Berenice
and Jenissa determine a suspect’s blood group.
Pranai
holds up his first fish of the day.
‘I
enjoyed making cookies and getting super messy.’
(Sky age 6 from St Andrews)
Nham and
Hannah are about to launch their water rocket.
The boys
are excited about their overnight camp.
(Left)
‘My favourite part of play camp was swimming with the octopus. In play camp
we played games, made things with wax beads, made fun things and played with
our friends.’ (Jennifer age 7 from St Andrews)
‘Play
camp is fun because we play lots of games and meet our friends.
We go swimming and play on the computer.
I am super happy I came to play camp.’ (Piper age 6 from St Andrews)
Author: Nicola Walker
and Nick Frost, teachers at St Andrews
St Andrews once again ran its summer camp for all those
children from 3 to 14 years of age who were in need of some extra
stimulation and fun during the summer break.
Students enjoyed a variety of activities and sports
including swimming, volleyball, cricket, fishing, horse riding, mountain
biking, a day at the beach, building water rockets and kites and solving
murder mysteries, to name a few. The range of activities insured there was
something for everyone.
In Play Camp we have had 24 children from the ages of 3 -
7 years old, and we welcomed children from 3 international schools in the
Eastern Seaboard as well as children visiting Thailand on holiday. The Camp
ran from July 5th to July 16th and was a huge success.
Photos and captions show how much fun the children had.
‘I
think more people should come to play camp here because we had a great Teddy
Bear Day that was lots of fun and made lots of new friends.’ Richard age 6
from Montessori)
‘We
loved playing with the lego, making things, riding our bikes up and down big
hills and playing pirate games. We are already looking forward to another
sleepover and camping in school again next year.’ (Arthur age 5 from
Regents)
‘We had
lots of fun on Teddy Day! We made our own gingerbread teddies, teddy bear
picnic, teddy bear masks, teddy bear candle holders and listened to teddy
bear stories.’ (By Jake age 6 and Wesley age 6 from St Andrews)
Eva Johnson
What is the worse crime? It doesn’t hurt to ask oneself
this once in a while. Maybe you have no simple answer. I know I don’t. But
let us put it this way: what are some of the worst crimes? What makes you
really upset?
Every single child here at the centre has a story.
Crimes against children would rank high on my list. Abuse
- physical, mental, sexual - abandonment, maltreatment, neglect. Just the
thought of this makes me feel bad. Children are born innocent, they are
dependant of adult care and support, they need love and understanding. This
is the only way they can grow.
Naturally then, speaking to Teacher Tho at the Child
Protection Center is quite an upsetting experience. Tho is one of eight
teachers at the centre which houses 45 children, ages 6-18, who have all
been subjected to some kind of abuse.
“Many times parents will just drop the child off and
never come back,” says Tho. “Other times a mother or an aunt will bring the
child and ask us to protect her from the father or some other male
relative.”
Teachers live with the children in three newly built
identical double storey houses.
The staff also does outreach work. Two or three times a
week they go out around town and look for street kids, helping them where
needed and building confidence.
“Our aim is to bring them in,” says Tho, who tells of
foreigners who give food, snacks and shelter, demanding sexual favours in
return. “It is very common. Children have always run away from home, but
whereas in earlier times they would live in the woods or parks and fend for
themselves, now there is sex tourism and drugs, and that makes everything so
much worse. Most of these kids have led very hard lives.”
Glue sniffing is a huge problem among children living on
the streets. The centre tries to break these habits by filling days with
activities; for example, when not in school, they learn how to cook, grow
vegetables, take care of two black pigs and many chickens. Fortunately, the
centre is located far from everything, there just isn’t the possibility to
pop out to the shop and buy glue, cigarettes, alcohol or any other substance
that they should not use.
The teachers live with the children in three newly built
identical double storey houses with enclosed kitchens. These where finished
in October 2009, funded by the German and Swiss Embassies, and when I visit
in late March four more houses are being built. The teachers work 24 hours,
6 days a week, acting as parental figures and role models and continuously
teaching values and necessary life skills.
Over by
the pond several children help collect green food for the pigs, diving in
the water, raking up the wet weeds. It looks like great fun, lots of
laughing, splashing, screams
The centre was started in 2008 by Jaa who worked for many
years with street kids at the Redemptorist Street Kids Center. Unfortunately
Jaa was out of town the week I am able to visit, as it would have been nice
to talk to him. I am told that he had a vision of how he wanted to work with
these children. When the Human Help Network in Thailand offered to fund his
ideas he was able to make reality of his dream. The Child Protection Centre
was born.
“We hear so many tragic stories,” says Tho. “Like the
little Cambodian girl who was separated from her parents after they had all
been trafficked from their country. She was forced to sell roses on the
beach and was abused in more than one way. No one knows where the parents
are and soon the girl will be deported back.”
Every single child here at the centre has a story. 45
cases of tragedy.
“Are they offered some kind of therapy or counseling if
they need it?” I ask and am told that yes, Chonburi Hospital will give them
free therapy with a psychiatrist when necessary. But it does not happen
often.
The question of therapy is a funny thing here in
Thailand. One lady I spoke to openly said, “It is not the Thai way. We
prefer to be more spontaneous, more informal.” Teacher Tho expresses it
differently: he says that it will often scare the children to go to the
hospital and meet a stranger. Thus, the staff at the centre prefers to deal
with it themselves, building confidence and giving daily support.
“We do have a social worker here day and night, a person
they know and can confide in. More like a friend.”
Over by the pond several children help out to collect
green food for the pigs, diving in the water, raking up the wet weeds. It
looks like great fun, lots of laughing, splashing, screams.
Like any other kids. Far from Walking Street and the
beach.
Maybe you will see a child like them the next time you go
for a swim; a child walking with a nice man who has just bought him or her a
soda or an ice cream.
Do you think you would be able to tell?
Would you do something to help?
If you do know of a child that is abused call Jaa at 081-949 9349.
