The problem has now been rectified so that the contact link should work fine.

The coming of the rains also bring out all the bugs, including the notorius Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti mosquito, which bites all day long. This mosquito can be the carrier of Dengue Fever, a flu like disease which kills hundreds every year.

There is no preventative apart from not getting bitten, and once contracted, the only treatment for Dengue fever is rest, fluids, and paracetemol to control fever. if the patient does not fight of the fever themselves the only chance for recovery is a complete blood transfusion as Dengue destroys the blood.

Being an annual danger the authorities do their best to inform people of the dangers, advising that people make sure they do not have standing water nearby, where the mosquitos will breed. They also activate teams to go to peoples homes and spray with mosquito killing gas.

This weekend it was the turn of our village and on Saturday morning our whole Childrens Home compound , including indoors got a good gassing.

In keeping with our policy of doing our best to follow local culture we visited the Wat on Saturday and I gave all of the children a small amount of money to donate, along with a larger donation from myself.

Kneeling before the Monk we offered up the silver tray with all the donations and stayed on our knees to receive the Monks blessing.

On Sunday the full ceremony was held, with the Wat so full that many had to sit outside as many Monks blessed all present.

After the blessings there was food for all, so Wasana got a welcome break from cooking lunch as the kids and myself ate at the Temple.

Luckily I love the local Thai food and filled up with spicy lab, (raw minced and pounded pork mixed with herbs and spices), …mmmm aloi mak mak.

The kids ate more out of respect, as much of the food was a little too spicy for them to enjoy properly.

The locals were all very attentive to the children and also quite amused at the way I tucked into the local quisine.

We left the Wat at around midday ready for our regular Sunday Bai Tio.

For more photos please visit our photobucket album here.

Some of the photos were taken by our most keen website worker, Tai.

Funding the days trip from my own pocket I kept our destination and planned activity secret from the kids, who hounded me constantly thru Saturday and Sunday morning, but seemed quite pleased to be getting a ‘surprise’.

After teasing them that we were off to play in the school playground, we loaded them up on the truck and headed into Chiang Mai.

Our destination was Kad Suan Kaow Shopping Mall and the first surprise was a visit to Swensens Icecream Parlour.

Not wanting to go overboard we capped the price of what they could choose at no more than 60 baht a head.

The children were great and behaved very well whilst sitting and waiting for their treat, which took quite a while, what with 12 of us and the shop already quite busy.

When the ice creams came we all tucked in and it was certainly a tasty treat that brought smiles all round.

“Gap bahn mai?” asked Jack, when we left the shop.

Shaking my head, I lead them round the Plaza on a short window shopping walk, before heading up to the top floor to Chiang Mai Vista Cinema Complex.

It was funny seeing Yong and Mays reaction to the escalators and we had to hold hands and help them each time.

Beaming smiles again as I purchased the tickets to go and see ‘Karate Kid’. Inside the Cinema I was, once again, impressed with the children’s behaviour, which allowed me to relax and enjoy the movie to.

Judging by the thanks and hugs I got afterwards I think I can safely say that the day was a great success and enjoyed by all.

For more photos from the icecream parlour please visit our photobucket album here.

Kids, it was just a little thank you for the happiness you bring to Stratton House.

 Their school was invloved with a Parade through Sarapee,that appeared to be promoting healthy living and warning of the dangers of drugs.

 It does appear that, just like most countries these days, Thailand is battling a spread of the drug culture amongst the younger generation; so anything like this that may help the children think twice has to be commended.

The Parade followed the main road to Sarapee, from the train station, back to Sarapee Pittiyakom School.

Some adults took part as well, I suspect teachers and other school staff;        and the local Police force were represented to.

All the kids at home were co-operative about an earlier bed time yesterday and were up and ready for breakfast an 6.45am

After seeing the younger ones off to school ,  I then took Gu and Tai to the train station to join their friends in preparation for school assembly and the Parade.

After returning home for coffee and breakfast myself, I returned to Sarapee to enjoy the parade and capture the event on my camera.

Unfortunately, trying as hard as I could to find him, Gu evaded the camera. He’s so small bless him. That said, i nearly missed Tai as well but one of his friends called out ‘hello’ and I got the shot.

It is a sad reflection of life today that parents around the world have little time to be able to go and see their children take part in such events, I feel blessed that it is my full time job to make the time.

And to Tai and Gu and all their school friends; I hope you enjoyed it and take heed of the theme of the Parade, your health and welfare are the most precious commodities you will ever possess.

For more photos of this event please visit our photobucket album here.

With some difficulty in finding someone with the time to be able to run the Thai language site we have decided to make it a project for the children. Each week a different child will write about life here at Stratton House. Then one of the 4 eldest children will enter the stories into the site.

If this goes well we will also be featuring english language versions of their work on this site.

We hope to get started with this project this weekend.

May got a little extra pocket money for the day at school and we gave her her card on her return from school.

 It had ended up that I was on my own to do the present buying at the market in Banthi in the morning. May had requested clothes and I was not at all sure what to buy an 11 year old Thai girl. After a light dinner I presented her with the two shirts I had bought and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw how happy she was with them.

She rushed off to put her favourite on, before we had the small party at around 7pm. Birthday cake, mango and sticky rice and lots more kanom and pop.

Lots of smiles and happiness that make this work worth it.

