Stratton House - The Stratton ABC Foundation Childrens Home Chiang Mai

February 2012
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Villa and Sport Project all But Completed.

Dec 062011

For the last few weeks, in a quiet little village, just outside Sarapee, Chiang Mai, a group of determined young people have been steadfastly working, not only for themselves but to earn your respect and compassion and support; to show you that they are a group that truly deserve it.

Given a near free hand with 3 objectives; new vegetable plots, new sports facility and a shaded play/relaxation area; and a budget of just 5000 baht (approx 100 pounds sterling), our four man Mattayom Student team, with occasional help from the younger children have proved themselves very capable.

We now have our new vegetable plots with new crops already well on their way.

We have a Batong (Boules) Pit.

And yesterday the team completed their “Villa”.

All but completed? Just a general tidy up is all that’s left.

The sign translates to “Place to sit and play”

As I write, I make no bones about the moisture welling up in my eyes, as I think with pride of how well these children have done.

From the outset of The Foundations beginnings it has been my intention to nurture these children in a way that they discover as many of their own latent capabilities as they can. This way they will be best equipped to take full advantage of opportunities that come their way and have a truly better chance in life.

We may be small and some people may not see the bigger picture. But here at The Stratton ABC Foundation we do our best to instill the best of values, understanding of the benefits of sharing.

Our hope is that as they reach an age, these children will strongly consider returning to their home communities to share the opportunities, knowledge, and compassion that they have been lucky enough to have received.

I sit beneath a spreading chestnut tree , whose branches of hope grow daily before my eyes.

Please, if you see the way that concentrating on a small number, facilitating the best of care and development, may then help to make much greater change for the better future of the rural communities that these children come from, then look deep into your hearts and help us continue and develop.

I have, and will continue to, put all my heart into maintaining this Foundations goal, but if those branches are to continue to grow, and not wither, these children need your support.

Daily Duties

Foundation Blog No Responses »

Nov 292011

It can not be said enough that we have a great bunch of kids here all doing their best to deserve your help.

Not only do they take part in our work projects and study hard for their education but they all take part in daily duties to.

Here are just a couple of examples…more to follow through the week.

At meal times, when the eating is done, washing up and general cleaning of the kitchen needs to be done. The children take their turns, with the boys doing it one day and then the girls doing it the next.

Sunday was the boys turn.

The dogs need feeding and this is a job that Tai took on last year and carries out each and every day. Over time he has got the dogs well trained to wait for their food and keeps an eye on them to stop any squabbles that may arise.

Bond Street

Lead 1 Response »

Oct 232011

It has been a delight to watch the strong bond between Tai and his younger brother, Zak, re-established when Zak joined us in April. Tai clearly cares deeply for his brother and has become a fine role model for him to boot.

This week has seen a wonderful example of Tai using his sharp inventive mind to benefit young Zak. Having first marked out a winding “road” in the soil and patting it down hard and smooth for Zak to use his toy cars on, he is now in the process of using excess mortar from the Villa and Sport Project to make a the road more permanent.

Yesterday he was even adding cement bridges.

Keep it up Tai, we are all very proud of you.

I.D or Not I.D

Foundation Blog No Responses »

Aug 172011

As previously mentioned a while back, there is now a new requirement for all children 7 years and older to carry an I.D card. We had thought that this would mean us having to take some of our children all the way to their “home” Province of Nan to get this done.

Thankfully this is not the case and we can get it done here in Sarapee. After liaising with the local schools we took all our Prathom level children to the local Amphur office where many local children were getting their I.Ds done.

The process turned out to be less straight forward as we’d hoped when, despite having the school teacher there verifying our children’s identity both in person and on paper, it transpired that the officials would not process any I.Ds with out original birth and house papers. As all the original documents for our children remain in the hands of their families this means that we are now waiting for the paperwork to be posted from Nan before trying again.

Bye Bye Melissa

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Jun 142011

So our latest volunteer, Melissa, finished her week here at Stratton House Childrens Home, in Chiang Mai, yesterday and is now off to holiday on Koh Tao down south.
Melissa was a very welcome addition to the household for the week and especially popular with the girls.

