A big THANK YOU to Martin Dahlman and Drivkraft Solna and all of you who came to sweat in support of Happy Child Home.
We had a great evening with a lot a laughter and sweat - all for the benefit of our children.
The generous contributions from all of you goes straight into the running costs for Happy Child Home, i.e. school fees, insurances, food, health care etc.
We cannot thank you enough.
Here comes a greeting from a very happy Nun, who has now found out that he has been accepted into his education at Mae Fah Luang University and that he has sponsors who enable his education.
Hello I'm Nun.
I will finish high school in a few months.
Now I have got accepted to Mae Fah Luang University to go study bachelor degree in Aviation business management.
I would like to say thank you to all of my sponsor for giving me this opportunity - a colorful life and great education!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for helping Happy Child Home and all of us living here.
I can't thank you enough for your help. And I will do my best!
Thank you!
Do you want to give yourself or a friend a fragrant gift and at the same time give one of our children 19 meals, you can buy the candle from their online store https://www.minilla.se/hemmet/minilla/doftljus-gor-gott-fa- good-lemongrass
If you live in Stockholm, we suggest you visit their lovely shop on Fleminggatan 69.
Mia tells herself why they have chosen to do this for us and our children:
“Happy Child Home is an important place for us at MiNilla.
We have been involved since the beginning when the home was build.
It's an amazing feeling to have had the chance to follow the children over the years. It is always just as wonderful to visit, meet the children, the staff and the occasional resident dog.
The knowledge that the children living there, who have been affected in various ways by the injustices of life, gets a chance at a brighter future. Seeing children who did not really have an honest chance, go ahead and even study at university, gives us incredible joy. We at MiNilla are proud to contribute in our way, now with this scented candle where all the profits go to the children. ”
Nun today
Now it is time for Nun, Non's younger brother, to go out into the great wide university world when in April 2020 he will finish high school.
Nun has lived with us since 2005 when he came to us as a shy 5-year-old boy with protruding ears.
If Non was one of our quieter, wiser and very kind boys, his little brother was the exact opposite when he was little. He had great faith in his own ability which resulted in many scrapes both here and there, he didn't sit still for many seconds and he loved to dance.
I remember well when we were bathing in a pool and Nun saw the older kids jumping through the waist rings in the deep end of the pool - Nun immediately thought that he should also try even though he couldn't swim - so we had to jump in and pick him up, definitely tell him not to do it again just to see him do the exact same thing a few seconds later.
He has kept his faith in himself, but now it matches his ability more than it did when he was little. He has gone through elementary school and high school with the highest grades, he has been involved in the project “To be No 1” which one of Thailand's princesses chair and to which high schools can choose to let talented students join. He has also among other things performed theatre in Chinese.
Nun literally wants to try his wings and wants to study Aviation Business Management. The education is available at two different universities - Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai (the university Neng attended) and Suan Dusit University in Hua Hin.
To enable him to do this, we are now seeking sponsors for his scholarship.
If you are interested in giving Nun this opportunity, you can contact me at susannejanson63@gmail.com for more information.
We would like to pay tribute too, and thank our two heroes Johan Stråhle and Thomas Norgren for their fantastic effort! Yes, you read correctly, Johan who started his own skii cross-country event was contacted by Thomas Norgren who wanted to come along and that was lucky!
We are convinced that the famous Vasaloppet is a tough challenge and a real achievement by those who choose to face this challenge, but we dare say that what Johan and Thomas chose to expose themselves to for raising money for Happy child and our children at Barnhem Muang Mai is an even bigger achievement as they had to open their own tracks for the first 60 kilometers because of the snowfall.
If you followed the event you already know that they started at the same time as Vasaloppet at 08.00 am and that they had to finish when it got dark ten hours forty minutes and 76 km later. Johan and Thomas are really glad and they really should be! We are deeply impressed and extremely grateful for what they have done for us.
We also want to thank all of you who answered to the challenge and helped Johan and Thomas to make it. Thanks to you, they were able to see it through and thanks to you, it was worthwhile as the event raised SEK 56,000! Much more than any of us had dared to hope for.
Below you have Johans own words about the event
“Thank you everyone who cheered us up today. We felt your support all the way. I asked for a challenge that matched your response, and we got it by all means. 10 cm new and wet snow that fell profusely, strong wind that made the tracks disappear. We had to open the tracks ourselves in the wet snow and changed turns going first for about 3 km at a time. Without Thomas Norgren joining me, I would not have come very many kilometres.