The possible reasons are now very clear, but rather than return him to an atmosphere of neglect and abuse we fully intend to help Jack conquer his problems.
There is a strong possibility that he suffers fetal alcohol syndrome and we are also investigating the possibility of ADHD as his behaviours strongly resemble those in the diagnosis criteria for this disorder.
Although there is treatment available for ADHD we feel that to move Jack forward to best effect will involve 1-1 staff for a significant part of the day, for quite some time.
As a new Foundation still in the throws of registration and with no major sponsors as yet, this will not be possible without sponsorship.
We estimate the cost of 1 extra staff (to be trained onsite); to work half day 1-1 with Jack and the other half as extra staff for all the children,(8 hours a day), 22 days a month, at 10,000 baht a month(approx.200 pounds sterling).
Despite his difficulties , Jack is well settled and very much loved here at Stratton House and part of our aims is to be able to offer such support for any child where needed.
If you feel able to help in anyway, either as an individual sponsor for the staff or to maybe  hold a fundraiser for this special purpose, please contact us as soon as possible.

In the evening the whole group gathered to discuss their day with Khruu Khenmtong working hard to encourage the children to use their English to describe their activities.

There was more singing and after dinner it was Party Time. Whilst the 2 Dutch trainers went home to sleep, Sue and myself stayed and Sue really got into the spirit of the Party with an impromptu dance that got all the kids on their dancing toes to.
Just before the party started a large fire was lit as the evening went on the children cooked kaow lam and toasted crackers on the fire.

It was great to see the respect the kids had for the fire; with many rural families still using open fires to cook over , I guess they learn that lesson early.

All the children appeared to have a great time and were a very social crowd.

Every now and again one of the students would run up with either kaow lam or a cracker and politely offer it to one of us.
Karaoke singing was popular. although I was surprised to see the best singer hiding under a table whilst performing, clearly shy to perform infront of his friends.

This is most surprising as I recalled having seen this lad performing with the upmost confidence at Chiang Mai Sunday Market some months ago.
When the party wound down at around 9.30pm the children went off to their alotted tents and for the most part settled well and were all very well behaved.
I got the best sleep I’ve had in a long time, maybe i should buy a tent and put it in the garden.
It was lovely waking up to the peaceful surroundings and relaxing atmosphere of the Hot Springs gardens. Joining the children soaking our feet in the warm waters of the stream helped counter the chill of the early morning.
Sunday was much more of a free day and the first activity of the day was swimming in the pool. Although all the kids were there it was mostly the boys that got into the pool, the girls possibly too shy.
After breakfast and roll call and singing the camp song we split into our groups for a final ‘work’ session.

Later, all the trainers confirmed having a similar experience in that most of the children seemed transformed in confidence and willingness to use their English language.

At around 11.30 the school Director, Mr Hirun Chainu,came to officially close the camp and it was then time to leave.

I think Khruu Khemtong deserves much praise and congratulations for working so hard to produce an excellent confidence building experience for the students. I look forward to working closely with her on further plans for expanding on this experience and giving these students and others more opportunity to encounter situations where they can practise their English with English speakers.
If you are interested in volunteering, either as an English teacher or maybe even, planning ahead, you think you maybe interested in helping with next years English Camp then please contact me. Khruu Khemtong is keen on the possibility of being able to accommodate more students on the camp but obviously this means a need for more trainers to make this possible.
In the meantime we would also be happy to hear from anyone planning on coming soon who would be interested in teaching at a local village school. There are many that would welcome an English speaking volunteer. If you contact us here we can supply details of requirements for the correct visa and work permit, depending on your planned length of stay, and offer assistance in arranging these documents.

For all the photos from the weekend please visit our photo album here.

The team is named after Founder member Heather, using her Thai name.

The team members are; Heather Mackay; Dawn Mackay; Luca Martinelli: Chloe Martinelli; Vesna Ivkovic; Michelle Huxtable and Azadeh Niah.

Hopefully we’ll get photos of all team members soon.

Our first Gamma Team , Faa Gamma has already been hard at work for the Foundation.

After collecting donated items for around 6 weeks, and storing them at Heathers house,

The guys got together to sort everything into categories, ready for a car boot sale the next day.

Luca loaded everything into the car.

And the early next morning, like very early, 3.30am, Heather and her Mum set off to get to the car boot sale for 5am.

As you can see they had to wrap up warm in the cold and dark.

Sterling work, it really is great support and encouragement to us here in Thailand to see others pitching in like this.

After setting up whilst it was still dark and spending 7 hours rallying buyers, packing in the searing heat of midday they managed to raise $200, Australian.

Yep, this hard working and enthusiastic team hail from the great Australia.

They have another car boot sale planned for September, a Fashion Parade in November and many more great ideas for the future, just what we need, thanks a lot all you guys.
For all the photos from the team please visit our photobucket album , here.

Latest news from Faa Gamma

We were very grateful to receive a further donation from Faa Gamma team member, Michelle Huxtable, of approximately 4240 baht, bringing Faa gammas combined donation total to 9,670 baht so far. Thanks again guys:)

27th Sept 09….more thanks to the team for a further 5,724 baht.(running total, 15,394 baht)…I believe this was from another car boot sale, will add details when I see Heather, who is due to arrive in Chiang Mai this week.

7th December 2009

Novembe saw another donation from the team , 8720 baht, raised through holding a fashion show.

We also ecently received a donation of 1090 baht from a generous lady, Mary Gray who was pointed to our website by Faa Gamma founder Heather.

The team are now had at work on a  Xmas Bike Appeal raising money for us to be able to buy bicycles for all the kids. The Faa Gamma Bike Appeal.(Sorry Heather, I had to cut the photo to be able to upload to google docs)