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
40
Dec 15 - Jan 15 , 2015
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.