After just over 60 kilometres in the late afternoon and as we started to wonder how more further we would be able to manage, suddenly a piste machine from Ludvika municipality showed up and we got perfect fine tracks. The speed was doubled, we didn't even have to stack downhill and we suddenly realised that we would be able to make it all the way. However, it got dark before we skied all the 90 kilometers and we had to stop at just over 76 km.
We are both immensely content with the day and the fundraising for Happy Child and the children at Barnhem Muang Mai. You have answered our challenge way over what we dared to hope for.
I cannot mention all of you who contributed by name, but it is you all who supported the children that made this important. However, I especially want to thank Thomas for companionship, track assistance and pepper all the way today. Without you, I would have given up halfway.
Really fun to get to know you. Courageous of you to ask if you could join. Helena for all support during the day. Per, Katarina and Carina for the public support at location. Wonderful!
Ludvika municipality for the piste machine that appeared from nowhere and fixed the tracks when we were close to give up.
Thank you!”
2019 couldn’t have started off better for Happy Child and all our children! The great company Söderberg & Partners has donated 50 000 SEK (173 000 THB) to Happy Child.
This has been done through their Corporate Social Responsibility program.
We are of course extremely thankful for this generous donation and we hope that this can be the start of a long and fruitful collaboration and relation with Söderberg & Partners.
We have a mutual strong belief in the necessity of education for everyone, and also a thrive to help children who would not have access to this without some help and support. It is therefore extra pleasing to be able to share the great success stories of Neng and Non, and their journey from Barnhem to University studies and finally a dream job, for Neng. If Non continues his future studies in the same way he has started, he will for sure also reach that goal when he has graduated.
So thank you Söderberg & Partners and we’re looking forward to our future collaboration!
https://www.soderbergpartners.se/en/om-oss/social-responsibility/
It may seem a little strange to celebrate midsummer in a country where it is always summer, but we are a bit strange and adding another occasion to a party is always the right thing to do.
It became a little extra strange this year when we, that brought the midsummer celebrations to Barnhem - Sussi and Hans - actually forgot when midsummer are supposed to be celebrated and had booked a trip to Bangkok to greet Neng on Midsummer Day. It was Wow who reminded us and we decided to move our midsummer a week a head.
The fact that we did not get to Bangkok is another story.
So yesterday it was time for us to celebrate our midsummer.
As usual, we had the world's finest midsummer pole that we danced and played games around.
Suddenly, Barnhem was filled with jumping little frogs and crows that could not drive, and the games ended with "The Last Couple Out" and "The Sleeping Bear". The Sleeping bear has become everyone's favorite especially if it is Hans who is the bear. After dancing and playing around the midsummer pole we were all tired and sweaty but happy.
In most cases, dancing and playing around the midsummer pole are followed by other crazy games like jumping sack and other games, but it did not happen this year.
Our midsummer this year became considerably calmer but just as cozy. It simply became more focused on socializing and family, much thanks to the fact that our wonderful Bonut came and visited us with her two children, who all of course wanted to cuddle with.
The dinner started with celebrating the birthday of the children who had had their birthday since our last party and then there was a dividend to the children who worked well in school and who were best friends and best at helping out at Barnhem.
It was a pleasure to give "first prize" to our beloved Maew who has had a really hard time at school but who has worked really well and by far has been the best friend and best of the guys to help out at Barnhem.
The children's applause when he received his prize could not be missed - they were with us and were proud of their great friend.
Among the girls, it was our amazing Team that stood out - both in terms of her improvement in school and how she helps out at Barnhem.
And no - neither of the other children was surprised, but everyone reclined and praised their friend.
The dinner was absolutely amazing, just like it's always when Miaoo and Porn are setting up party meals so we ate a little too much everyone.
In other words, it became an amazing day and evening and a great way to wave off Owen as it was time for him to go home to Australia. Of course, it felt a bit sad to see him go away, but we know at the same time that he will come back to us as soon as he can - as he is an important part of our family nowadays.
Sussi and Hans
Hi!
My name is Calle Wollgård.
