By Linn Johanne Haaland | International Volunteer
It gets cold in Thailand, too. As we speak, I am wearing woolen underwear, a thick sweater and a scarf while sitting inside. We don’t have the luxury of heaters inside, thus 15 degrees Celsius feels really cold. The children dread taking their daily showers, as I fully understand. You can imagine how cold it is after a cold shower, with no possibility to warm up again. That might also be one of the reasons why they like to sleep close to each other. This way, they keep each other warm.
Even though they would skip the showers if they could, they come running to me afterwards, smiling from ear to ear. The bad part is out of the way, it’s time to concentrate on what’s good! They have a place to stay, they have food and they have people who care surrounding them. And this is so crucial. All children need to feel loved, but these children might have a greater need than others. That’s one of the main reasons working with these kids is so rewarding. The little you give, you get back ten fold.
Lately, the older girls have been visiting me in the evenings. Mainly because they want to listen to some music, like most teenagers do, but also because it is a little bit warmer at my place than in the shelter. Even the younger, active kids are cold nowadays. The plan is to renew the shelter soon, making it more livable there. Through the donations given so far, it seems like we will soon be able to start the work. This is something that is highly appreciated by all the users of the shelter.
Just before Christmas, we watched some Christmas movies together. One of the children asked me if Santa is real, and I honestly didn’t know what to answer. To let children live with their fantasies is one thing, but this fantasy is just cruel to children that rarely get any presents at all. Luckily, one of our private donors sent us money to support the children’s spare time activities and we decided to buy them some personal gifts.
Your generosity has made all of this possible. To all of the supporters of the Mae Chan sites and DEPDC/GMS, thank you so much for your kind attention and generosity. We are forever grateful for all your help and hope you will continue following us.
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