Stories of interest to Gift of Happiness Foundation, Thailand:
Bangkok Charity providing new uniforms for needy kids
Invisible Children Exploited in Bangkok
Judge gets 28 Years For Selling Kids to the Prison System
Need for immediate action against human trafficking

Sunday 29th June 2014. Gift of Happiness are back to 'Wat Sam Makan School'.


This time we are giving a truck load of books, handicraft making equipment, candies and a big show for the whole community who will be there for the grand opening of the Brand New School Library.

The library has been built by the children themselves, with a little help and training from local builders, their headteacher and his dedicated small team of staff and volunteers.

The school is situated in Mae La village in the Nakorn Luang district, North of Ayutthaya and sits on the banks of the Pa Sak River, Thailand.  The area is prone to flooding during the rainy season, so the design and construction of this new Library is geared to preventing any further destruction of books and materials when the floods come during most monsoon seasons.

Schoolchildren here also have the advantage of the head teacher being a top class musician, so the most of the kids can play lots of traditional Thai music as well as keeping-up with the regular classes in all the usual subjects.  Another learning priority, is for the kids to develop skills in hands-on construction, plumbing and vegetable gardening so they will always be more able to turn their hands to many different kinds of work in their own locality when they grow-up. This fantastic project will surely stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.

25/06/14; There are still a couple of places available for volunteers to attend the grand opening of this school library on Sunday 29th June 2014. CONTACT US HERE

Stories of interest to Gift of Happiness Foundation, Thailand:
Bangkok Charity providing new uniforms for needy kids
Youth circus turns tables on human trafficking (At Glastonbury Festival)
Dismay in Australia as journalists are jailed in Egypt
Judge gets 28 Years For Selling Kids to the Prison System

Go-Happiness back in Mae Sot, Thailand again to give aid and shows to hundreds of needy kids.
In attendance this time were the Go-Happiness Director Eddie Haworth, two students from Bangkok Patana International School, one parent accompanying them, an Australian friend of the charity and professional cameraman, Mr Simon Balmer. We also had the help of Ms Aya Tabata from the Japan Association for Mae Tao Clinic (JAM) and our regular two drivers/translators throughout the project.

Monday 09/06/14.
We arrived at the Gift of Happiness charity shop/warehouse around 9am.
From the moment we arrived we got busy helping to pack the two pickup trucks with Eddie Haworth’s (AKA Clown Eckie) show equipment and a large amount of donations for the children we would be visiting over the next few days.

Before we left Bangkok, we were informed of the rules and regulations, and as it was various people in the group’s first time, we were informed on what to expect to see at the schools for needy children and medical centres we were about to visit.

After this meeting and with both trucks fully loaded for the trip, the journey from Bangkok to Mae Sot began. It was a long 7 and a half hours drive with Eddie in the driver’s seat of our truck and one of the charities volunteer drivers at the wheel of the other truck. We made numerous stops along the way in order to break up the journey and keep the trucks topped-up with fuel.

When we arrived in Mae Sot it was around 6pm. We were staying in a hotel named Poonagunn in the center of Mae Sot. After quickly settling into our rooms we went across town for dinner. We went to a nice local restaurant and while eating we discussed the schedule for the upcoming days. The menu contained a vast amount of food ranging from Asian to Western cuisine. Once the meal was over, we returned to the hotel and ended the night.

The following morning on the 10th of July 2014, we had to be in the truck and ready to go at 9am. The hotel served a wide range of breakfast choices, which were very much enjoyed by everyone of the seven members of our happy team.

We picked up a lady called Iya at the Mae Tao Clinic before heading to ‘Nam Tok Learning Centre’, which is located 30kms outside the town of Mae Sot. The moment we arrived at the ‘Nam Tok Learning Centre’ the children didn’t hesitate to rush to the pick up trucks out of excitement and curiousity. The kids were extremely helpful when carrying Eddie’s equipment and the several large bags of donations into a large empty room; then they were seated by the teachers and were waiting anxiously for the performance to begin.

