One of the hundreds of children we gave tons of happiness to last week
Be sure to enjoy seeing what we have achieved in the last week or so.
Scroll down to see this great report with loads of pictures and acknowledgements.
'Must Read'
Gift of Happiness project in Mae Sot, Tak province, Thailand
29 June to 04 July. 2013.
Gift of Happiness project in Mae Sot, Tak province, Thailand
29 June to 04 July. 2013.
First of all...We really want to acknowledge these great supporters of our work.
We have been delighted to receive some fantastic support from several corporate and small companies who helped us bring tons more happiness to over a thousand children and many more people during our latest trip to the Thai/Burma border.
We have been delighted to receive some fantastic support from several corporate and small companies who helped us bring tons more happiness to over a thousand children and many more people during our latest trip to the Thai/Burma border.
We also wish to thank all the wonderful people (Too many to name) who brought so much to our charity shop in the lead-up to this aid and show giving project.
We collected and you gave around three tons of very useful clothes, educational equipment, hygiene/toiletry supplies, toys and even 100's of rain suits to help the poor people in the north.
Here's a great report from one of the volunteers who helped to sort all those goods and joined us on our epic trip to northern Thailand.
Report by Linda Ambrose
The preparation for the trip begins way before the actual field trip! I spent many hours in the Gift of Happiness shop and drop-off point in Bangkok sorting donated items. On Saturday 29th June and before we actually travelled a couple of days later, all the sorted items had to be transported to a volunteer’s warehouse on the outskirts of Bangkok. From there, we were fortunate enough to have access to a truck donated by DHL’s CSR division to help us transport the items onto Mae Sot on Sunday 30th June. This month we had around 2/3 tons of items so it was a big trip.
The preparation for the trip begins way before the actual field trip! I spent many hours in the Gift of Happiness shop and drop-off point in Bangkok sorting donated items. On Saturday 29th June and before we actually travelled a couple of days later, all the sorted items had to be transported to a volunteer’s warehouse on the outskirts of Bangkok. From there, we were fortunate enough to have access to a truck donated by DHL’s CSR division to help us transport the items onto Mae Sot on Sunday 30th June. This month we had around 2/3 tons of items so it was a big trip.
Giving tons of goodies for these kids
Day 1 of my attendance Monday 01.st July:
4 of us, Simon, K’ Amarin, Eddie and I, arrived at the shop to load all clown Eckie’s performance gear into Eddie’s happy truck. There were more donated items delivered since the last sorting session on Saturday and so these were quickly loaded too so I could sort them at the hotel later that evening. We set off for the 7 hour trip around 10.30am to head north to Mae Sot. The journey went well with not much traffic delay and we arrived at our hotel early evening where we met with 2 other volunteers, Joe & his son Alex. I wasn't too sure what the hotel facilities would be like as it was very inexpensive and was pleasantly surprised at how clean and welcoming it was. We unloaded the trucks and had a good laugh as we searched for our beds whilst we shared our accommodation with donated goods that had been delivered by DHL!
4 of us, Simon, K’ Amarin, Eddie and I, arrived at the shop to load all clown Eckie’s performance gear into Eddie’s happy truck. There were more donated items delivered since the last sorting session on Saturday and so these were quickly loaded too so I could sort them at the hotel later that evening. We set off for the 7 hour trip around 10.30am to head north to Mae Sot. The journey went well with not much traffic delay and we arrived at our hotel early evening where we met with 2 other volunteers, Joe & his son Alex. I wasn't too sure what the hotel facilities would be like as it was very inexpensive and was pleasantly surprised at how clean and welcoming it was. We unloaded the trucks and had a good laugh as we searched for our beds whilst we shared our accommodation with donated goods that had been delivered by DHL!