Almost ten years ago I visited Thailand and Barnhem Muang Mai for the first time in my life. For sure, it was not the last time…
Ten years have now, how crazy it might sound, passed. Many children have come and gone (just like I have), although the soul and everything that Barnhem Muang Mai stands for have never changed but rather grown stronger and stronger over the years. And I can without doubt say that after seeing and experience this in place, this is something that has formed me into what I am today.
By spending more than six months at Barnhem and about two years in total in Thailand, I’ve got a very good insight of how the operations work and how the money are being used to give the children the best and safest childhood.
This fact and all the love I do feel to the people in place made me after my two periods as a volunteer at Barnhem Muang Mai want to continue helping out as much as I could, now by organize a couple of fundraises to raise both money and awareness about the orphanage and the Happy Child Foundation.
After recently having finished a third fundraise it is now an honor to be asked to become a part of the board of Happy Child Foundation and this is clearly something I look forward to. This is another way for me to continue to help out so the children at Barnhem Muang May can grow up in a safe environment filled with love which they so deserve and I hope you want to join us in this.
Therefore I would also in this post like to remind you that there are a lot of ways to contribute, not least by becoming a monthly donor, something you can read more about under "Support us".
Thank you.
Calle Wollgård
Happy Child Foundation
Hi,
My name is Susanne Karlfeldt and I’m a proud new member of the Happy Child Board.
My first contact with Barnhem and Happy Child was in 2015 when I spent 4 months at Barnhem as a volunteer.
I realized already before going there that this experience would probably affect me in many ways and on different levels. However, I could not foresee the huge impact that my four months in Muang Mai would have on my life.
Since I came back home after my volunteer period, I’ve returned to Barnhem many times just to fill up with the fantastic energy that I gain just by being in that environment.
To see the positive effects that come with having access to proper education, food, accommodation and tons of love is really heartwarming.
Now I’ve been honored with this position as a member of the board and I aim to use it in the best possible way to keep helping Barnhem and Happy Child in their dedication of making the life and future better for these children.
Susanne Karlfeldt
Happy Child Foundation
It's time for you to leave the Happy Child Board, but you will not leave us completely as you will continue to support us in our work for our children at Barnhem Muang Mai.
As the board assignment has come to an end, we would like to thank you for all the time and the great commitment you have had as members of the Board of Happy Child.
We would like to thank you for your years as members of the board and for your time and energy as you have given our children at Barnhem Muang Mai the opportunity to give themselves a better future.
Thank you a thousand times!
Lotta, Sussi M, Eva, Ulla-Britta, Jonathan, Sussi J
and all children and staff at Barnhem Muang Mai
I do not hesitate to proudly brag about our children, as you already know. Now I'll do it again, simply because it feels important to share what we have experienced in recent weeks.
I think I already have told you about one of our boys who has always had a hard time at school.
At the end of this school year, the school set an ultimatum for him to be able to continue school the coming school year. After meetings with the teachers, Gik, Aem and Eak came home with a pile of papers and projects. Most subjects were included. He had to conduct and present his work in a week. And what happens? Well, we got to see how all his friends, unasked, joined up in support and helped where they could. And he fixed it!
Two of our boys who just reached their teens and whose fathers are already dead lost their mother recently. I being Swedish, get extremely worried about them; Will they be able to show their sorrow? Do they have someone they choose to turn to if they need to talk?
All of us at Barnhem attended the funeral and my anxiety disappeared when I saw how all our children gathered round their two mourning friends. How all the boys were sitting as close as they could to their mourning friends. Just being there together, no words needed.
One of our boys has got dengue fever and must stay in hospital. Our teenage girls have offered directly to spend their last days of school holidays at the hospital to take care of their friend. We are not talking about going there for short visits but spending whole days and nights at hospital to look after their friend. They do it as the most natural thing in the world and they do not expect him to feel either guilty or grateful - they are there for him, not to be thanked. And no, they do not feel the slightest pity about themselves for spending their last days of the school holiday in hospital - this is just what you do if you are a good friend.
To quote our dear friend Owen "The children do not need us, they have each other.”
“A friend in need is a friend indeed.”
Sussi
We have just come home from Chiang Rai and Neng's ceremonial graduation from the university.
We are so incredibly grateful and happy that we had the opportunity to celebrate this day together with him - to see our beloved Neng, to experience his joy, happiness and pride.
A day none of us had experienced if it were not for all of you who support us and our children.
