Pattaya Orphanage

I spent all Saturday volunteering my time at the Pattaya Orphanage. I first read about the orphanage in my Lonely Planet guide book, and then had seen signs for it from the bus window on my way up from Rayong (from Ko Samet). I then googled the place (http://www.thepattayaorphanage.org/) and e-mailed the contact. Siriphen, the Assistant Director for International Relations, got back to me right away. I couldn't believe they even had such a title... but then again... looking at their website, they seemed very organized.

Howard dropped me off on the motorbike at 8:30 am, and we couldn't believe what surrounded us! It looked like a resort of sorts! Completely green, lots of large, low buildings and offices, playgrounds, a soccer field... I then met and sat with Siriphen for about 1/2 hour. She is perfectly fluent in English, even though she has only spent a little time abroad, but she has a lot of contact with foreigners everyday. After speaking with Siriphen, I found out much more about the orphanage. They are religiously affiliated with the Catholic Church, her herself being Catholic! There is something like a .2% Catholic population in Thailand... very small. However, there are Catholic schools in Sri Racha (at least 2 that I know of), and then this place! So, they are privately funded, as well as they receive many donations from local and foreign organizations. Through such foreign organizations, individual children are sponsored, and programs as well. On the orphanage grounds, they have a School for the Deaf, which houses and schools deaf children from poor families. It is a boarding school, so these children go home on weekends and/or holidays. There are about 170 orphans in total, most of which have been there since birth. The orphans range from newborns to 25 years old! Their motto is that if a child leaves the orphanage and is unemployed or has not found their place in society, then they have failed. So, they allow their children to stay there for as long as they need to!

Many of the children go to private schools, Darasamutr in Sri Racha being one of them! Darasamutr is right across the street from Sri Racha School. It is a Catholic school, so the children are sponsored. Many even go onto get their Bachelor's degrees in some of the better universities of Thailand, and some even get their Master's! The focus of the orphanage is on education, as it is the children's only tool to make a path for themselves. For the non-academic older children, the orphanage finds jobs for them, and keeps up with their progress and well-being. Plus, they have over 100 staff, 60-70 of which are nannies and teachers. I am very impressed. This is the opposite of Baphumelele Children's Home in Khayelitsha, South Africa!! Oh, and they have an adoption program as well -- with about 25 children being adopted annually! They have a permanent social worker on staff, and two nurses which rotate.

However, having said such, it is still an orphanage. As Siriphen put it, "Many foreigners come here and think oh, what a great life these children have! They have better opportunities than children from poor families. They get to go to private school and have opportunities to continue their education further! They always have a roof, a bed and food! But, the truth is that the best situation for any child is to be with a family. And this one core part of life is the one thing the orphanage cannot give them. We do our best to create a family environment, but in the end, this is an institution... and that is undeniable."

After a tour of the grounds, I spent the first few hours with the babies, as that is where they needed the most help. One of them was blind, and was there temporarily until it could go to a boarding Blind School (which doesn't accept children until they are 3 years old). Another had a heart condition, which is being monitored daily. Other than that, the children were perfectly healthy... and for the moment, happy. The nanny staff were caring and fun and really loved the children. There were some Thais there as well, who were visiting the children they sponsor.

After helping put the babies to sleep for their afternoon nap, I went and played with this one group of girls (aged 7-10). There was a new teacher, Soo, with them, who had only been working there for about a month and a half, and she spoke pretty good English. She took me to teach crochet with the girls, and then to Lunch. At this time, day volunteers/ visitors are not allowed on the grounds... but because I had latched onto Soo.. they sort of let this rule go with me. After Lunch, one of their monthly volunteers (Isabel from California who was volunteering for 2 months), taught the children Latin dance. About 40 children showed up. In the late afternoon, I went back to the babies' room and helped with the afternoon feeding. Isabel and I then ate dinner in the canteen with the children. A Thai family was there celebrating their birthday. I was very confused by this. But Isabel explained to me that this is an almost daily occurrence. Many Thais come here to donate their time and sponsor a meal for all the children on their birthday. It is kind of a "karma" thing, something good Budhhists must do. In fact, as she said this, I remembered from orientation that Eric had said on their birthdays, Thais will take you out, as opposed to friends taking you out on your birthday. In other words, you give on your birthday.

Siriphen then drove Isabel and I up the hilltop in Pattaya for the sunset. There were some amazing views of Pattaya from way up here, as well as firecrackers! Siriphen is actually from Sri Racha herself, and in fact lives on Wat Wang Hin Road too! Small world. She normally stays at her friend's condo in Pattaya, but was headed back to Wat Wang Hin that evening as there was a Catholic festival at Darasamutr on Sunday.... so she drove me back home! Very nice.

Again, despite the opportunities that these children may have, thanks to donations and sponsors, they are all fighting for their lives, and for purposes to their lives. This was very evident. While I spent time with some of the older girls (7-10 years old), I noticed many behavioral issues that made it all the more clearer that this was an orphanage, and these were nonetheless orphans. Impatience, outbursts of uncontrollable crying, anger, frustration, violence, and utter loneliness. This one girl, Bua, sticks out in my memory. She is half Thai and half Black. She had been there since birth. In Thailand (as well as in the rest of Asia), darker skinned people do not fare well socially, and are ostracized, made fun of, outcast, and seen as dirty and untrustworthy. I notice this with my students. They often joke at eachother, pointing out a darker student calling him/ her "black", and saying "He/ she is from Laos, from Cambodia", which is a way to put someone down, beneath them. Even the Thai adults often partake and will call students "black", when to us westerners... they are not "black", but rather just have darker (maybe, more tanned) skin then some other Thais. Anyhow, Bua went through uncontrollable crying fits all throughout the day, and spent a good amount of the afternoon in the social worker's office, after being dragged out of room after room on her knees. Bua is stunning! I mean, she is absolutely a beautiful child, and even model-like. She would undoubtedly be one of the most beautiful little girls in the West (or at least in America), but here in Thailand, she is seen as ugly, dirty and of lower caste. I spoke with Siriphen about her, and Siriphen informed me that she does have many problems and is often ostrocized by the other children. She has so many problems in school (being a 1/2 black orphan in Thailand!) that they are trying to find a sponsor to place her in an international school, where her dark skin will stand out less. This is a lot of money, but it is the only way they can see that whe will grow up with a semi-normal childhood and with self-confidence in who she is. They tell her everyday that she must succeed to the top of her education and continue all the way to her Master's Degree. She also told me that there are a couple of potential adoptive families for her, as well. The Pattaya Orphanage actually has a long line of waiting adoptive families, but the process is long and lengthy and complex (as with most countries), and they want to make sure that Bua goes to a country where her dark skin will not contribute to social downfalls, as here in Thailand.

The Pattaya Orphanage posted a few photos of me on their website. Go to http://www.thepattayaorphanage.org/2009/index_en.php, then scroll to the very bottom, and click "Update News, Click for more info...". Then, on the new screen, at the top, search for June 20, 2009, and hit "search". My photo album should be at the top.