Giving to Naung Boh Deh Migrant School in a forested area
Day 2: Tuesday 02.nd July:
After breakfast GOHF local volunteer and representative K’ Kit arrived with his truck and we loaded items for distribution into Eddie, Kit and Joe’s vehicles and headed off for the first of 3 locations scheduled for visits today. We drove through the countryside for around 20 Km from Mae Sot into a rural area along pretty dilapidated “roads” and whilst it was a somewhat bumpy ride, I enjoyed the rich lushness of the crops – taro, castor, corn, some sugar and of course rice paddies.
Finally we turned off road before arriving at our first school - the bamboo built Naung Boh Deh Migrant School in a forested area. This was my first field trip and so I wasn't sure what the conditions would be like. Naung Boh Deh means “yellow lotus in in the pond” but there were really no hints in the name for the conditions at the school. It seemed all the 100+ students were excited to see us as were the teachers. Last month the children were treated to a clown performance and new school uniforms, so this month the trip was to deliver more donated items only.
The children helped to unload the donated items from the trucks and seemed pleased with the educational goods, toys, essential items such as toothpaste, brushes and soaps. I was very impressed at how these impoverished kids, who have very little were so well behaved and waited patiently before diving into the items – a couple of lads just couldn't resist the football though – just looking of course.
After breakfast GOHF local volunteer and representative K’ Kit arrived with his truck and we loaded items for distribution into Eddie, Kit and Joe’s vehicles and headed off for the first of 3 locations scheduled for visits today. We drove through the countryside for around 20 Km from Mae Sot into a rural area along pretty dilapidated “roads” and whilst it was a somewhat bumpy ride, I enjoyed the rich lushness of the crops – taro, castor, corn, some sugar and of course rice paddies.
Finally we turned off road before arriving at our first school - the bamboo built Naung Boh Deh Migrant School in a forested area. This was my first field trip and so I wasn't sure what the conditions would be like. Naung Boh Deh means “yellow lotus in in the pond” but there were really no hints in the name for the conditions at the school. It seemed all the 100+ students were excited to see us as were the teachers. Last month the children were treated to a clown performance and new school uniforms, so this month the trip was to deliver more donated items only.
The children helped to unload the donated items from the trucks and seemed pleased with the educational goods, toys, essential items such as toothpaste, brushes and soaps. I was very impressed at how these impoverished kids, who have very little were so well behaved and waited patiently before diving into the items – a couple of lads just couldn't resist the football though – just looking of course.
Buying food for 'SAW' Women & Children with HIV/AIDS
We set off back towards Mae Sot where we had to stop-off at a garage to get Eddie’s car fixed following damage done to the brakes on the rough road. Leaving the car in the good hands of the Toyota garage, we were met by our local Burmese guide and old friend of the foundation, Mr. Thant Zin, representing SAW (Social Action for Women), who escorted us to a women & children’s safe house. There are around 20 women and 9 children in this safe house mostly suffering from AIDS or HIV infection.
We delivered donated toiletries, clothing and much needed high protein foodstuffs and then went to the market to buy dried fish, pork, lentils & beans for the women and children in the refuge.
We delivered donated toiletries, clothing and much needed high protein foodstuffs and then went to the market to buy dried fish, pork, lentils & beans for the women and children in the refuge.
Giving to P’ Yan Daung Migrant School
After som tum and chicken lunch in a local restaurant we travelled out of town again to a small forest dwellers community to P’ Yan Daung Migrant School where there are 200+ students and 11 teachers. I was pleasantly surprised to meet some gap-year teenagers from Switzerland who were volunteering in the school for 2 months. P’Yanaung means “Buddha’s Mountain” especially meaningful for this school located at the foot of a holy mountain according to local tradition. As well as distributing educational items, toiletries, clothes and of course the much welcomed toys, the children, community families, elders and teachers were all treated to a clown performance, which was greatly enjoyed by all. So lovely to see the laughter and joy in this impoverished location. We set off back to Mae Sot leaving behind us a group of kids still laughing from the clown antics and enjoying the donated items – especially, of course the footballs and takraw rattan balls – boys will be boys everywhere.