Neng came to us in 2006 when he was eleven years old. We quickly realised that he was a very intelligent boy and that he took shelter behind his intelligence as his earlier years in life had been tough.
His father died when Neng was only one year old, his mother died when he was six and he grew up with his grandmother, his uncle and his aunt.
His childhood in Khon Khaen was marked by poverty and he grew up among other poor children, but what made him different was that he was orphan and even though he had several friends, he was teased for being an orphan. His way of compensating for it was to study hard and do good at school.
He came to Barnhem when his uncle died and the family no longer could afford to let him go to school. It was Neng himself who was told about Barnhem at school and it was Neng who decided to move to us as he did not want to be a burden for his family.
Just this makes him special, he saw an opportunity to help himself and his family and he took it ... and he was only 11 years old!
We had the privilege of having Neng with us and seeing him grow up from a small 11-year-old boy to a 19-year-old young man. He was always ambitious at school, but stayed a bit by himself at the children's home. He had difficulty letting someone get close, as one can understand as he had already lost very many people in his life.
At age 13, he learned how to make a simple website in HTML at school and he loved it. And as he just wanted to learn more and more and as the school could not deliver more knowledge on the subject, he taught himself through books and the internet.
It was obvious that he had found what he wanted to do and that he had plans for life, but at the same time did not expect or thought he would get any help and that he was too proud to ask for it.
So when we asked him what he wanted to study, he was quick to present the education "Multimedia and animation" and provide all the information that was available about this education and then we together produced a presentation about the education and about him.
He passed the test to the university and we managed to find sponsors for his studies and his whole life got a turn.
The biggest difference between the eleven-year-old boy who came to us twelve years ago and the 23-year-old young man we celebrated this Monday is his self-confidence, pride, security and caring. He has lots of amazing friends that he will have for the rest of his life. He has found his dream job with fun challenges and great colleagues. He has been shown that there are wonderful people who want to help others and that have made him believe and trust in people.
He is happy and has got the life he dreamed of.
He did the job all by himself, but all of you who support Barnhem and all of you that sponsored his scholarship made it possible for him to have something to work for.
He keeps in touch with his family at Barnhem, cares for his younger ”siblings” and is a great role model and inspires the rest of our children. He is proof that it is possible to give yourself a wonderful life and a better future and that it is not only hard work but also a lot of fun on the way.
Many thanks to all of you that support Barnhem, you made it possible for Neng to grow up with us!
And thank you very much, dear sponsors for choosing to sponsor his university scholarship and made it possible for him to go for his dream.
We think that you will never really understand how important you are and what your help has meant. But we know that regardless of whether you have met Neng or not, you will be with him for the rest of his life and we know that he and we will be forever thankful.
THANK YOU!
NOTE As this text about Neng is very personal I have of coursed send it to him and asked his permission to publish it.
His answer came directly “Hi If my story can help other children please share it, it’s so great for me :), Love”
Beloved family, not a day passes without us thinking of you; not a day passes without us missing you.
And no – time does not heal all wounds, but you learn how to manage your wound; you learn how to ensure that it doesn’t spread. And you learn how to live with it, and how to gently tend to it.
We cannot and we do not want to understand what happened that day. We cannot go back there, because if we do, then our grief will still cause us physical pain. But if we avoid just that small detail, then we have learned to live with our grief; we have learned how to be happy while also experiencing our grief.
But that’s not why we sat down to write this. We did so because over the past several weeks we have come to realize that so many positive things are happening in your memory; so many are helped to a better life, and so many wonderful people have had the opportunity to get to know one another because of you.
We think of Neng, who is finishing his last semester at the university and who just returned to Thailand after having completed his internship at Phosworks in Sweden.
We think of Non, who at the end of May will travel north to Bangkok, where he will study to become an architect.
We think of Team and Maeo, among others, who did not know how to read or write when they arrived at Barnhem as 9-year-olds, and whose skills now include reading, writing, and more.
We think of those of our children who arrived as frightened baby birds due to having suffered various forms of abuse, but who now have been transformed into self-confident, secure eagles.
We think of all of these children who had been left to fend for themselves without any love or compassion, but who now feel grounded and loved.
We think of all of our children who have the chance to give themselves a better future if they are willing to fight for it.
All of this is made possible because of you, and in other words you will live on in each and every one of our children.
