''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.