Giving to Mae Tao Clinic
Day 3: Wednesday 03.rd July:
After breakfast we loaded the vehicles again for items to be delivered to Mae Tao clinic in Tak, founded and run by Magsaysay laureate Dr Cynthia Maung. As this was my first field trip with GOHF, I was especially interested to see the clinic and was treated to a guided tour by one of the Burmese managers.
I was really impressed to see the directors had clearly established all departments routinely seen in a hospital treating some 250 in-patients and many more out-patients every day and were attempting to meet the needs of patients, mostly migrant workers – some of whom walk or are carried for many days to seek medical attention.
As impressed as I was, I was also deeply dismayed to see the limited resources to meet these needs. I was saddened to see the stock cupboard in the dispensary (pharmacy) as I had seen the large queue of people waiting outside and could easily estimate there was nowhere near enough to go around. The bedding in the ward areas for example very basic and I’ll never worry about visiting my high tech dentist again without remembering the gratitude of patients for the opportunity to sit in this chair to see the dentist.
Nevertheless, there was deep gratitude from the friendly staff for all the donated clothing, toiletries, health educational materials clean room clothing, latex gloves and other essential items. I really felt as if all the hard work sorting, travelling, loading and unloading vehicles was so worthwhile.
After breakfast we loaded the vehicles again for items to be delivered to Mae Tao clinic in Tak, founded and run by Magsaysay laureate Dr Cynthia Maung. As this was my first field trip with GOHF, I was especially interested to see the clinic and was treated to a guided tour by one of the Burmese managers.
I was really impressed to see the directors had clearly established all departments routinely seen in a hospital treating some 250 in-patients and many more out-patients every day and were attempting to meet the needs of patients, mostly migrant workers – some of whom walk or are carried for many days to seek medical attention.
As impressed as I was, I was also deeply dismayed to see the limited resources to meet these needs. I was saddened to see the stock cupboard in the dispensary (pharmacy) as I had seen the large queue of people waiting outside and could easily estimate there was nowhere near enough to go around. The bedding in the ward areas for example very basic and I’ll never worry about visiting my high tech dentist again without remembering the gratitude of patients for the opportunity to sit in this chair to see the dentist.
Nevertheless, there was deep gratitude from the friendly staff for all the donated clothing, toiletries, health educational materials clean room clothing, latex gloves and other essential items. I really felt as if all the hard work sorting, travelling, loading and unloading vehicles was so worthwhile.
Giving to remote Hope School – Ban Pa Kha Mai school
After the visit to Mae Tao clinic we returned to the hotel to load vehicles again and set off 50Km or so into the rural countryside once again.
Arriving at the remote Hope School – Ban Pa Kha Mai school, it quickly became clear that we couldn't drive right up to the building and so the kids clambered up the hill to help unload and transport vehicle contents into the school room. The donated educational materials, books, clothing, toys and essential toiletries were very gratefully received and it was clear these items were sorely needed in this rural community high up in the remote mountainous agricultural area. The 200 or so children were very excited as this would be the first visit to the school by GOHF and they were clearly eagerly looking forwards to the clown performance.
Under guidance from their teachers the children cleared the classroom, swept the floor, laid out some matting and settled down to wait patiently for us to set up the performance equipment. We entertained the waiting children with bubbles and jolly music and then they cheered as clown Eckie made his entrance. Great fun, laughter and giggles erupted from the children throughout the performance as they engaged in all the tricks and antics. It was late when we set of to return to Mae Sot and so the planned trip to Parami Migrant School in Mae Sot had to be postponed.
Arriving at the remote Hope School – Ban Pa Kha Mai school, it quickly became clear that we couldn't drive right up to the building and so the kids clambered up the hill to help unload and transport vehicle contents into the school room. The donated educational materials, books, clothing, toys and essential toiletries were very gratefully received and it was clear these items were sorely needed in this rural community high up in the remote mountainous agricultural area. The 200 or so children were very excited as this would be the first visit to the school by GOHF and they were clearly eagerly looking forwards to the clown performance.