We think of all of the wonderful people whom we have gotten to know over these years, people who we probably wouldn’t have met if it weren’t for you. Many have become new and dear friends. We think of how these friends in turn have gotten to know a host of new friends, and how everything has led to new opportunities.
You live on in all of these encounters, in all of these new friendships.
We think of Calle, who we probably wouldn’t know today were it not for you, and who is busy with his third adventure – http://thehappyworldtour.com/ – for the benefit of our children.
You know that he does this just as much to honor you.
You never had the chance to meet him and he never had the chance to meet you, but we know that you would have loved one another.
We think of all of the volunteers who had the privilege to come to Barnhem to work with our wonderful children. For many of them, that journey was a life-changing event:
And we know that you are with them as well.
You were robbed of your future, but you live on in all of these people and in their respective future.
It is almost inevitable that, a little bit into the new year, reflect on the year gone by.
It has for the world been, to say the least, a turbulent year and many of us were looking forward to putting it behind us in the hope that the new year will be better.
No one has escaped all the different tragedies, all the violence, all the fear and hatred around the world, it has totally swarmed over us.
But if I choose to look at Barnhem and 2016, we have only one thing to mourn and it is the fact that Thailand's king died, his death has brought great sadness to the whole of Thailand.
In addition, we only have lots to be thankful for and have only met kindness, love and caring - so I want to give some time to all we have to be grateful for in this blog.
We are to begin with both grateful and proud that our children are doing well in school and that most of them have really good grades and that they in addition are a bunch of wonderful kids who care for and help each other. But we are just as grateful that they feel secure enough to dare to stir up mischief and be defiant and really annoying sometimes.
We are grateful for our six new family members and that one of our girls were able to move out as her mom's life has subsided.
We are extremely grateful that we now have a fully renovated and nice home for our children. On 1 October we had the re-opening of our new home and we really enjoy our new home! The rooms are bright and fresh with proper toilets and showers, electricity is safe, no water leaks any longer, the kitchen has been transformed into a kitchen for real professionals, which our professional staff deserve. The dining room is large and bright and it is easier for everyone to help with cleaning after dinner, we have a really great washing areawith real hot water machines and possibilities to dry the laundry, and last but not least, we have received our amazing sporting area where we can train, sport and play in all weathers as well as after dark.
We are enormously grateful for The Happy World Tour and that we got the opportunity to see them off on the day we opened our new home on 1 October. We are so grateful for these three amazing people - Calle, Eva Lovisa - they are crazy enough and strong enough to be exposed for a round the world cycling in favour of us. We follow them with excitement and get to learn about the world around us at the same time.
We are happy and grateful that we finally got the chance to show Wow Sweden and for all in Sweden who had the opportunity to meet Wow. Our amazing Wow that we cannot do without. We are grateful that she could be part of this year's An Evening for Happy Child and for all our friends who chose to come to the event on this beautiful late summer evening in Sweden.
We are proud of and grateful to Neng who has done fantastically well at the university and who has got an nternship at Phosworks in Uppsala! We are also relieved and thankful that he got his residence permit for 4 months so he get the chance to experience Sweden.
And thanks to this we also had the opportunity to spend a little extra time with our son, who has been studying in Chiang Rai for three and a half years.
He first came down to the re-opening and could inspire the rest of the children by telling them about his years at the university. As he was here we could get him his passport. Then we got to see him twice more - once in Bangkok where we met up to submit his application for a residence permit and a second time when we went up and greeted him in Chiang Rai to hand over the residence permit. And here we are - January 6 he is off to Sweden.
We are equally proud of and grateful to Non that has got accepted to study Architecture, English program at King Mongkut's University of Technology. And we are immensely grateful to all of you that want to help him with Scholarship, we already have 84% of his university costs covered.
And then everything amazing that has been happening in Sweden.
Many thanks Fritidshemmet GIII: an for still choosing to support us with your annual flea market, which you have done since the start!
An equally big thank you to City-Kliniken who year after year choose to work for free one day a year for the benefit of Happy Child and Barnhem.
A giant thank you to Granit for choosing to support us with your Omtanke products all these years and for still choosing to do so.
Thanks to Johanna Larsson and Äpplegårdens Golf Club who organised a golf tournament for the benefit of Happy Child and Barnhem!
Many thanks to Sandra and Camilla at Shades as you chosen to dedicate a whole day to cut the hair of Swedish children for the benefit of our children!