As the donations were being laid out onto a lengthy table, the kids began to clap and cheer for each toys being brought out of the bag due to their elation towards receiving new playthings. Once Eddie was all set up, a thunderous round of applause broke out and then the show began. The children’s delight remained constant throughout the show and by the end, expressed their gratitude towards the foundation, especially for the cake and candies we gave them all.

We continued our journey from ‘Nam Tok Learning Centre’ to a local roadside restaurant for a quick lunch and onto ‘Hope School’.  This school is located on a mountain therefore when we arrived at the location, all the equipment needed to be carried down numerous steep steps and across a rickety bamboo bridge to the school room about 500 metres away from the road. With the help of the children, we managed to get all the equipment set up quickly in time for the scheduled show. Which went very well with all the children and teachers. After the show we handed out lots of clothing, toys and some education supplies, then all the children received some cake and candies.

The following day, 11th June 2014, we visited the ‘Mae Tao Clinic’ again, where we were given a detailed tour by one of the long time employees. During this tour he showed us the countless rooms specified for a certain illness or disease ranging from malaria to dengue fever. It was said that the clinic delivered up to 90 births a week and treat hundreds of people who cannot afford the local hospital.

After Mae Tao Clinic, we then continued and visited an organization known as SAW ‘Social Action for Women’ that helps women and children suffered from HIV/AIDS and also help women and children who are victims of domestic violence.  The organization houses 300 people, 179 of which are children and the Gift of Happiness charity tries to provide some assistance for those people as often as possible.

From there, we travelled directly to a small, migrant school for street kids in the area. The school was extremely basic and had just one classroom. The school held roughly 30 children when we arrived. When it is fully opened it holds around 65 children. We supplied the school with ‘bubble-tea slushys’ for each of the students and teachers while Eddie and his assistants talked to the school Director about the school bus that was given by the charity in 2013. The children were extremely grateful for everything and perused to thank us all individually for what we had given them.

Then we went across town again for lunch at a fried chicken restaurant near the small airport next to the Friendship Bridge that goes into Burma.

After lunch we visited the last school of the trip, called ‘New Wave Learning Centre’. Out of all the schools and other locations we visited in the trip, this was the most advanced.  Each child had their own uniform and spoke relatively clear English when we asked them how they were. ‘Clown Eckie’ performed a show in order to entertain the children, which you could tell from the children’s reactions, they very much enjoyed. We then donated numerous toys, education supplies and adult clothes for the children’s parents. The children, once again were very grateful and asked us to come back soon.

The following day we left Mae Sot and travelled back to Bangkok with a few stops along the way at a mountainside market and roadside restaurant about half way back.

The entire trip made us all see how fortunate and privileged we are and we thanked the Gift of happiness Foundation for giving us the opportunity to experience all this.

Reported by,
Abi Barton, Ellen Hagelauer
COOOLL THANKS 

Thailand stories of interest to Gift of Happiness Foundation:
Bangkok Charity providing new uniforms for needy kids
Trafficker of Rose-Selling Children on Khaosan Road Arrested 
Thailand Profile
Curfew Lifted in Thailand
R.I.P. Gerry Gofin (Carole King's ex-husband dies at 75)
Solar-Powered Pump Makers Want to Bring Clean Water to Millions Who Need It

You can order just one or two up-to as many as your group, club, company or society can manage to buy. It's easy and cheap and possibly the most worthwhile thing you can do for just the price of a coffer with a friend!

Project Mae Sot - Gift of Happiness Foundation
Thai police arrest 'taunting' anti-coup activist
Thailand junta claims neighbours' backing
Soap for needy kids supplied by Gilchrist & Soames

Thailand story of interest to Gift of Happiness Foundation:
JUNTA'S ROADMAP. Push for Gross National Happiness
RIP. Maya Angelou