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As mentioned earlier in our series of
press releases, “Who
Are Our Partners and Who Will Benefit?”, we
have expanded our scope this year and added the Eastern
Child Welfare Protection Institute (ECWPI) in Huay
Pong, Rayong, as one of our beneficiaries, in addition
to the Fountain
of Life Children’s Center and the Pattaya
Redemptorist School for the Blind.
Location:
Between Ban Chang and Rayong cities, at the junction
of Sukhumvit Road and the road to Maptaphut Industrial
Area, where the flyover is presently under construction,
lies the Huay Pong Institute for orphaned and abandoned
children. The Institute, under the auspices of the Welfare
Department in Bangkok, is actually situated on both
sides of Sukumvit with the girls’ section on the
south side and the boys’ section on the north.
Both sides include buildings for living quarters, schooling,
and vocational training. At present there are approximately
120 girls and 150 boys at the Institute.
Reasons we took on the Huay Pong Project:
We got involved with the Institute through the Rayong
Ladies Circle, who has been involved with Huay Pong
for a long time now. Mrs. Helle Rantsen approached us
earlier this year about joining the BCTFN and others
in the renovation of a number of buildings serving as
living quarters for the boys and girls. While visiting
the Institute with Helle and Brendan Richards from the
Pattaya Mail, we decided to take on the renovation of
Building A on the boys’ side, basically a long
dormitory-style room, which is currently the residence
for the 24 boys between the ages of 3 and 6. We also
decided to construct proper bathing and toilet facilities
adjacent to the pre-existing structure. (Witnessing
the heart-wrenching abandonment of a 4-year old boy
by a father, who could no longer afford to raise his
child, cemented our commitment to this project.)
To run the "family":
In general the Institutes supplies each child with 26
baht a day for food, some toiletries every month, and
2 uniforms per year for the children between the ages
of 3 and 17 years. Each building is manned by two supervisors
alternatively, who unfortunately have little proper
training in dealing with the often traumatized kids
who show up at he Institute.
24 Hours at Huay Pong Institute:
A typical day for the children starts at 0600 with a
quick wash, some exercise and a breakfast of boiled
rice or noodles. By 0800 school starts in overcrowded
classrooms, due more to the lack of teachers than space.
A lunch of fish soup or omelet is served between 1130
and 1300, after which schooling then continues till
1530 PM.
Though there is a luxury of open space
and green grass beneath large shade trees, there is
little provision for playing, except for football for
the older boys. Otherwise, besides just running around,
the younger kids have no playground or toys for their
recreation.
Dinner, a rice meal with some pig fat,
is served at 1700, and at 1900, all the kids need to
be in their ‘dorms’ to do their homework,
usually on the floor, before turning in for the night.
The older kids have access to vocational training, which
includes carpentry, electrics, furniture making, plumbing,
mechanics and hair cutting for boys, while the girls
receive hair-dressing, tailoring, traditional massage
and artificial flower-making skills.
The buildings:
Fifty years ago, the buildings were part of a provincial
prison, the bars from which are still in evidence. Though
the durability of the buildings gives testimony to the
hardwood used, dilapidation and termites are finally
taking their toll and weakening the structures. As a
result there are holes in the roof that let the rain
in and holes in the floor, which make for tenuous footing.
Additionally, the buildings show uneven settlement from
the sandy soil and the thin walls offer little protection
from the heat. We figure for between 350,000 to 400,000
baht we can reinforce the foundation, put in a new floor,
insulate the walls, reinforce the support beams and
put on a new cement tile roof, in addition to providing
complete new and clean toilet and bathing facilities.
We need your help:
There are innumerous charitable causes for children
in the region all in need of help from outside sources.
We invite you to join in the Jesters Care for Kids Charity
Drive 2002 and help us give assistance to the children
at the Huay Pong Institute, School for the Blind, and
the Fountain of Life Center. Please contact us at JCD2002@care4kids.info
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