Hoay Maw

Guardian n.

A person lawfully invested with the power, and charged with the obligation, of taking care of and managing the property and rights of a person who, because of age, understanding, or self-control, is considered incapable of administering his or her own affairs.

As mentioned following our last visit, we have been concerned about the legal transfer of guardianship of children coming to and leaving from the children's home.

We have been able to obtain and study a copy of the Thai Child Protection Act (2003). We have also had the opportunity to consult with contacts from our church who are involved in the management of children's homes in Thailand.

In Thailand, life and expectations are very different for children of poor families than for children in the West.

Might you assume that a parent or carer would be committed to enabling a child to obtain the best possible education?

Here, the majority of children from poor families finish school by the age of about 14 (or younger) in order to help earn money to support the wider family. That is if they were fortunate enough to attend school in the first place and even though the Thai law states that children should remain in education until 18.

One girl is aged about 16. Her Mother died when she was a baby. Her Father remarried and the new couple didn't want to keep the baby. She was sent to Grandmother who tried to raise her and teach her in the home as best she could. When Grandmother couldn't cope, the girl came to Hoay Maw. Because she didn't get the chance to attend school until later, she has only completed Elementary education. Now that she is old enough to be "useful", her Father has sent a relative to take her back so that she can work. We didn't have a chance to say goodbye. She used to call us "Mother" and "Father". We were sad that we had no way to get in touch. Would we ever see her again? We decided to pray for her and prayed that if possible, we would meet again.

We were delighted when one day, she spotted us and came running up to us in a shopping centre food court where she was then working. We shared tears of joy. She is now doing well in a new job but her Father tried to persuade her boss to give him an advance of her wage (for gambling). This is despite the fact that she is already giving a significant portion of her wages to him for the support of the family. The Father does not want her to live in his home and so she has to support herself as well. We are thankful for the mercy that the girl's boss is protective of her and that the boss's husband is a policeman who has also offered support. When we travel to Hoay Maw, we are able to visit where she is working and so try to keep in touch to encourage her and pray for her. Meeting at the shopping centre. We gave a copy of the Thai Powerpack CD. The next time she said she had enjoyed it and that it made her want to dance!

Another girl was due to commence High School last month. She has no parents but the people who bought her to Hoay Maw many years ago recently reappeared and asked to take her out. They "persuaded" her to stay with them. She said on the phone that she wanted to get a job and not return to Hoay Maw.

It is a huge temptation for young people when they see their peers begin to earn money and buy nicer clothes they want to do the same.

We were dismayed when we heard that this girl is now in Pattaya. If you know Thailand then you can probably work out what that means. We pray now that if possible we can get in touch again.

This is why we want to take all measures possible to try and secure the legal guardianship over the children.

On this visit we were able to have very useful talks with Ps Joseph and Paul and Rattanaporn who were all grateful to be able to become better informed of the law regarding the protection of children. We emphasized that the law is not designed to be a burden but rather to protect children and to empower the rightful guardian to fulfil their responsibility to care and protect.

We have the opportunity to obtain policy documents in Thai and English from our local contacts.

We aim to help Paul and Rattanaporn put these policies in place for the benefit of the children.

WATER

On Thurs 6th May we travelled up to Hoay Maw together with our Thai co-worker Niti. We also took our English good friend Simon who has expertise in rural water issues.

Adrian and Simon spent the day working on continued improvements in the plumbing.

They serviced the 2nd original water filter to improve the domestic water supply. They made further repairs on pipework and repaired or replaced all of the taps in the teaching area.

It was still dry season and there was a shortage of water supply to the home as well as to the village and surrounding region. We considered that we might make a pump available for them to pump water from the stream below the village to fill up plastic bins/tanks in the back of a pick-up truck and drive the water up to the home.

