A little after midnight on Dec 22nd Khun Pornthavee Puyardfar, the newly crowned Miss Hua Hin C.D.L. (Charity and Dog Lover), along with Tanya Vijitsirisomphong, managing editor of this magazine, her mother, Mimi Tao and Panadda Phonthep left Hua Hin for the 15 hour journey to Tha Song Yang, a mountainous area in the far north of Thailand to visit the children at the Koi Chiang Kaew school.
Students at the school are aged 4 thru 6 and include Thai and Karen children. The Karen people have lived in Burma (Myanmar) for centuries and currently make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population with approximately 5 million people. A large number of Karen have migrated to Thailand, having settled mostly on the Thai Karen Border.
Arriving to this area is like going back 100 years or more. There is no electricity or running water from taps within the homes. Drinking water is collected at a communal water pipe. At the school, most of the floors in the one-story buildings are dirt and too many children don’t have shoes to wear.
With the weather in Thailand becoming much cooler, especially in the mountains, Mimi Tao’s cousin, a teacher at the Chiang Kaew School, alerted her to the dire need for blankets to keep the children warm at night among many other basic items.
Mimi told Tanya who then reached out to the Hua Hin business community for donations to help these impoverished children. Orchid Palm Homes along with Lizzy from Hua Hin Multi Cult were the first and most generous in their donations with other sizable contributions coming from many businesses and private individuals in Hua Hin.
100 blankets were purchased for the school children and the elderly who live in the village. Notebooks, pencils and other school items were also purchased as well as stuffed toy animals.
On Monday the 23rd the school children were thrilled to welcome their guests bearing gifts. Miss Hua Hin CDL and her entourage spent the day with the children, providing a lunch, engaging them in games and doling out gifts. For many, the stuffed animals each child received were the first toys they ever owned and even the boys had wide smiles as they clutched on to them. Upon leaving Miss Hua Hin CDL presented the teacher with money to buy 2 pairs of shoes for each child and promised a return trip with rain gear when the rainy season begins.
If you would like to help the children of Tha Song Yang please email tanya@hothuahin.com