May 6, 2022
We had a wonderful visit today to all of the Kids Ark Programs in the Mai Ai area in Northern Thailand which is about a 3.5 hour drive from Chiang Mai and close to the border of Myanmar. Annie, the office and financial manager of Kids Ark, was nice enough to plan and escort me and my family on a one day tour to get acquainted with the three Kids Ark programs in Mai Ai. Our primary objective was to deliver fresh donuts from Chiang Mai to all of the Kids Ark children (about 180) and to get acquainted with the Kids Ark facilities in this area.
Our first stop was the Robin’s House of Hope which caters to about 120 children in the attached village. After visiting the children in the House of Hope classroom, we walked to the village where the children and families lived. We were welcomed into one of the villagers homes to see what a typical village home is like. We also got to see the relatively new sustainable pig farming operation in the village where eventually each family will be able to have two pigs of their own. The children were so happy to meet us and to have a delicious donut which are a special treat not available in these remote village areas.
Our next stop was the Kids Ark Mai Ai Daycare center located about 30 minutes away from Robin’s House of Hope. This daycare center caters to about 20 younger children in the attached village. We also we given a walking tour of the village to see how the families live.
Our last stop of the day was the Mai Ai House of Hope located in town of ThaTon This House of Hope is located on the property of an affiliated Thai school. We were one hour late in arriving after the closing time of this House of Hope, but all of the children waited very patiently and were very happy to meet us and to have a delicious donut.
Schools in Thailand are finally getting ready to open in the next week after being mostly closed for 2 years due to Covid. The school year in Thailand typically starts in early May. All of the Houses of Hope are back into full swing now.
It was a long day, but so much fun and informative. We learned a lot about all of the Kids Ark Mai Ai programs and how important and vital they are to the local rural communities.
Rick Holofcener
Advisory Board Member / Kids Ark
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