Lots of thanks to Kjell Bergqvist and family for being great supporter of Barnhem for all these years and for now having launched Kjelles Tavelresa together with fantastic Emil Grönholm in favour of Happy Child and Barnhem and for the benefit of his own swimming school and Walking Pool for Life.
And all of our volunteers over the years! Thank you for choosing to come here and that many of you choose to come back to visit or to work as volunteers again.
A current volunteer-record is held by our fantastic Emil Jansson who celebrated its fifth period in a row with us last year, and who will be supporting Neng in Uppsala when he is there.
And then we have Anne and her Ole - Anne has been a volunteer with us for two periods, and she and Ole come to visit us every year - what would a month of November be without you!
In only a few days, Jenny Andersson will come back for her second voluntary period and before she came to Thailand she engaged Friskis and Svettis in Trollhättan so they had a training day in favour of Happy Child and Barnhem.
Last but not least, we are so very grateful for all of you who choose to support us year after year - it is you who make this possible!
If I could, I would like to mention you all by name, but thankfully, I cannot.
I just wish so fervently that I in words could explain to you how important you are!
THANKS!
Sussi
My time here as a volunteer is coming to a close I must admit with a heavy heart. For me it is actually the second time I have to part with the kids, the staff, Hans and Sussi, the dogs, and everything else that makes Barnhem to this amazing place that it is.
I was here 10 years ago as a kid living at Barnhem. I was 9 at the time and I was here with my mother and sister for 2 months, and it has been a privilege to be able to come here again at the age of 19.
Of course there are differences, like the work (especially the fact that I have to), or the beautiful renovation done over the last year, but more than anything I see the similarities.
The tired mornings, the lazy, blazing days, the homework in the afternoons, and the evening fun.
I remember going to school with my mother, sitting on the back on the scooter, and the feeling is the same. I'm even here during the same months and therefore got to be a part of the Loy krathong for a second time, sitting in the shade making banana leaf-boats and sending them away on the water. Thought it was were low-key this year, the deja-vu if it all was quite overwhelming.
But first and foremost it has the same feeling, the feeling of family and glee.
I was one of the kids then, and am one of the grown-ups now, but the love is the same.
We play, we fight, and then we play again because that's what families do.
And that's what we are; family.
But it is true as they say, all things must come to an end and I'm off to new adventures. And though I am going to miss everything like crazy, I hope I will be able to come back in a not too distant future.
So, see you later
Vera Elm
I want to give a little extra attention to these two amazing guys.
One on the way out of university and on the way into university.
I write that they are two very important young men for the simple reason that they are very important in so many ways.
Neng because he was our first child, who four years ago qualified for reading Multimedia Technology and Animation at Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai.
He did the job himself, studied hard and focused and it was none other than himself who wrote so well on the tests for the university that he was admitted. But he had not had anything for his hard work if it hadn't been for his sponsors who chose to believe himand pay for his education.
And now he has proved for them and for us that we were right believing in him. He has just passed his final exams and in January he travels to Sweden for four months to make his Diploma work on Phosworks in Uppsala.
Non, as he saw and understood what Neng did. He saw how hard Neng studied and how focused he was and he was willing to give as much. Perhaps he has studied even harder and even more focused than Neng for now he is the last year of high school and have highest grades in all subjects. He has also succeeded in maintaining his high grades despiteparallel studies to prepare for the application tests for both Medical studies andstudies in Architecture.
He has just learned that he has been accepted to Architecture, English program at King's Monkut University of Technology in Thon Buri / Bangkok, one of Thailand's most prestigious universities.
We already have sponsors who believe in him so much that they will sponsor half of his scholarship. We need to find sponsors for the rest of the scholarship, but I am convinced that we will manage to find them - simply because Non is worth believing in and so well deserve this opportunity.
In addition to their ability to focus and study hard, they are also two very nice, humble and considerate young men - real friends who help their siblings and their friends. And we believe that to be at least as important as having a reading head. The reading head has to sit on a warm big heart and it does it in these young men.
And why are they so important you might wonder.
Well because they are the best role models our young children can have.
They are living proof that it is possible to change your life and give yourself a better future - it's hard work, but it is possible.
They are proof that if you have the energy and the will, and if you believe in yourself, others will believe in you and will be prepared to give you the chance.