She spent a lot of time chatting, playing games and helping with homework, which was all very much appreciated.

Sunday afternoon Melissa got to enjoy the ambience of Huay Tung Tao where the children enjoyed more cooling off time at the lake.
And it won’t be just our kids that miss her, but also the children at Mae Salaab School, where she made many visits during her time here.

She spent Sunday evening at the Sunday Market in Chiang Mai , shown around by Somboon.

After another morning at Mae Salaab School and a short time playing with the kids here at Stratton House it was time for Melissa to go and catch her bus so we all jumped on the bus to take her to the bus station in Chiang Mai and say farewell.

We all hope she has a great time down south, stay safe, have fun and keep in touch:)

Thanks again Melissa.

A Belated Thanks To Roshni

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May 012011

The week prior to the Song Kran Holiday was a lovely time with enthusiastic and delightful Volunteer Roshni. With preparations for the holiday I didn’t get round to doing a proper post on her visit.

During her time here Roshni was very popular with all the children and joined in various activities.

She was also a great support for myself helping out a lot with general organisation of Foundation activities.

Roshni…..we hope you are well and happy and that you enjoyed your time here as much as we enjoyed you being here.

Hope to hear from you soon and making connections with your school and students.

Here are some videos and photos from Roshni’s time at Stratton House.

Sunday Playtime

Foundation Blog No Responses »

Mar 132011

And after the work, time to relax , play and enjoy.

The girls and Jack all took to making dens out of bamboo sticks and banana leaves, and a great job they did too.

Gu, with a little help from myself, set to making new stilts and then practising walking on them. Indeed most of the children took a turn on them later on, with the older children assisting the younger ones for safety.

Tai spent a long time practising on his guitar today and is progressing rapidly.

Big Thanks to The Grays

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Jan 012011

Everyone here at Stratton House would like to say a big thankyou to the Gray Family and hope their onward travels go well and that they all enjoy a very happy New Year.
During their week long stay at Stratton House they helped out so much, not just with donations for the lawn, garden tools, a weeks worth of food shopping and more; but also lots of great ideas to help with our garden projects; spending time with the kids helping out with, homework etc. Bruce and Jemsai spent alot of time with Jack which was a great help, he does so much better with the 1-1 attention.
Special thanks to Mary for all her garden hints, some of which we have put into operation straight away.
It was a moving farewell at Chiang Mai Airport as Mary caught her flight to Phuket and Bruce and Jemsai went off on their onward travels to.
Thankyou you once again for all your support and we look forward to staying in touch.

Helping a Gallery of Dreams Come True, Thankyou Li Li Tan

Foundation Blog 2 Responses »

Dec 202010

Everyone here at Stratton House wishes to pass on heartfelt thanks to our good friend, artist, Li Li Tan for arranging the sale of our handmade cards, postcards and our calendars at Friday nights Music Night at J J Good Place.

Added thanks to Chiang Mai Living for organising the event, only wish I could have made it there myself.

Li Li managed to sell over 700 bahts worth of our cards etc, and theres money to be counted from the collection box to.

Thanks to all who purchased or donated, be sure your money will be put to good use and please feel free to come and visit at anytime, (phoning or emailing ahead is good just in case we are out and about).

Great Changes Coming On Fast

Foundation Blog, Lead 1 Response »

Dec 172010

It really is great to see our labours start to add some real shape and order to the garden now. Taking advantage of the cooler weather we have been setting to major ground clearance and setting up of many vegetable plots.
With our improvement budget depleted it looked like we might be on hold for a while, but thanks to a generous donation from our friend Ally we were able to get another truck load of top soil to continue work.
The kids have made me so proud yet again with all their efforts.
I don’t like to single kids out but special mention again to Gu for effort over and above what is asked. He has now been made ‘Boss’ of the garden and given the responsibility of logging what goes in each plot and sorting out a rota for care and upkeep of the different areas.
We still need approximately 3 loads of soil to complete all works. The truckload comes at 850 baht.

We are hoping that we may reduce this need next week as we have major water and sewage works going on and may be able to use soil excavated for this operation.

We are also still hoping for someone to find it in their heart to sponsor the purchase of around 1000 bahts worth of turf to lay on areas already prepared.