Gift of Happiness Foundation Spreading Joy to Thousands
Every Month in Thailand!
Go Happiness serving young and old alike at the Mouser Hill-Tribe jungle village, North Thailand.
Project location details, sponsors, volunteers and value of donations given, as required by the Royal Thai Government
| Project Dates: 24/06/17 to 29/06/17. Loading and driving days: 24/25/29/06/2017 Volunteers: Eddie Haworth, Founder/Director at Gift of Happiness Foundation. Mr & Mrs Nicol & Ning Burr and their very helpful daughter, Miss Callie Burr. Bangkok. Paid staff: Khun Wanpen Sotiya (AKA Bob), sponsored by Monroe consulting Group and Khun Polchanok Buasorn sponsored by the Clown Eckie Corporation. Transport sponsored by: Monroe Consulting Group - Clown Eckie Corporation. Project sponsors: Monroe Consulting Group - Planet of the Crepes Administration and location guide: Mrs Ning Burr - Chutchada (Aiw) ชัฌฎา อิ๋ว General Manager at Gift of Happiness Foundation - Mr Eddie Haworth. Number of beneficiaries: Around 4,000 children plus teachers at 5 Thai Government Schools and a remote Mouser Hill-tribe school all located around the Mouser Mountain trading post in Tak Province, Northern Thailand. Goods and services given: clothing - toys - educational supplies - babywear - sports gear – motorcycle helmets - Professional family entertainment shows & educational performances given by volunteer, Clown Eckie. Total value of goods and services given; ฿-163,000.00. | Schools/Orphanages visited; Mon 26th Morning โรงเรียนบ้านเจดีย์โค๊ะ (Baan Chedi Ko school) Location: Route 1090 south of Mae Sot. 1,200 children served. Mon 26th Afternoon 1.2 โรงเรียนเทศบาลตำบลแม่กุ (Tessaban tumbon mae ku school) Location : Route 1090 south of Mae Sot. 600 children Tue 27th Morning 2.1 โรงเรียนบ้านม่อนหินเหล็กไฟ (Baan Mon Hin Lek Fai school) Location : Route 1090 south of Mae Sot. 80 children Tue 27th Afternoon 2.2 โรงเรียนบ้านห้วยปลาหลด (Baan Huay Pla Lod school) Location : Route 12 east of Mae sot 500 children Wed 28th Morning 3.1 โรงเรียนบ้านห้วยม่วง (Baan Huay Muang school) Location : Route 12 Kilometres west of Mae Sot 600 children Wed 28th Afternoon 3.2 โรงเรียนบ้านท่าอาจ (Baan Ta Arch school) Location : Route 12 west of Mae Sot. 900 children |
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Short project report written by volunteer, Mr Nicol Burr;
Just finished a five day trip to Mae Sot with Go happiness Foundation as a volunteer and driver to help the poor and needy kids there. Left around 10am on Sunday 25th June and drove all day to get there through some rather nice mountain scenery and extensive roadworks. But once there chilled a bit before eating at a local restaurant (very yummy and exceedingly cheap food) readying for the three day slog ahead. Monday we woke early, had breakfast and discussed the itinerary for the day. Visit two schools near each other 30 minutes out of Mae Sot on the Umphang road, to give them a clown show (setting up, show, taking down x 2) and donate some goodies for the kids. Back to the hotel for a good rest, as everyone was feeling tired after the shows. Relax at our accommodation before having a wonderful meal at a local restaurant (very yummy and exceedingly cheap food).
Just finished a five day trip to Mae Sot with Go happiness Foundation as a volunteer and driver to help the poor and needy kids there. Left around 10am on Sunday 25th June and drove all day to get there through some rather nice mountain scenery and extensive roadworks. But once there chilled a bit before eating at a local restaurant (very yummy and exceedingly cheap food) readying for the three day slog ahead. Monday we woke early, had breakfast and discussed the itinerary for the day. Visit two schools near each other 30 minutes out of Mae Sot on the Umphang road, to give them a clown show (setting up, show, taking down x 2) and donate some goodies for the kids. Back to the hotel for a good rest, as everyone was feeling tired after the shows. Relax at our accommodation before having a wonderful meal at a local restaurant (very yummy and exceedingly cheap food).
