You may have read about the Orphange and their coffee house dreams in my previous blog post. The Baan San Fan Orphange which literally translates to House Built of Dreams is located in the Phang Nga province in a village called Bang Wan and was set up after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami by a lovely couple named Sam & Gai.
Their hospitality has been absolutely amazing, you are really welcomed and made to feel part of the family, I can't thank them enough.
Accommodation is basic but clean. As the only volunteer par two days I pretty much had the volunteer house to myself... Well apart from a few Geckos that I can deal with but the real challenge came when I faced my second biggest fear - slugs. Somehow one had made its way in. Usually at home I would scream and cry, although I was swearing and had sweaty palms I managed to scoop it with a dustpan and get rid of it, even if it did make me feel sick.
Coming from somewhere as busy as the Elephant Sanctuary to here I felt a bit helpless for the first day or two, looking for things to do whilst the children were at school.
June who is 20, has been at the Orphange since she was 13 and now attends university on the weekends in Phuket, so during the week she runs the kitchen, so I couldn't even help there instead I would do the washing up after every meal. Her cooking skills are pretty good, and she even cooked less spicy food just for me!
I got to attend the local primary school one day which was really special. I spent an hour in each class teaching reception - year 6 English. If you thought teaching was an easy job, it isn't. It has certainly put me off having children for a time too! But again it was an amazing experience that I'll probably never have the chance to do again.
On Saturday, Sam drove us all to the beach along with one of their Orphange daughters who has since grown up and left but still visits with her own two year old son. Gai told me she now has 10 grandchildren from her grown up children including a set of twins. Some have now moved far away but she still keeps in contact as much as she possibly can.
Out of the 12 children currently here, 7 have no family at all. I asked Gai if any of the children have contact with their birth parents at all, she said some do, but she prefers if they don't as it tends to make the children sad. In Thailand there is no child protection laws, if a child is given or brought to the orphanage the parent can come back to collect them at any time and there's nothing Sam or Gai can do about it, even if they know the parent isn't capable of caring for the child or if the child is in danger in anyway.
That said, I have never seen happier children. Knowing some have come from difficult backgrounds you'd think there would be pyhscological effects but I didn't see any and I think that's kudos to Sam and Gai - the love and the family unit they provide. Everything they do, is for the children with a huge focus on their future. I also think it's alot to do with a simple life too - when I think of all the kids I know back home they just seem like spoilt brats compared to the Thai children.
Running an Orphange isn't cheap. There is no such thing as free education or NHS in Thailand, plus the cost of feeding and clothing 12 children.
After spending a week here talking to Gai and Sam these are some of the most important projects they would love to achieve soon;
- Insurance (each child at the Orphange to have medical insurance for if they get sick)
- Repair hole in roof (there's a small leak and hole in the roof of the girls house, situated close to the electrics they need expert help in fixing this, preferably before rainy season starts back up again)
- Bathrooms (Plans are currently underway to build four new bathrooms attached to each house. With over 8 in some houses and one bathroom getting ready in the morning can be a struggle)
- Coffee House (as mentioned in my previous blog. There is an out building that would make the perfect coffee shop / cafè, a place to sell their organic products. On Saturday morning, whilst we were eating breakfast two Canadian cyclists stopped as they thought we were a resturant. They were welcomed straight away for a break, breakfast and to use the toilet. So it goes to show it would work)
- Swimming Pool (the children love to swim, and some previous volunteers began to dig a huge hole to make a pool but since then it's just been left. Sam would like to make it into a Natural Lagoon type pool rather than a tiled swimming pool)
If you think you can help with any of these projects of would like to donate please visit; http://www.baansanfan.org
https://www.facebook.com/baansanfan?ref=ts&fref=ts
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