Back in Chiang Mai, we stayed at a guesthouse called “Joy’s House”.
Breakfast outside
Trying out some bikes
Playing in the pool
Relaxing by the pool
While we were sitting by the pool, some of the locals introduced us to a fruit called “Champoo” (or “rose apple”) that were growing on the trees around the pool. Based on its outward appearance, it could easily be mistaken for a small pear, although the skin is quite waxy compared to pears. Champoo are eaten skin and all. The texture is somewhere between a watermelon and an apple, as is the taste. There are several varieties of Champoo, with the most common in Thailand having a light green skin. This green variety is available almost year round, while the seasonal variety that we ate vary in color from apple red to almost black.
“Lakeland” is a 3.5 hectare organic farm. The small children live and learn on the farm, and are knowledgeable in the fields of organic farming, recycling, composting, and conservation. The farm allows the children to learn hands-on how to build a self sustainable community.
With the monsoon season approaching, it was important to landscape part of the gardens to provide support for when the rains come. Our time at the Children's Shelter included the "building of a nature dam" which involved some serious physical labor including:
gathering 100 bags of rocks from a nearby river
transporting the rocks back to the farm
using the rocks to landscape a sloping hill to support the earth for when the rainy season starts
creating the beds for the vegetables
transferring compost from one part of the farm to the new gardens
planting beans
chopping up banana trees to make new compost
All of the children on the farm contribute to the tasks.
Piling into the back of the truck to head to the river
Treating the kids to some treats at a little store on the way to the river
Collecting stones
Everybody worked really hard irrespective of size or age.
The children took a much needed break to play in the water.
In the video below, Wayu does a crazy backflip in front of a German volunteer which really scares her (understandably because it looks like he is going to land on his face). He sees that she got scared so he runs over to give her a reassuring hug.
Back at the farm, we laid the stones to reinforce the garden beds.
And the following day, we worked on the compost and planting the beans.
''For every child, there should be a warm and safe place in this world to spread their wings and fly.'' Children’s Shelter Foundation
Last year, we found a “bucket list” that Léah had written. On the list she had included, “do volunteer work in a poor country”.
Mélanie and I had travelled in Thailand years ago before the kids were born. Recently, we have had the desire to return to the country but also wanted to do more than just sightsee – we wanted to contribute to a local Thai community while gaining an in-depth cultural understanding not possible on the tourist trek. When we proposed the idea of a volunteer vacation to the kids, they were extremely enthusiastic about it.
After some extensive research, we came across the Children’s Shelter Foundation - a globally-funded children’s aid project in Northern Thailand founded in 2007 by Joy Hanfaifa (Thai) and Ulrike Meister (German).
The foundation’s farm “Lakeland” is located in the forest 30 minutes northeast of Chiang Mai and provides a home for orphans as well as poor, underprivileged, and deaf children.
Fence around the farm painted by the children
Sign indicating the road to the Children’s Shelter Foundation
Arriving at the farm with Dao
The children on the farm welcomed our kids into their “family” right away. The rope swing helped provide the icebreaker.
Many of the foundation’s children come from the mountain villages in Northern Thailand and from neighboring Burma (a war-torn country plagued by genocide) . For some, it is the first time in their lives they have experienced love, stability, and security.