| Once again another early rise for the drive to another school, near the two we had already visited (setting up, show, taking down x 1), but on arrival we found the police were also visiting the school for a show and we were encroaching on their time, but when they arrived they took it well and enjoyed the last few minutes of the show. Then a long drive back up the roadworks through the mountain to a remote jungle school. A couple of U-turns were called for as we missed the turn off first time. (setting up, show, taking down x 1) - de ja vue! |  Nicol & Ning Burr receiving gifts alongside Bob, Eddie from the head of Tessaban tumbon mae ku school |
The whole village attended the clown show and they all really enjoyed themselves, even the grandma's who attended were laughing and smiling! Back to the accommodation for a rest before once again eating at the local restaurant (very yummy and exceedingly cheap food). Off to bed for the last and final day of giving happiness to those in need. Once again another early rise before driving very close to the Burma border and two more schools (set up, show, take down x 2) and donate some goodies for the kids. Once again the happiness show for the kids and teachers was a wonderful thing to see, and be part of. All the schools were very appreciative of the shows received and the donations and of the work the foundation does. A rather nice meal to celebrate the end of the giving was had by the Happiness peeps before a well earned rest. A slightly later breakfast before heading back through the mountains, stopping at a local market where the fruit and veg are so fresh and so cheap - I managed to spend a whack load of money on Lychees, Melons, Avocados, Bell peppers, Carrots, Onions, Garlic, Mangosteens and a few plants for my garden. Just as well the van was empty!! A great trip and I want to do it again. Fingers crossedXXX
Project report written by Eddie Haworth, Founder at Gift of Happiness Foundation;
| TWO THOUSAND HAPPY CHILDREN IN ONE DAY! Monday Morning 26/06/17. Our first show giving day of this month's aid and show giving project came as a surprise to Eddie and the volunteers when we discovered the teachers at the school had made a big effort to get as many children as possible to come and see the Go Happiness Clown making a total fool of himself! We were expecting around 500, but the crowd just got bigger as we set-up the show equipment until they reached 1,200 |  |
The show went very well with a large number of children being invited to come up on stage to play along with the clown with his silly musical instruments and funny chair.
Monday afternoon 26/06/17.
After a simple lunch of noodles and an ice cream each, we drove just a few kilometres back towards Mae Sot to arrive at a larger school with a very well turned-out audience of around 500 children. They were all dressed in their very finest uniforms in order to show respect for our Happiness Team. But they soon relaxed into a state of disheveled mayhem once the show began and the giant balloons were sent crashing into their open arms. A fantastic time was had by all and the teachers were delighted to present us with a lovely certificate of appreciation and a lovely T Shirt depicting a map of the Mae Sot area for each of our team. Of course, we very much appreciated all the effort that the children and teachers at the school had put into welcoming us so warmly and we were equally delighted to learn from the head teacher, that all the children came from stable working families and requested we pass-on their allocated share of donations to some much poorer children who we were to visit the next day.
What a fantastic day for so many happy people!
After a simple lunch of noodles and an ice cream each, we drove just a few kilometres back towards Mae Sot to arrive at a larger school with a very well turned-out audience of around 500 children. They were all dressed in their very finest uniforms in order to show respect for our Happiness Team. But they soon relaxed into a state of disheveled mayhem once the show began and the giant balloons were sent crashing into their open arms. A fantastic time was had by all and the teachers were delighted to present us with a lovely certificate of appreciation and a lovely T Shirt depicting a map of the Mae Sot area for each of our team. Of course, we very much appreciated all the effort that the children and teachers at the school had put into welcoming us so warmly and we were equally delighted to learn from the head teacher, that all the children came from stable working families and requested we pass-on their allocated share of donations to some much poorer children who we were to visit the next day.
What a fantastic day for so many happy people!
Take a quick scroll through this slideshow then read more...
Tuesday morning 27/06/17.
Along the road towards Umphang we arrived at a the first school of the day which is located right at the top of a very steep mountain road that was covered in mist when we arrived. The children here are mainly coming from the local communities of Karen and Thai nationals who live in hillside farming villages near to the school. We had to do a slightly shorter version of the show because the Police had also been booked to give a talk on stranger danger in the remote yet well visited mountain resort region.
The children had never seen anything quite like the silly old clown and his merry bunch of helpers, so the show went down a storm and the goodies we gave were also very well received by the small team of teachers and children at the school.