Even in the housing village where we live in Chiang Mai, the water supply was cut for about a week. Because we have 3 large storage tanks, we were able to keep going by being very careful to minimise our water usage. Measures included going down to the school pool (they have their own well) to shower in the evenings and flushing only when absolutely necessary! Other friends who had smaller tanks ran out of water. They had to go out to eat and shower, etc. and eventually paid for a water tanker to deliver a load of water to refill their tank.

Eventually the water supply was restored and then a few days after that the rainy season began.

Now, thankfully Hoay Maw has a little more water though still not yet enough.

EDUCATION

Meanwhile, Niti and Jenny spent time with Paul and Rattanaporn.

Our aim was to find out the requirements of registration fees, school uniforms and supplies needed for the new school year (commencing mid-May).

We were able to do this and are so thankful for donations from Taiwanese supporters in Taiwan and Calgary and also funds for school uniforms from Links Gifts .

It is part of our vision to enable the children to have the opportunity of an education which is a key to a better future.

GUARDIANSHIP

As we talked, some issues of serious concern arose.. As expected, quite a few children had graduated from school and had left the home. But more children than expected had left. Some of the children had been taken back by their relatives and will be required to work thus being denied the opportunity to complete or further their education.

Two older girls had been taken, not by their parents (they are true orphans) but by the family who originally brought them to the home.

We realised that the authority of Paul and Rattanaporn in terms of "legal guardianship" of the children is not clear. We need to research and gain tighter control of this area.

Meeting the new girls

Getting to know you

Also of concern was that Ps. Joseph had accepted 17 new children from a distant province. The children are true orphans. They were very friendly and good-natured and had a strong faith. It was a blessing to fellowship with them, but a concern that they have been moved so far from their ethnic community.

We plan to investigate this further and to directly address the area of control of coming and going of children to the home.

WORSHIP

in the evening we met with the children in the Church. We had a time of worship using the Powerpack CD. Simon told the story of David and Goliath getting the children involved in drama and Adrian in the role of Goliath.

We finished by praying for each of the children.

On Apr 10th, Adrian, Snorre and Anders went up to Hoay Maw to install the new water filter tank.

New tools

Filter tank

Filtration supplies

Money for this has been provided by Sue and Chris Moss's small group at Arun Community Church and a further generous donation has been made by a senior Taiwanese lady in Calgary (Richard's Mother).

The guys set off early at 5am to make the most of the day. It was hot work!

Clean up!

Inspection

Helping Hands

• Installed the new filter tank with activated carbon to provide safe drinking water
• Replaced old pipework
• Cleaned out large concrete settling tank
• Modified the piping within the settling tank using a "snorkel" effect to lower the inlet and raise the outlet
• Installed pre-filter module inline before settling tank to filter out major silt from the mountain water
• Serviced one of the old water filter tanks to provide clean domestic water for washing dishes, clothes and for bathrooms, etc

Pre-filter

Inlet distributor

Activated carbon

There is some further piping to be replaced and some further plumbing repair sto undertaken which Adrian will do next time.

It was great for the guys to be able to work together with Paul and the older boys who were enthusiastic and practical.

Many hands!

New pipework

Teamwork

It is a huge blessing to be able to ensure clean and safe water for the children. We are very grateful to those who have provided resources to enable this to happen.

Kitchen tap

Testing!

Further repairs needed

It is still an issue that in the dry season, there is inadequate water supply not only for the home but for the village and whole surrounding region.

The local council does not seem inclined to do anything about it.

Meanwhile, work remaining, which we hope to complete within a few weeks:

• Serviced second old water filter tank
• Modify/fix existing pipework so that all site water is filtered
• Replace/repair existing kitchen/washroom/bathroom water taps
• Any other plumbing repairs/servicing that need doing.

So, anybody fancy a plumbing trip? 5am start... unfortunately we cannot pay the $200/hour that American plumbers get, or the £75/hour in the UK...but you will get free drinks (water).

At Easter time we were able to visit Hoay Maw and to do activities with the children and worship together.

