WE GO A LONG WAY TO GIVE HAPPINESS!
Aid & Show Giving Project 23 – 28 March 2014.
Gift of Happiness Foundation Project Report 31/03/14:
Days 1 - 2 - 3.
This six day project included pre & post mission preparation, driving & breakdown days, plus visits to four remote hill-tribe communities located close to the Thai/Burma border and in jungles within a 2 hour off-road 4x4 drive from Sangkhlaburi. We also visited the One Sky Foundation store rooms where our two truckloads of goods for the children were sorted ready for redistribution during and after the project. There were no extra volunteers attending this project due to illness. We hired two drivers and as usual, we used the GOHF Director’s own truck to transport donations and show equipment on this trip. We also organized an extra vehicle, supplied by a good friend of the foundation. We gave donated toys, clothing, educational equipment, candies and some medical supplies were given by a Swedish Medical Doctor. Donations of goods came from the children of Bromsgrove International Early Years School, Prudential via Junior Achievement Thailand, Len Penn Music Academy Bangkok and hundreds of items donated by many individuals and families in Bangkok and other cities worldwide.
Days 1 - 2 - 3.
This six day project included pre & post mission preparation, driving & breakdown days, plus visits to four remote hill-tribe communities located close to the Thai/Burma border and in jungles within a 2 hour off-road 4x4 drive from Sangkhlaburi. We also visited the One Sky Foundation store rooms where our two truckloads of goods for the children were sorted ready for redistribution during and after the project. There were no extra volunteers attending this project due to illness. We hired two drivers and as usual, we used the GOHF Director’s own truck to transport donations and show equipment on this trip. We also organized an extra vehicle, supplied by a good friend of the foundation. We gave donated toys, clothing, educational equipment, candies and some medical supplies were given by a Swedish Medical Doctor. Donations of goods came from the children of Bromsgrove International Early Years School, Prudential via Junior Achievement Thailand, Len Penn Music Academy Bangkok and hundreds of items donated by many individuals and families in Bangkok and other cities worldwide.
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All the people we visited are living in very poor or desperately poor situations and in great need of all the support we gave them. The Foundation Director worked alone with the assistance of two drivers acting as roadies and translators. We also collaborated with the One Sky Foundation who gave us a great deal of help in so many ways during this and past projects in the region. One Sky has also recruited a new teacher for one of the isolated villages we visited. This village is located in a place deep into the jungles where the children have been unable to reach any of the schools in the area due to terrible mountain tracks. The villagers have now built a classroom using local materials where the new teacher will start to educate the children. We thank all the team from One Sky Foundation for helping to organize each reach some of the most remote locations we have visited recently.
Sunday 23/03/14:
GOHF Director made his way to the Gift of Happiness warehouse at Sukhumvit 77 (On Nut) Soi 36 and spent about 9 hours sorting goods and loading one of the trucks ready for the trip next day.
Monday 24/03/14:
08-00.am. The Director met two drivers at the warehouse then started to load the second truck with already sorted goods and made everything ready for the long drive to Sangkhlaburi by about 10.00.am.
5-00.pm. We arrived at the One Sky warehouse in Sangkhlaburi and unloaded both trucks so the goods could be re-sorted into manageable loads for the first two jungle locations. This took the staff at One Sky a couple of hours to make sure we were taking the right things to the right places next day and the following day. We checked into the Guest House to freshen-up and gathered at the reception area around 7.30.pm then onto one of the few local restaurants for dinner.
Tuesday 25/03/14:
07-30.am. We left the Guest House and met the One Sky crew at their warehouse where we loaded all goods for the day into our trucks and the One Sky 4x4 off-road truck. On the way to the first jungle location we collected a few of the One Sky volunteers and some of the children they support. Then we soon joined the jungle tracks with conditions that tested our own 4x4 trucks. They coped very well and eventually we made it to the first jungle bamboo hut village called Sam Pan Rai. This is an isolated village where about 35 children are unable to reach any of the schools in or near Sangkhlaburi. We arrived just at the time when the villagers were about to add the last piece of bamboo to complete construction of their brand new school hut. Of course, we were delighted to provide a ‘New School Opening Show’ and give the whole community some educational goods, candies, T shirts, used clothing and toys for the children.
11-30.am We drove back along the jungle tracks and eventually reached the main road that led us back to Sangkhlaburi where we had a simple lunch at a small coffee shop.
