First Journal

Thailand: Night markets, elephant trekking, tiger shows and day spas. With so much beauty, it’s hard to see past the tourist veil to the reality of a third world country. Child abandonment, prostitution, drug rings and slavery are very much a part of everyday life for most of the Thailand population.
Thai government provides scarcely the necessary requirements to help people survive. Missionary organisations, such as Mercy International, pick up the slack. Orphanages are the main point of concentration for such organisations. An estimated 29.9% of the population are considered desperately poor and earning less than 1,606 baht ($51AUD) per month, thus making it’s obvious that Thailand’s not just a holiday destination. It’s an opportunity to show compassion for our fellow human beings.
Mercy International runs several Christian orphanages throughout Thailand. I visited Ban Meata orphanage in Lom Sak which has 1200 children who were abandoned, orphaned or rescued from the drug trade ring or child prostitution. Ban Meata literally translated means: ‘a mercy filled house or village’. They provide education, food, transport and housing for local children as well who can’t afford government schooling. With only 50 teachers at Ban Meata, Mercy International is always looking for volunteers to assist in building living quarters, improving farms or even helping to educate the children. It takes eight people paying $40 a month each to support just one child’s needs.
Compared with this volunteer-run orphanage, the government orphanage in Chang Mai was devastating to observe. With only 87 children, they should be able to provide more than the other orphanages, but the conditions are far from desirable. The government pays 10 baht (32 cents) per child per day, which is only just enough for one meal of rice. Can you imagine surviving on one meal of rice per day, day after day?
They have extremely basic conditions and facilities. It was shockingly sparse and almost to the point of disregard. In this government orphanage the children are provided with one thin scratchy rag for a blanket, laid over a thin old mattress, set on a thin board of wooden ply. In the winter, the children huddle together in an attempt to stay warm through body heat.
There are an abundance of opportunities to make an impact in the orphan’s lives. A generous supporter from Bang Kok provided gas for cooking, which changed the way they prepared meals and also helped keep them warm during winter. Another supporter gave the teenage girls French knitting looms, to make woollen scarfs for winter, but also to sell at the markets and to develop skills to earn a living. Such amazing support makes a life time of difference to these discarded children.
Next time you travel, why not think of someone else’s happiness or even their basic needs and show some compassion to a poverty stricken population. The biggest adventure of your life is just around the corner; all you need to do is sign up!