Another Norwegian family have visited Thailand and have been helping raise support for Hoay Maw.

At Easter, the Mum, Laila-Marie, and 9 month old baby David made a two week trip to Thailand leaving Dad, Arild, and older children in Norway. We thought that Laila-Marie was incredibly brave to make the trip but she managed amazingly driving herself around. Laila-Marie and David joined us on this Easter visit.

We were also blessed to have Branom from COC House of Praise to help us translate. We did a craft activity of a hand-print butterfly and a paper-chain caterpillar. It was a lot of fun.

In the church, we told the story of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" which is a wonderful illustration of new life in Christ (appropriate for Easter). Branom also shared from the Bible.

The children were excited to sing the Powerpack songs again.

Laila-Marie shared with the children about how her family has a heart to help the children at Hoay Maw, and also how her family has a dream to come out to Thailand longer term to help.

It was very moving when the children from Hoay Maw, gathered around Laila-Marie and sleeping baby David and prayed that God would guide them and open doors for them to serve in the future and provide for their needs in every way.

Laila-Marie has provided money for the egg chickens to be replaced. She has also raised money through a memorial fund for her sister who died earlier this year. That money will go towards the Traffic Light Appeal.

This April was the large UK conference Spring Harvest 2010. Last year, we were privileged that Hoay Maw was selected as the offering focus for the groups for children aged 11 years and under.

We produced three video stories narrated by our daughter Jessica. The children were encouraged to be Nation Shakers and that by praying, giving and caring, they could make a difference.

And make a difference they did by raising an amazing £8,000. This is the most significant funding that we have received for Hoay Maw.

We were asked to produce some feedback for this years event. Unfortunately we were quite limited for time and also did not have the professional input of "Video Vairam", but we were able to put together a summary of how the Spring Harvest offering has been used.

Here is the video:

Areas that have been helped include:

Learning

• School costs for each of the children for the whole school year (including registration fees, uniforms and school supplies).

Living

• Storage for the children's clothes
• The bedrooms have been decorated and new false ceilings installed
• New cooking pots, plates and utensils
• More nutritious food
• Health and hygiene supplies e.g. soap, shampoo, toothpaste

Working

• Repair and stock mushroom farm
• Water tank and new seeds for vegetable garden
• New natural fish pond

In addition we have been able to allocate £2,000 towards the purchase of a vehicle for the home, (see Traffic Light Appeal).

A vehicle would be able to transport older children to high school enabling them to continue from grades 10-12. Without this opportunity, the children can easily be drawn into inappropriate employment.

A vehicle will also be able to help transport goods to the market to sell to generate income for the home.

We hope that the children had a great time at Spring Harvest this year and we are so grateful for the difference that the children's gifts have made.

Thank you Spring Harvest, God Bless you!

Some good connections between Hoay Maw and Taiwanese Christians have been made. The area where Hoay Maw id situated is primarily Chinese speaking although it is in Thailand and the children attend Thai school. This means that the Taiwanese can communicate well with the children and staff.

A Taiwanese family from Canada, Richard and Judith and their children, spent three years in Taiwan on mission. In many ways, this family has a lot in common with us as they were self-supporting through IT work. During their time in Taiwan, they came with their Taiwanese Church to visit Hoay Maw.

Now that the family are back in Canada, they still have a heart to be involved with Hoay Maw and so does the church from Taiwan.

It was Judith and Richard's daughter, Lauren, who narrated the Hoay Maw videos in Mandarin.

In Feb there was an opportunity for Judith to bring a team from Calgary, together with a team from the Taiwanese church to visit Hoay Maw.

On Feb 17th we went to Hoay Maw to meet the Taiwanese and Canadian team.

We had the opportunity to discuss with Paul and Rattanaporn about their vision for the home.