Along the road towards Umphang we arrived at a the first school of the day which is located right at the top of a very steep mountain road that was covered in mist when we arrived. The children here are mainly coming from the local communities of Karen and Thai nationals who live in hillside farming villages near to the school. We had to do a slightly shorter version of the show because the Police had also been booked to give a talk on stranger danger in the remote yet well visited mountain resort region.
The children had never seen anything quite like the silly old clown and his merry bunch of helpers, so the show went down a storm and the goodies we gave were also very well received by the small team of teachers and children at the school.
| Tuesday afternoon 27/06/17. It was a two hour drive from the first school to the next one which is located high on another mountain range and within the Taksinmaharat National Park where the Mouser Hilltribe villages are located. We finally arrived at the village school around 2.00pm after negotiating our way along a winding jungle track to set-up the show equipment as quickly as possible in case some of the children had a long trek through the jungles to their bamboo built homes. Of course, the show went down very well indeed despite some of the children being slightly shy to join-in with a show, simply because they had never even heard of a traditional slap-stick European comedy show? "What's a Clown?" We made sure that a lot of the village elders attended the show as well, because they have also only ever known their own tribal traditions and since they have only recently had electricity (Via a large generator) in the village, they haven't even seen our kind of "HAPPINESS" giving on the telly box! |   |
So our visit was a real eye opening treat for everyone in the jungle settlement and even some of the wild boar managed to take an interest in us as we left the village clearing. They are in great need of clothing, toys and other essentials, so we gave them quite a lot on this occasion and we hope to revisit the village again within the next year or so to give them even more.
Take a quick scroll through this slideshow then read more...
Wednesday morning 27/06/17.
This would turn out to be a slightly less stressful day because both schools we visited are located very close to the Thai/Burma border on the outskirts of Mae Sot. But the stress levels were raised again when we reached the first school to find a much larger number of children than we expected, but that was good because our aim is to spread as much HAPPINESS as we can to as many people as we can! The show was extremely well received by all the children and teachers and there was even an extra group of little children brought in from a local kindergarten to enjoy the last parts of the show.
This would turn out to be a slightly less stressful day because both schools we visited are located very close to the Thai/Burma border on the outskirts of Mae Sot. But the stress levels were raised again when we reached the first school to find a much larger number of children than we expected, but that was good because our aim is to spread as much HAPPINESS as we can to as many people as we can! The show was extremely well received by all the children and teachers and there was even an extra group of little children brought in from a local kindergarten to enjoy the last parts of the show.
| Wednesday afternoon 27/06/17. After a quick lunch at a new shopping mall near the friendship bridge we headed back towards the Moei River but just a few kilometres north of the friendship bridge where we found the last school of this month's project tour. Again, we were surprised by the large number of children (900) who were eagerly awaiting our presentations and lovely new toys, clothes and educational supplies that we had gathered for them. |  |
The children at this school were blessed with quite a bit more self confidence than some other Karen migrant children we serve in the region and this was a great tribute to the teachers at the school. Although some of the children here were clearly coming from very poor local migrant communities we were amazed to see just how clean their precious uniforms had been kept. It's sometimes hard to understand how the parents manage to keep their child's dignity in tact by making sure they are as well turned-out as possible when they don't have access to washing machines or regular income to buy the uniforms in the first place? That's why we are delighted to give those parents a small help in hand by giving as much as we can, whenever we can.
End report by Eddie Haworth.
End report by Eddie Haworth.
HELP US MAKE EVEN MORE PEOPLE HAPPY!
We know there are lots of people who believe in what we are doing to support so many poor people in Thailand. This is where you can really make a difference!
We know there are lots of people who believe in what we are doing to support so many poor people in Thailand. This is where you can really make a difference!
"Every donation ONLY goes to help the poor people we serve!"
| Via ATM or Android to: Account Name: Gift of Happiness Foundation Address: Kasikorn Bank PLC. BIG-C Rama 4, Bangkok. 10110. Account No:7702101594. Account Type: Savings. Sort Code: 0004. Outside Thailand. Swift Code: KASITHBK. Currency Converter | *Clothing - Adult and Children’s / New or Used. *Toys - "No toy weapons please". *School equipment - Paper, pencils etc *Playground equipment - Always very welcome *Medical supplies - anything available at pharmacies. *Bedding - Essential for most northern locations. *Toweling - Can also be used for bedding. *Personal hygiene - Soap, toothpaste/brushes etc. *Mosquito nets - Helps prevent Malaria and Dengue. *Other useful goods - We know what's needed. READ MORE>> |
