Mae Sai

After flying from Bangkok to Chiang Rai, two friends from World Education collected us from the airport and drove us to the northern border town of Mae Sai, just a short hour away. A bowl of delicious noodle soup from the mobile soup stall outside the hotel was all we needed before falling into bed. The choice of meat for the soup included chicken feet, beaks and all other parts of a chicken. Fortunately the maker of the soup decided we were thigh meat ladies and left out the entrails, beaks and feet! Tomorrow we're up at 5:30am for the border crossing.

Another trip in planning...

Preparations are underway for a trip to Mae Sot to visit 'our kids' at Du Pla Ya Boarding House, though we'll travel first to Mae Sai, a border town in northern Thailand, to meet 50 or so children aged between 6 and 16 at an orphanage that is without funding this year. We were first told about them by World Education, Thailand, who help where they can with educational materials (and trying to find a new sponsor) but just don't have all the funds necessary to feed, house and clothe these kids - so we're going to see what we can do. We hear the children are mostly Wa children who come from areas where there are no schools, meaning they live away from their families; if they have them. At the very least, it should prove to be an interesting journey...

We started the day at the border market on what we thought would be the quietest day of trip! Whilst we did enjoy the market very much, we'd heard about the children living under the bridge but seeing them brought home the harsh reality of their lives. We're happy to know they receive some support and care from another group operating out of Mae Sot.

Back in town we had lunch at Bai Fern, which was delicious, though we should have allowed a bit more time. It's worth mentioning that two of the best handicraft shops that we've come across, WEAVE and Borderline are closed on Sundays. Or at least they were today! :)

The afternoon was spent visiting an orphanage for toddlers and babies and a home for women and children living with HIV. There's always a great need for volunteers in these places (so much so that one of us was 'carried away' within minutes of arriving by a group of 3 year olds heading to the nearest open parkland to blow bubbles!), that if you're interested in knowing how you can volunteer and/or help otherwise, just let us know.

We shared dinner tonight with 48 teachers and 200 students aged between 4-18 at a boarding house and learning center for refugees and immigrants. Two groups of students performed an hour of traditional Karen dancing, which they had been practicing for the past two months. Their obvious pride in their culture brought tears to our eyes and we felt very priviledged to witness their passion and energy.

Back to Mae Sot

Yesterday we travelled with Thai Children's Trust to Mae Sot from Bangkok, which was somewhat of a long and bumpy 6hrs by minivan! A delicious Burmese curry at Casa Mia and a good night's sleep at Phannu Guesthouse, saw us ready for another day.

Photocopier Arrives!

Thank you!

With the overwhelming generosity of our supporters throughout the year and the goodwill of Canon Marketing (Thailand) Company Ltd, Women With a Mission has been able to purchase a digital copier at a substantially reduced price to assist children at risk living on the Thai/Burma border gain access to educational materials.

The digital copier, Canon IR3035, is being used to print text books in several languages (Burmese, Thai and English), as developed by World Education for distribution to 54 mostly make-shift community schools struggling to meet the educational needs of 8,000 children.

Women With a Mission is a non-affiliated, not for profit, private group committed to providing children of all ages, social and cultural backgrounds the necessary tools to receive a proper education and access to daily nutritional needs.

We have a long-term commitment to this project and assisting these children reach their full potential. We are always grateful for your support.