• To provide for the physical needs of the children
• To enable the children to have an education up to the age of 18
• To bring up the children in God's love
• To equip the children to carry the gospel to their communities in the future

We also had the opportunity to review the ongoing budget. The regular income is still probably at half the ideal level, however Rattanaporn has done a good job in managing finances and keeping them out of debt. Staffing is at a lower level than ideal. They are not always able to have protein although the egg and fish projects have assisted in providing a more regular supply of protein.

A particular area that the Taiwanese have a heart to help with is to enable the children to continue in education beyond grade 9 up to grade 12.

They have set up a fund for this purpose.

In addition, the Taiwanese have allocated funds to help with the general living expenses, a small medical fund and a donation towards a vehicle.

A vehicle is required to be able to transport the older children to High School. We have set up a Traffic Light Appeal for this purpose. Without the opportunity to complete their education, the children can very easily find themselves coerced into inappropriate employment and are also vulnerable to the extensive trafficking industry in this region.

During the team's visit, they were able to take a number of the children to visit the hospital clinic in Chiang Rai. Several children had ear problems, e.g. infections. One boy had had a bead stuck in his ear for over 2 years which had begun to cause pain. They were able to remove the offending object!

The team did many enriching activities with the children and we are very happy to be able to partner together for the benefit of the children at Hoay Maw.

English Video

Mandarin Video (different to above and also fun to watch)

Thank you Taiwanese and Calgary teams - you are Nation Shakers!

We are blessed to have connections with several Norwegians who also have a heart for Hoay Maw. A Norwegian family, Snorre, Karine, Keilyn, Elise and Sondre, have spent 6 months in Thailand. This has been a time to explore whether they will return for a longer term.

Their time in Thailand has been a great blessing. They are a very capable and versatile family with willing hearts to serve.

The family have visited Hoay Maw on several occasions. They have been involved in the Powerpack conference in January.

One area that has been a great blessing is that Snorre and Karine have been able to set up a sewing project for a group of older children.

For some time we have been aware that Hoay Maw had some sewing machines stored away but they didn't have anyone to teach the children how to use them.

Firstly, Snorre brought the machines down to Chiang Mai. He managed to find "a sewing machine shop" and was able to purchase the necessary parts to repair the machines. They took the machines back up to Hoay Maw and set them up in a room next to the dining area. (They moved the computer lab into another room).

On about four occasions, Snorre and Karine were able to run training sessions for a group of children. The youngsters were able to make some items, such as bags, for themselves, and were getting to a good standard. It was a reflection that the children had enjoyed the Powerpack conference as one girl wrote "Powerpack" in Thai on her bag. The children are still singing the songs!

This is an excellent beginning and the children involved have already gained new skills and derived a lot of satisfaction from what they have acheived. There are thoughts to develop this further into enabling the children to repair and make their own clothes, or to make items that could be sold in the International community here or overseas in order to help raise awareness and support.

At the moment, Snorre and family are back in Norway for a period but they are due to return to Thailand in August. We look forward to their return and for their further involvement in Hoay Maw as well as other areas.

On Jan 6th we visited Hoay Maw to review the situation there. We haven't had time to keep up with the web-site but thought it would be good to give an update.

Staff:

We reviewed the current staff team.

Paul and Rattanaporn continue to manage the staff team, the home and the finances.

There is a new couple who have replaced the house parents who left. Tcheun Ping (the husband) is good at DIY which is an asset around the home. He has already done some plumbing repairs and has helped build some new storage for the children's clothes with support from the Spring Harvest offering. Dtaa Mieui is able to do the cooking and is a good cook.

Seu Lan helps care for the children and also leads worship. He helps manage the vegetable crops.

This makes a small team of five which is quite minimal to care for the 80 children and the running of the home.

We have taken the difficult decision to stop giving "wages" to two of the older girls who work quite hard and share leadership responsibilities. One reason is that the girls will also be receiving sponsorship to enable them to attend high school. Because the staff team is small, all of the children need to take a share in work around the home and all of the older children are being encouraged to develop leadership skills.

