Thailand Orphanage Trip 2005

The door to the volunteer's house has art done by the kids. And my muddy shoes.

Various English songs and such for the kids to read and sing.

Last year I helped write a proposal for the American Women of Bangkok to donate money for the home
to buy some goats and start a goat farm to sell milk. Once the goats are grown they are given to townspeople
specifically women and are tended to. Then the milk can be sold and the poor villagers can bring in money.

This is the goat house. Most everything is made of bamboo here since it is relatively free.

The volunteers house, which is actually going to be the teacher's house when the technical school is built.

Some of the people that "work" at the orphanage live in these bamboo huts.

Dada is experimenting with mud bricks to build simple structures. Building the technical school out of concrete and
steel requires too much paperwork and governmental butt kissing.

Some teachers in Japan, like myself, have their kids write Christmas cards and we send them to the home
since they have no Christmas decorations. These cards are from my elementary school 3rd graders.

Here is a departing shot of all the boys, the foreign volunteers, and the local volunteers. The local volunteers
really just trade their skills for a place to live and food. Some cook, others build things.

Some sponsor donated a tractor and a trailer. Here an Australian volunteer from another orphanage is
stealing it. No, he's loading bricks to build something at the other place. Another sponsor donated a brick oven
so bricks can be made relatively cheap. These bricks were used to build the house they live in now

Another bamboo hut.

Someone donated old musical equipment. The boys spend their free time learning to play.

A closer shot of the cards. I attached photos so the boys could see other students.