They have also been showing our younger children, the importance of thinking and caring about others.
And last but not least, they have proven that you can trust our children and that our children will administer the trust they receive from the outside world.
We at Barnhem feel incredibly grateful to these young men - simply because they are who they are.
Thanks Neng and Non!
We are so grateful to phuketnews.com for this beautiful film form a fantastic day!
Yes, it is every day life here - maybe a little calmer and a little quieter than usual as the mourning period was declared across Thailand for a month as their beloved King died on October, 13.
If you do not live here but are here as a tourist, you probably will not notice more than that many Thais are dressed in black. If you live and work with the Thais, on the contrast, you really will feel their grief- it is genuine and deep.
Now the month of mourning has passed but many choose to continue to dress in black.
Our children are not wearing black - they are children. They go to school, as usual, and have homework, as usual, and playing and romping, as usual. And our oldest son, Non is struggling with all the various tests he must do for the university. At this is written, he is in Bangkok.
This years’ Loi Krathong celebrations clearly showed that life is a little bit different right now.
Loi Kratong is one of Thailand's major holidays and traditions, and you are usually aware that it is coming up a long time before the actual day. This year we found out that it was Loi Krathong the same day as it was Loi Krathong. And yes, everyone did their krathongs (small banana boats), and yes, in the evening they went off to Loi them - send them off into waterways. But everything was done in much smaller scale - no stalls, no speeches of local politicians and no performances by the local school children. It was just a quiet and dignified Loi Krathong and that was it.
The new grass has grown strong so now the children can play on the grass again. Right now, many of our children has entereda period when it is very fun to climb trees, or rather settle in the trees. Some days after homework is done the trees are crowded with kids and not just kids, but a lot of things and stuffed animals too.
You might have read Päivi's blog that she wrote just before she left us. And just as she wrote that she would miss us we miss her.
And today it's time to say goodbye to Katharina and Nadine, our amazing German girls. What they do not know yet is that they are going to get farewell cards from Best and that he has written them in German - that is showing appreciation!
Fortunately, lovely Vera stays and she has been joined by amazing Anki and Linda.
We are lucky to have so many people that we miss and at the same time having so many people around us that we like and appreciate.
Have an awesome time!
Sussi
It's been just over a month since we had our grand re-opening after a, to say the least, extremely needed total refurbishment of our home. And we cannot hide the fact that we really enjoy our new home.
Everything is so much better, which affects the lives of both the children and the staff.
Rooms are bright and spacious, which makes them easier and more fun to clean and it really shows in the children's room.
We have a good laundry with amazing washers where it is possible to hang clothes to dry, which is evident throughout Barnhem, as we before had laundry hanging all over the place.
We have a proper commercial kitchens and Miaoo and Porn can now choose to cook indoors or outdoors. The dining room is large and bright with fans in the ceiling and the opportunity to wash our hands before eating and it is easier to help with the dishes now.
We have big beautiful green spaces with newly laid soft grass. And last but not least, our great new outdoor area where you can do sports no matter the weather and even when the darkness has fallen.
Yes, life is great and we are extremely grateful and happy.
But amidst all this is a small concern has begun to grow in me - what if people who come to visit us just judge us by our buildings, and bythe look of them think that we have a good stable economy and probably do not need so much help, what if ...
Think of all those who do not know that this was a single project outside Barnhem's ordinary operation initiated by two kind gentlemen living in Phuket, and that money was collected solely in order to carry out this refurbishment. Money that is now used and in other terms did not exist before and do not exist after.
We now have to continue the job to fill these newly refuribished rooms with happiness and quality of life, and for this we need money - specifically just over SEK 100 000 / month. Not so much money for 35 children to have a safe place to grow up in one might think. But far more money than we in Happy child manage to raise for our children at present.
On average, we manage to raise in total about SEK 60 000 / month in other words SEK 40 000 to little ......
I am often asked about how best to help us and the honest answer is through continuous and monthly donate money as a Monthly Donor.
For example, SEK 20 is enough money to give one of our children 4 dinners. SEK 100 is enough money to give one of our children dinner for almost 3 weeks.
If we could get 1000 Monthly Donors who donate SEK 100 / month, or if we could get 5000 Monthly Donors who donates SEK 20 / month, this would cover Barnhem’s monthly expenses.