The result is that we have reduced the overall cost of the monthly wages (11,400 baht, £230, $345) which was necessary because the regular support has decreased due to the unfavourable exchange rate.

Projects:

We have decided to discontinue the pig project for the time being as the cost of pork has reduced and the cost of pig food has increased. This has also meant that we no longer require a worker for the pigs. The remaining pigs and piglets will be sold and will generate enough money to pay for the children's computer fee at school for this year.

Some funds that had been available for the pig food will now be used to purchase chicken food for the egg farm.

The egg farm continues to produce eggs for the children to eat. It is time to replace the chickens though as they have reached the end of their prime laying time. We are grateful for support from the Anaensen family in Norway for that. We would still like to find a more economic way to feed the chickens as the proprietary food from CP is expensive.

Eggs ready to go to market

The shitake mushrooms grew well during the wet season. These mushrooms are a high value product which generate money to buy further nutritious food for the children. We intend to continue the mushroom farm and next rainy season we will decide whether to grow the more prolific ordinary variety for the children to eat, or whether to grow the shitake mushrooms to generate income.

When the rainy season starts again, a new crop of vegetables will be planted. We will also look into setting up another natural fish pond for raising catfish which is a good source of protein for the children.

At Hoay Maw, we are continually aiming to establish and develop projects that will be of sustainable benefit to the children at Hoay Maw and their community.

In March 2008 we brought Paul and Rattanaporn (who manage the home) to Chiang Mai. We took them to visit the Mae Tang fish farm to learn more about what is involved in establishing and running a fish farm. (Full story). There was potential to sell some of the fish (~1/3) in order to cover costs for raising the next batch. The primary value would be in providing regular nutritious food for the children as well as some income generation potential.

In Aug 2008, Paul approached World Vision with a request for assistance to establish a fish pond at the children's home. A site was identified and a budget drawn up. The total cost would be ~£1300, 70% of which will be funded by World Vision. A further 30% (~£400) needed to be raised.

We were delighted and grateful when Links International offered to provide the remaining funds.

The design of the pond was to be concrete construction, 24m by 8m divided into three ponds.

Some time elapsed before the funds were released by World Vision but eventually in June 2009, construction of the footings for the concrete pond commenced.

In September 2009 we visited (with Julia from ACC). The pond had been completed but it was disappointing to find that the wall at the rear of the centre section had subsided. The concrete pond had some structural problems which need to be addressed but was due to be stocked in the near future.

On our next visit, the pond had been given an extra outer wall and the gap filled with concrete to provide extra support.

Two sections of the pond had been stocked with fingerling catfish that were already thriving. One of the boys has been given the responsibility of feeding these fish.

On our visit in Oct 2009 they had covered the pond with shading to protect the fish from the hot sun. We heard that the fish are now quite big and the children are regularly eating the fish.

Meanwhile, Ps Joseph was able to purchase some marshy land at a very good price (it is near a burial site which no one else wants). They have dug their own natural pond and set up nets to raise tabtim. These fish are slower growing than the catfish but will fetch a higher price for sale.

Unfortunately, in Dec, after water escaped from a small leak, the ground beneath the concrete pond became water logged which led to a collapse of the wall at 2am with some commotion! Most of the fish from that cycle had already been eaten, but not wanting to waste any, the children leapt up from bed and run down the mountain catching the fish and bringing them back into the other tanks. They proudly told us that they ate all of the fish!

The situation of the concrete pond has turned out to be problematic, however, the first cycle of raising catfish proved successful.

The tabtim pond is stable but the fish are slow growing and the pond is less convenient for the children to look after. The catfish pond is unstable but the catfish thrived, were cheap to feed and were an excellent source of protein for the children.

We have found that in the dry season it is a struggle to maintain enough water. We will therefore look to establish a new site for the catfish and focus on this during the rainy season.

This is a learning process and we thank everyone who has supported this.

We feel that the raising of catfish will contribute significantly to the nutrition of the children and to reduce food bills.