The Home
I found it a happy place, clean and great facilities. A large outdoor space with plenty of equipment to climb on, swing on, and play on.
The children are fed well, and they have good teeth- you can tell the difference between the children who have been there since they were very young, compared to those who came age three and above by looking at their teeth. Those who came later generally have brown or rotten teeth from bad diet and lack of care from their families.
The Children
It is really sad knowing that their parents abandoned them or could not look after them. Sometimes they do go back home- twin boys went back to their mother once they were five years old and could go to school, so their mother could work. Some are fostered in Thailand or adopted into Western families- one beautiful girl is moving to Switzerland soon with her new parents.
But most will stay- the boys go to the boys home or elsewhere when they are 6, the girls stay there until they are 18 or able to move out. Some children can never be adopted because they were abandoned and no one knows who the parents are, making the paperwork very difficult.
Health
Some have disabilities, they do physiotherapy with some of them on site. Some have diseases- AIDS and Hepatitis. Apparently if a child has hepatitis most countries won’t accept them to be adopted, although with AIDS it’s fine. That makes no sense to me because Hepatitis can be treated and immunised against much easier than AIDS. Can anyone shed any light on this one?
There is one little girl who is age one, she is ill with chronic lung disease and is currently in hospital because she also caught pneumonia. She has spent four months of her short life in hospital. I went to visit her every now and then.
A Strange Story
I get most of my information from one of the volunteers from Australia. He has worked there on and off for 12 years and has fostered many of the kids, and looks after those in hospital. He told me a terrible story about a baby, only a few months old, who was born to a surrogate mother and then suffered health problems so her mother could not look after her.
The father is a Japanese billionaire who has fathered around 16 children to surrogate mothers in Thailand (taking advantage of the poverty- of course he paid the mothers). There was a big scandal and he is a wanted man. He has managed to get custody of 3 of them apparently, and wants to get the others.
It’s a big mystery why he would do this, and this poor baby in Viengping has to suffer the consequences. Here is the story if you are interested:http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/02/national/surrogate-offers-clues-into-japanese-with-16-babies/#.VOnL1pWzXIU
Volunteers
Other volunteers come and go, doing a week or two at a time. Some arrange their own project and some book it through another organisation. Two young ladies are doing internships at the moment- one for primary school teaching, the other for her sociology studies at Chiang Mai university. She teaches the older girls English and throws in some women’s empowerment aspects.
There are two long term volunteers, whom I have found invaluable because none of the staff speak English. I really need to learn Thai but the pronunciation is very difficult. I have learned some necessary words such as: ‘yewd’ = stop! And ‘gin my die’ = don’t eat that!
My Role
My job there was to look after the babies and toddlers aged one and two. I would go there in the morning and the nannies would hand me a child to look after for two hours. We would walk around, play in the park area, or sometimes we would have a box of toys to sit and play with. The children have no family to pay them the attention they really need, so this one-on-one interaction is important for them. It’s the age old mantra- all you need is love! In the afternoon I would sit in with all the children and play games and watch DVDs. I like this time because you get to know the kids and all their different personalities.
In March things changed a little as the older children had a break from school, so they were around more to help out. It was really nice to get to know some of the older kids, although the language barrier became a bit of a problem, not something I had to worry about with the babies!
Recent Changes
Another big change was the shift from rooms for kids of the same age, to mixed age rooms. The idea was to allow the bigger kids interaction with the younger ones to help with their development. It works- I noticed some of the 1-2 year olds talking more and were happier during my last week than when I started. It also means that siblings of different ages can be together, which is great.
At first the change was a bit hectic, and I think there are still some improvements that can be made, but in general it has an interesting dynamic. And I think once the older children go back to school it will calm down a bit.
Contact
Follow Baan Viengping on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Viengping-Childrens-Home-124012657642576/
If you visit Chiang Mai, please go for a visit!
I found it a happy place, clean and great facilities. A large outdoor space with plenty of equipment to climb on, swing on, and play on.
The children are fed well, and they have good teeth- you can tell the difference between the children who have been there since they were very young, compared to those who came age three and above by looking at their teeth. Those who came later generally have brown or rotten teeth from bad diet and lack of care from their families.
The Children
It is really sad knowing that their parents abandoned them or could not look after them. Sometimes they do go back home- twin boys went back to their mother once they were five years old and could go to school, so their mother could work. Some are fostered in Thailand or adopted into Western families- one beautiful girl is moving to Switzerland soon with her new parents.
But most will stay- the boys go to the boys home or elsewhere when they are 6, the girls stay there until they are 18 or able to move out. Some children can never be adopted because they were abandoned and no one knows who the parents are, making the paperwork very difficult.
Health
Some have disabilities, they do physiotherapy with some of them on site. Some have diseases- AIDS and Hepatitis. Apparently if a child has hepatitis most countries won’t accept them to be adopted, although with AIDS it’s fine. That makes no sense to me because Hepatitis can be treated and immunised against much easier than AIDS. Can anyone shed any light on this one?
There is one little girl who is age one, she is ill with chronic lung disease and is currently in hospital because she also caught pneumonia. She has spent four months of her short life in hospital. I went to visit her every now and then.
A Strange Story
I get most of my information from one of the volunteers from Australia. He has worked there on and off for 12 years and has fostered many of the kids, and looks after those in hospital. He told me a terrible story about a baby, only a few months old, who was born to a surrogate mother and then suffered health problems so her mother could not look after her.
The father is a Japanese billionaire who has fathered around 16 children to surrogate mothers in Thailand (taking advantage of the poverty- of course he paid the mothers). There was a big scandal and he is a wanted man. He has managed to get custody of 3 of them apparently, and wants to get the others.
It’s a big mystery why he would do this, and this poor baby in Viengping has to suffer the consequences. Here is the story if you are interested:http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/02/national/surrogate-offers-clues-into-japanese-with-16-babies/#.VOnL1pWzXIU
Volunteers
Other volunteers come and go, doing a week or two at a time. Some arrange their own project and some book it through another organisation. Two young ladies are doing internships at the moment- one for primary school teaching, the other for her sociology studies at Chiang Mai university. She teaches the older girls English and throws in some women’s empowerment aspects.
There are two long term volunteers, whom I have found invaluable because none of the staff speak English. I really need to learn Thai but the pronunciation is very difficult. I have learned some necessary words such as: ‘yewd’ = stop! And ‘gin my die’ = don’t eat that!
My Role
My job there was to look after the babies and toddlers aged one and two. I would go there in the morning and the nannies would hand me a child to look after for two hours. We would walk around, play in the park area, or sometimes we would have a box of toys to sit and play with. The children have no family to pay them the attention they really need, so this one-on-one interaction is important for them. It’s the age old mantra- all you need is love! In the afternoon I would sit in with all the children and play games and watch DVDs. I like this time because you get to know the kids and all their different personalities.
In March things changed a little as the older children had a break from school, so they were around more to help out. It was really nice to get to know some of the older kids, although the language barrier became a bit of a problem, not something I had to worry about with the babies!
Recent Changes
Another big change was the shift from rooms for kids of the same age, to mixed age rooms. The idea was to allow the bigger kids interaction with the younger ones to help with their development. It works- I noticed some of the 1-2 year olds talking more and were happier during my last week than when I started. It also means that siblings of different ages can be together, which is great.
At first the change was a bit hectic, and I think there are still some improvements that can be made, but in general it has an interesting dynamic. And I think once the older children go back to school it will calm down a bit.
Contact
Follow Baan Viengping on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Viengping-Childrens-Home-124012657642576/
If you visit Chiang Mai, please go for a visit!