1-30.pm. We drove to the next location close to Three Pagodas Pass located 230-km to the north of Kanchanaburi, locally called "Darn Chedi Sam Ong Pass" on the Bilauktaung Mountains bordering Thailand and Burma. The village we visited is called Parai Noog and though it is close to the border crossing it's still very isolated from most modern day amenities. This time we gave loads of goodies to the children from the village and another comical show for all the children, parents and teacher. Then our friends from One Sky Foundation helped by giving free milk to all the children including some who appeared from out of the forest to see what all the fuss was about.
4-00.pm. We drove back to the Sangkhlaburi to spend some time on essential emails using the intermittent internet connection at the Guest House. Dinner at 7-30.pm was another simple meal at a small place where the director recons they make the best Massaman Curry in Thailand.
Sunday 23/03/14:
GOHF Director made his way to the Gift of Happiness warehouse at Sukhumvit 77 (On Nut) Soi 36 and spent about 9 hours sorting goods and loading one of the trucks ready for the trip next day.
Monday 24/03/14:
08-00.am. The Director met two drivers at the warehouse then started to load the second truck with already sorted goods and made everything ready for the long drive to Sangkhlaburi by about 10.00.am.
5-00.pm. We arrived at the One Sky warehouse in Sangkhlaburi and unloaded both trucks so the goods could be re-sorted into manageable loads for the first two jungle locations. This took the staff at One Sky a couple of hours to make sure we were taking the right things to the right places next day and the following day. We checked into the Guest House to freshen-up and gathered at the reception area around 7.30.pm then onto one of the few local restaurants for dinner.
Tuesday 25/03/14:
07-30.am. We left the Guest House and met the One Sky crew at their warehouse where we loaded all goods for the day into our trucks and the One Sky 4x4 off-road truck. On the way to the first jungle location we collected a few of the One Sky volunteers and some of the children they support. Then we soon joined the jungle tracks with conditions that tested our own 4x4 trucks. They coped very well and eventually we made it to the first jungle bamboo hut village called Sam Pan Rai. This is an isolated village where about 35 children are unable to reach any of the schools in or near Sangkhlaburi. We arrived just at the time when the villagers were about to add the last piece of bamboo to complete construction of their brand new school hut. Of course, we were delighted to provide a ‘New School Opening Show’ and give the whole community some educational goods, candies, T shirts, used clothing and toys for the children.
11-30.am We drove back along the jungle tracks and eventually reached the main road that led us back to Sangkhlaburi where we had a simple lunch at a small coffee shop.
1-30.pm. We drove to the next location close to Three Pagodas Pass located 230-km to the north of Kanchanaburi, locally called "Darn Chedi Sam Ong Pass" on the Bilauktaung Mountains bordering Thailand and Burma. The village we visited is called Parai Noog and though it is close to the border crossing it's still very isolated from most modern day amenities. This time we gave loads of goodies to the children from the village and another comical show for all the children, parents and teacher. Then our friends from One Sky Foundation helped by giving free milk to all the children including some who appeared from out of the forest to see what all the fuss was about.
4-00.pm. We drove back to the Sangkhlaburi to spend some time on essential emails using the intermittent internet connection at the Guest House. Dinner at 7-30.pm was another simple meal at a small place where the director recons they make the best Massaman Curry in Thailand.
IT'S COLD UP IN THE MOUNTAINS AND JUNGLES OF THAILAND
Days 4 - 5 & 6.
Wednesday 26/03/14:
07-30.am. We left the Guest House and met the One Sky crew at their warehouse where we loaded all goods for the day into our trucks and the One Sky 4x4 off-road truck. On the way to the first jungle location we collected a few of the One Sky volunteers and some children they support. Then onto the Senepong village school. This is another very remote community where the children are quite isolated and only accessible by off-road vehicles in the dry season and off road motorbikes in the rainy season.
We eventually reached the village clearing deep within the jungle. It was almost impossible to navigate the jungle tracks leading to this high altitude village until it was cleared and made more accessible through the support of Her Majesty Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand when she visited the village recently. Thanks to that initiative we were able to bring the 'Gift of Happiness' to all the children living in this remote community.
Wednesday 26/03/14:
07-30.am. We left the Guest House and met the One Sky crew at their warehouse where we loaded all goods for the day into our trucks and the One Sky 4x4 off-road truck. On the way to the first jungle location we collected a few of the One Sky volunteers and some children they support. Then onto the Senepong village school. This is another very remote community where the children are quite isolated and only accessible by off-road vehicles in the dry season and off road motorbikes in the rainy season.