1000 Monthly Donors, it does not sound that much, 5000 Monthly Donors do not sound that much either - but how do we find you?
Today we only have 124 Monthly Donors who together contribute with SEK 19,000/ month.
So if you want to help us - become a Monthly Donor andhelp us find more!
Click here if you want to become a Monthly Donor
Warm regards,
Sussi
Cost allocation / month for 35 children
Food SEK 20 000, Schools SEK 8 000, Healthcare SEK 4000, 10 employees SEK 57 000,
Transportation SEK 3000, Administration SEK 3000, Rent, electricity, phone, internet SEK 5 000
Oh no, it is already four months?! Yes, that is the feeling today when I'm working my last hours here at Barnhem ... for now. I will be back and I hope it's soon because I will miss life here and, above all, those kids :)
I came here in late June with a lot of hopes and yes, some worries or maybe more queries on how to handle certain things.
What I was worried about was getting to an institution, an orphanage, as I in Sweden manage a treatment facility. What would be similar and what would differ, and how would I cope to adapt to a different culture, new / other standards and a new country.
What I soon noticed was that Barnhem is not an orphanage, well not what we would call an orphanage inSwedish. It is a home for children who for various reasons cannot live with their parents.
Barnhem is like a family, a big one with 31 children, eight Thai staff, grandmother and Sussi & Hans. And in addition us volunteers, sometimes we are three but generally four.
My time here has been absolutely fantastic and wonderful in so many ways, mainly because I got to spend four months here with these kids who are so lovely, nice, fun, cuddly, resourceful, pesky, nagging and whiny, -yes, as children should be, simply having all their own personalities and different sides. I've really been lucky enough to meet, socialise and fall in love with these fine and wonderful kids that are so mature and so small at the same time, the lovely staff, and yes, this big family that I now are a part of.
The past week, I glanced back and reflected on certain things such as conflicts.
There are 31 children living here, and there have not been any conflicts, fuss yes between peers, but no conflicts between the children or with the staff where someone needs to come in and mediate (and yes, here I compare with an institution in Sweden) .
I have tried to figure outthe reason for it, several times and I have in my mind tried to psychologise it, thinking about the different cultures we are and then come to the conclusion that it is immaterial, it is what it is and it is good.
I can also say that it is liberating to not analyse "everything" but to keep up with the present, the here and now. This the kids have taught me, indirectly, as they are here and now. The first few weeks I was a little (yes just a little) frustrated that as soon as I cleaned up it became messy again when I sorted their toys in the morning, it was in disarray in the afternoon, if I left a pen or anything else, it was "off“ in the next second, but this frustrations disappeared as I finally relaxed and was more in the present.
There are 31 children playing and having a good time as well, it gets messy and there is disarray among their common toys and they are very curious which of course makes it easier for us volunteers because they want to get to know us. Here I have learned something so amazing as to relax, slow down and be in the present. Just clean up afterwards, and again and again if necessary, and in the meantime, the kids and I can enjoy and have great fun. You live and learn:)
I also had the privilege to be at Barnhem to celebrate the re-opening of the home after the refurbishment and got to meet The Happy World tour. It was a very nice day in many ways and I am so impressed by the trio who will bicycle around the world to the benefit of Barnhem.
I will give you a great Christmas gift tip - contribute to the Happy World tour! You can choose how much you want to contribute per kilometer and everything will be donated to Barnhem - www.thehappyworldtour.com.
At the end of my period at Barnhem I have, unfortunately, experienced and shared the Thai grief over their fabulous king - His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej. I as well as many Westerners grief with our Thai friends.
I have obviously taken a lot of photos and recorded videos here and I would like to share with you a video that makes me extra happy.
There is a video of one of those nights when the music flowed, the elderly playing football and the smaller playing and dancing to the music. I absolutely loved those evenings. The kids are so resourceful! Before the renovation was finished, there was no light on the lawn, but it was fixed with extension cords and construction lights. And then the speakers out and on with the Thai music.
Is it raining? No problem, it's great fun to play barefoot and slide on the mud and just shower outdoors afterwards. When a good song is playing well then you can have a dance battle with your buddies. So much laughter and joy. This brings me back to my youth when we played football in the yard, though raised to 10.
I will definitely miss those nights and please check out Bengs dance moves, wonderful!
Many greetings and see you soon!
Päivi Leivo :)