Woops, I should know better than to put a time limit on these posts, how easily two days can stretch to 10. With a new Volunteer and finalising the land purchase I’ve had no time. But I digress…..
After 3 months hard graft;
(which I neglected to mention also featured some much appreciated help from our good friend Heather, of the Faa Gamma Fund raising team, and her family who were over on a visit and helped us prepare the playground area and first fence)
;getting the house and grounds ready and starting the process of registering The Foundation; the grounds were looking pretty barren but safe and all the furnishings and fitting of fans , etc finished.
We also had two brand new shower/toilets blocks built to ensure adequate facilities.
With a possible 14 residents all needing to get ready for school in the morning this was seen as a must do.
We were then waiting on the registration process which can take a very long time.
Many checks by City Hall, the Police and local authorities.
Determined to do things right we had not planned to open officially or take any children before this process was finished.
At the time I was working as a Volunteer English teaching assistant at a rural Thai school.
When one of their pupils stopped coming to school, one of the Teachers, knowing that we were setting up the Foundation, explained that the boy had been sent back home from his placement in a Lamphun Childrens Home and was no longer receiving regular education, and worse still, was back in what was seen by many as an abusive and neglectful home situation. The Teacher cared very much for the boy and asked if we could help.
The nature of “care” means that as much as you may want to follow protocol, sometimes you simply can not turn your back.
Knowing the boy, knowing his woeful situation and knowing that Stratton House was fit and ready to accommodate we simply could not ignore this call for help.
So, after a home visit and first hand assessment of his situation, and with the request for a placement coming, not only from his teacher but, his wider family also , we took our first child into the care of The Stratton ABC Foundation on Nov 1st 2009.
Within 3 a month the same fate beset two young girls who had been attending the same school, evicted from their previous placement. Once again the Teacher asked us for help.
After home visit, assessment and request from the family we agreed to help.
One of the pledges we make here at The Stratton ABC Foundation is that once a child has been given a placement they become one of the “Family”.
The nature of a Childrens Home means that children who come here may well come with many problems. We are here to care and will do our utmost to do the best we can for each and every child, and ending a placement would only ever happen if we felt that The Stratton ABC Foundation was not able to give the best service that any particular child needed.
In such a case we will always do all we can to find other services to ensure that the child gets the best care.
If you missed the last “Recollections” post follow the link below.
Recollections (part 1)