We eventually reached the village clearing deep within the jungle. It was almost impossible to navigate the jungle tracks leading to this high altitude village until it was cleared and made more accessible through the support of Her Majesty Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand when she visited the village recently. Thanks to that initiative we were able to bring the 'Gift of Happiness' to all the children living in this remote community.
12-00.noon. Lunch of homemade noodles at a villager’s home in the village of Senepong and close to the edge of the village clearing.
1-00.pm. We started the drive back across the river and along tracks that led us to makeshift steep path going up to a small clearing where there is another isolated community called May Chi Jack Children's home. This is a ‘Thai Stateless Hill Tribes Education Center’ and is set-up by Miss Pimjai Maneerat (Buddhist Nun Thaipimsikan). The center houses and educates 65 children originating from the Hmong tribes people. Due to its isolation and lack of electrical supplies, the children have never seen TV or movies and have very few pleasures that children living in towns and cities take for granted. We were happy to give them a once in a lifetime experience of ‘Western Style Slap-Stick Comedy’ that they will never forget and of course they received the usual gifts of milk from Sky Blue and some of the goodies we brought from Bangkok.
4-30pm. Back to the long trek over mountains, more jungles and we finally made it to the main roads that led to Sangkhlaburi and a well-deserved late afternoon rest. Relaxing and emailing were all done back at the Guest House before ending the day with a late dinner at our favorite (Massaman curry) street restaurant in Sangkhlaburi.
Thursday 27/03/14:
09-00.am. We checked-out and paid at the guest house, then onto the only gas station near the town where we topped-up with fuel and headed back to Bangkok by early evening.
1-00.pm. We started the drive back across the river and along tracks that led us to makeshift steep path going up to a small clearing where there is another isolated community called May Chi Jack Children's home. This is a ‘Thai Stateless Hill Tribes Education Center’ and is set-up by Miss Pimjai Maneerat (Buddhist Nun Thaipimsikan). The center houses and educates 65 children originating from the Hmong tribes people. Due to its isolation and lack of electrical supplies, the children have never seen TV or movies and have very few pleasures that children living in towns and cities take for granted. We were happy to give them a once in a lifetime experience of ‘Western Style Slap-Stick Comedy’ that they will never forget and of course they received the usual gifts of milk from Sky Blue and some of the goodies we brought from Bangkok.
4-30pm. Back to the long trek over mountains, more jungles and we finally made it to the main roads that led to Sangkhlaburi and a well-deserved late afternoon rest. Relaxing and emailing were all done back at the Guest House before ending the day with a late dinner at our favorite (Massaman curry) street restaurant in Sangkhlaburi.
Thursday 27/03/14:
09-00.am. We checked-out and paid at the guest house, then onto the only gas station near the town where we topped-up with fuel and headed back to Bangkok by early evening.
Friday 27/03/14:
06-00.am. Our Director had to get ready to meet-up with the Foundation Lawyer & Accountant to make sure everything went smoothly the Thai Government Charities Office while we were away. By lunchtime all was cleared with a clean bill of health and associated documents sorted out for one more year at the registration office.
Note; "The rules for a properly registered charity in Thailand are very strict and we need to pay constant attention to new up-dates and regulations".
2-00.pm. Back to the GOHF warehouse/Office to write Government reports, revamp and repair damaged show equipment, vehicles and laundry following our epic journeys through the jungles and long roads to and from the North of Thailand.
06-00.am. Our Director had to get ready to meet-up with the Foundation Lawyer & Accountant to make sure everything went smoothly the Thai Government Charities Office while we were away. By lunchtime all was cleared with a clean bill of health and associated documents sorted out for one more year at the registration office.
Note; "The rules for a properly registered charity in Thailand are very strict and we need to pay constant attention to new up-dates and regulations".
2-00.pm. Back to the GOHF warehouse/Office to write Government reports, revamp and repair damaged show equipment, vehicles and laundry following our epic journeys through the jungles and long roads to and from the North of Thailand.
Gift of Happiness Foundation:
A registered charity in the Kingdom of Thailand.
Number: K T 1914. VAT: 3-0337-6259-4.
Member of the League of Foundations of Thailand under the Royal Patronage of
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Gift of Happiness Foundation.
END REPORT - GOHF ADMIN 31/03/14.
| Next project to Mae Sot, N. Thailand late April 2014. Volunteers are welcome to join us and experience helping some of the neediest children in Thailand. email: [email protected] NEXT TIME YOUR AT THE ATM... |  It's easy to donate goods or money for our next Aid & Show Giving project. |
