brothel which is on the Burmese border, and all the kids are 'Burman'. Burman people are like second class citizens, and have no rights in their own country, they also have no rights in Thailand, so these kids are referred to as 'stateless', which means they don't belong to either country and most of these kids are unable to leave the area of Thailand that they currently live in because the border checks won't let them through. One of the things Jim is trying to do is to see if he can help with this situation.
The green thing in Poo-Ta's hand is a jack fruit, its green and spiky and inside has small yellow pods which taste pretty good! They have loads of amazing fruits here.
My job as a volunteer so far has been to take some photos that they can use for a cookbook/calendar they are producing to sell to make money for the home, to help teach the kids English and Maths and I've also done some building work. I am here for another week and then I head to Chang Mai (in the North of Thailand) to celebrate 'Songkran', Thai new year - which turns in to a massive water fight for 5 days, apparently you can't go anywhere without getting soaked by people in the street.
Weather is still hot!
This is some of the kids clambering up a banana tree...
The toilet facilities I have used so far on my trip have been mixed, this is what we have at the farm...
There is no electricity (except for one solar panel which provide a light in the evening) and no running water, so we bathe in the river, it's kind of novel, although I haven't actually felt completely clean for a while, you get used to it though! Here are some of the kids at bath time!
This week there has been a group of 'World Challenge' kids from Dubai, they come over to do some work for a charity and picked this home in Thailand. They have been helping with some maintenance of the buildings. As it is coming up to the rainy season, the buildings need to be repaired, especially the roofs, so that they can last through the heavy rain that they get. I helped to build/lay a brick patio.
The farm is separated from the roads by a river, so every day water has to be brought from the local village and then carried across the river to the farm, so everytime you leave the farm you have to cross the river and climb a steep ladder, I am just about getting to grips with the ladder, it is not my favourite, especially with wet feet once you have just crossed the river!
There is no internet on the farm, but today we have come to the office, which is in the nearest town and me and Felicity (another volunteer that is here at the moment) have just popped in to an internet cafe, so I thought I would update you all on what I have been up to!
I am having a really good time, the kids are cute and as quite a lot of the volunteers that pass through the home are western, they know quite a bit of English, which helps, as well as Burmese and Thai. Since I have been here we have watched a couple of films about the political situation in Burma and I have learnt a lot, as I pretty much knew nothing about it before. One of the films, 'Burma VJ', really showed me what the situation is like - if you don't know anything about it, I would really recommend watching this film, it was really good, and I think it was only recently released.
The kids from the home come from different backgrounds, quite a few of them have come from a brothel which is on the Burmese border, and all the kids are 'Burman'. Burman people are like second class citizens, and have no rights in their own country, they also have no rights in Thailand, so these kids are referred to as 'stateless', which means they don't belong to either country and most of these kids are unable to leave the area of Thailand that they currently live in because the border checks won't let them through. One of the things Jim is trying to do is to see if he can help with this situation.
The green thing in Poo-Ta's hand is a jack fruit, its green and spiky and inside has small yellow pods which taste pretty good! They have loads of amazing fruits here.
My job as a volunteer so far has been to take some photos that they can use for a cookbook/calendar they are producing to sell to make money for the home, to help teach the kids English and Maths and I've also done some building work. I am here for another week and then I head to Chang Mai (in the North of Thailand) to celebrate 'Songkran', Thai new year - which turns in to a massive water fight for 5 days, apparently you can't go anywhere without getting soaked by people in the street.
Weather is still hot!
You could do a pictorial record of toilets around the world!
Hazel Bazel!
What a life changing experience, God has you on one awesome adventure. I wish everyone could experience you are, I think it would put our lives into perspective and we experience humility.
(I wish my daycare kids could see how other children live, hopefully it would help with their selfishness!)
Praying for safety and that you would feel God's presence everywhere you are.
Love you dear!