The Thai Garden Resort played host to 21 children orphaned by AIDS and their parents’ prison terms from Bangsaen’s Abundant Life Home for the seventh straight year.
Shelter director Karen Sanchez led the June 2 trip and were welcomed by hotel owners Gerrit and Anselma Niehaus, German and Austrian Honorary Consul Rudolf Hofer, and Thai Garden General Manager Rene Pisters and Manager Daniel Becker.
It didn’t take long for the kids to spot the Thai Garden’s huge swimming pool, however, and they were splashing around in no time, their guardians and staffers joining in.
The children also had their pick of the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner each of the three days and enjoyed sleeping in the big comfy beds.
The visit was the seventh time the hotel has hosted the Abundant Life Home, which American Sanchez – an adopted child herself – started in 2006, fulfilling a dream she had since childhood.
She came to Thailand in 2011 to work with the Heart 2000 charity and, while here, met a young orphan. After talking with her for a long time, Sanchez knew what she wanted to achieve: to give these children a home again.
Currently, there are five houses at Abundant Life, each one attended by a “mother” who cares for the kids. The children get a family atmosphere, medical care and an education.
Sanchez said that not all the children are true orphans because their parents had AIDS. Some are “prison orphans” who stay at Abundant Life until their incarcerated parents are released. The other children will stay at the home until they complete their educations and start working for themselves.