Under guidance from their teachers the children cleared the classroom, swept the floor, laid out some matting and settled down to wait patiently for us to set up the performance equipment. We entertained the waiting children with bubbles and jolly music and then they cheered as clown Eckie made his entrance. Great fun, laughter and giggles erupted from the children throughout the performance as they engaged in all the tricks and antics. It was late when we set of to return to Mae Sot and so the planned trip to Parami Migrant School in Mae Sot had to be postponed.
Redistributing half a ton more goods to 12 migrant schools
Final day Thursday 04th.July:
As we couldn't get to the Parami Migrant School as scheduled the previous day we loaded up the vehicles again and headed to a reputable foundation on the outskirts of Mae Sot, Help Without Frontiers. This foundation, through their Rays of Youth programme, also supports the Parami School and agreed to ensure the donated items reached their intended destination. We unloaded donations of educational items, clothing, toys and toiletries from the vehicles for the final time on this trip, said our thanks and good-byes and headed back to the hotel for the final loading of the performance gear before setting off on the 7 hour drive home.
I was dropped-off back in Bangkok around 6.30.pm, tired from loading & unloading 2 tons of donated items, performance gear, hundreds of Km driving and travelling off road – tired but happy and satisfied that all the hard work and collecting and distributing donated items and bringing moments of laughter, happiness and some respite to challenging lives was so worthwhile. Eddie and Simon continued back to the GOHF shop for final unloading.
We’re clearly much luckier than many as we can have time for a rest over the weekend. On Monday, collecting and sorting donated items starts again and plans will begin for the trip next month.
Linda Ambrose, 06.th July 2013.
As we couldn't get to the Parami Migrant School as scheduled the previous day we loaded up the vehicles again and headed to a reputable foundation on the outskirts of Mae Sot, Help Without Frontiers. This foundation, through their Rays of Youth programme, also supports the Parami School and agreed to ensure the donated items reached their intended destination. We unloaded donations of educational items, clothing, toys and toiletries from the vehicles for the final time on this trip, said our thanks and good-byes and headed back to the hotel for the final loading of the performance gear before setting off on the 7 hour drive home.
I was dropped-off back in Bangkok around 6.30.pm, tired from loading & unloading 2 tons of donated items, performance gear, hundreds of Km driving and travelling off road – tired but happy and satisfied that all the hard work and collecting and distributing donated items and bringing moments of laughter, happiness and some respite to challenging lives was so worthwhile. Eddie and Simon continued back to the GOHF shop for final unloading.
We’re clearly much luckier than many as we can have time for a rest over the weekend. On Monday, collecting and sorting donated items starts again and plans will begin for the trip next month.
Linda Ambrose, 06.th July 2013.
It costs a lot for us to keep bringing all this happiness and goods to all those children.
Please help us do more here...
Please help us do more here...
Direct bank transfer donations
Make a direct transfer from anywhere in the world into the
registered bank account of Gift of Happiness Foundation.
AC Name: Gift of Happiness Foundation
Bank: Kasikorn Bank PCL
Branch: BIG-C Super Centre Rama 4 Branch
AC No: 7702101594
AC Type: Savings
Sort Code: 0004
(Donations outside Thailand) Swift code: KASITHBK
Email conformation: [email protected]
Make a direct transfer from anywhere in the world into the
registered bank account of Gift of Happiness Foundation.
AC Name: Gift of Happiness Foundation
Bank: Kasikorn Bank PCL
Branch: BIG-C Super Centre Rama 4 Branch
AC No: 7702101594
AC Type: Savings
Sort Code: 0004
(Donations outside Thailand) Swift code: KASITHBK
Email conformation: [email protected]
