Hope Home

As Art Director and Volunteer Coordinator at ARI, I get the wonderful opportunity to work with loads of volunteers coming to us from all over the world. Each one brings with them unique skills, talents, ideas and their own special perspective of the world. What fascinates me is the transformation that each one of the volunteers goes through while working with the children at Hope Home. 

Hope Home is a foster home for Thai children with severe Cerebral Palsy. In Thailand, disabilities are largely misunderstood due to the lack of education. Many times the child's inability to walk or talk or interact with the world "normally" only goes to reinforce the believe that they are less than human. 

Each week I watch as our volunteers walk through the Hope Home gates and see these small children largely immobile and silent staring back at them with the most expressive eyes. When we take them into our arms and lean them against our chests so that they can feel the vibrations of our singing and encourage them to move their arms and legs to the songs, their faces break out into the biggest, most beautiful smiles. 

I watch each volunteer transform in their own small way as well, as they work with the children. From fear and uncertainty to love and enjoyment, they walk out with a new love and respect for the endearing spirits of these bright and loving children. With each painting, each art piece, we demonstrate that these children are just as human as you and me. That they feel happiness, sadness, hurt and pain. That a small touch or a song can brighten their worlds and that love goes a long long way!

Let me introduce you to these amazing children!

On Friday, we visited a home for children with disabilities in Chiang Mai. Our volunteers decided to do a music workshop that consisted of decorating small instruments made out of paper cups and plates. Then we sat in a circle and sang songs rocking the children back and forth and using our new instruments to accompany our singing. The children were beautiful and the staff incredibly loving. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite ARI workshops.

King of my Heart

Today I went in search for the littlest of our Young Lion kiddos, (Young Lions is an a art workshop we hold in our front yard for the local Burmese refugee kids) and back a short, trash strewn soi I found dozens of families crammed into a tiny, broken down house. Once you understand the life these children lead you also start to realize how small projects like the one we hold in our front yard, can mean so much to them. This little guy held my hand on the way back to the office and we skipped and jumped and chased our shadows all the way home. He stole my heart with his beautiful long lashes and stunning smile.

Today, I escaped the office for an afternoon and hopped into the volunteer van on its way to our partnering organization: Hope Home. Hope Home is refuge for Thai children with disabilities. Social taboos and and an overall lack of knowledge about disabilities here in Thailand, has added to the misunderstanding and mistreatment of these wonderful children.
It's only my second workshop with them, using art to help with their motor skills and to give them a chance to be creative little kids. As we walk into the room their excitement is palpable. Smiles spread across faces, legs begin to shake in excitement and anticipation. My little partner's name is Pancake. She's my little pigtailed explorer. She is partially blind, but explores the world through sound and has the most rebelliously adventurous spirit I've ever known. Some days she gets a wee bit sour and refuses any help at all, even if it means running into tables and chairs, she'll do the opposite of what you ask. She wants so terribly bad to be her own person and to do her own thing and anything less will make her scream bloody murder. But today I can tell that she is having a good day the moment I hop out of the van. Her little face is like a beam of sunshine and she wears a devilish smile. She seems to remember me and wanders my way so I can scoop her up and we weave across the floor dancing to the music and singing silly songs to ourselves. Today she even joined in with her own rendition of the 123s, which completely stole my heart. Phil has mad skills painting with his feet. In the beginning of the workshop, he is like a mad artist attacking the canvas. All flailing limbs and happy concentration etched on his face and in his big brown eyes. Tiny Joy watches the world, inspecting everything and everyone. At the end of the workshop we always have a race; each one of us manning a wheel chair and someone else standing at the end of the lane to mark the finish line. Smiles break over faces and the excitement builds. "Ready, set, go!" Squealing tires (compliments of my sound making abilities) and the patter of bare feet on stone. Joy and I win our second race and I raise her hands in celebration and she gives me my first smile!
Not every day goes smoothly, and not everyone is in a stellar mood, but the outcome, whether it be winning a wheeled race, painting a beautiful picture, or summonsing a tiny smile, is always rewarding enough!

Land of a Thousand Smiles

Hello from sunny Chiang Mai, Thailand!
The chicken has official flown the coup! The Korean coup that is. So I made it. After flying all night and weedling evil luggage weight Nazis, and slipping them a few bills under the table (rolls eyes), me and all my respectable luggage have touch down in the Land of Smiles. And it's true! These people actually DO smile back at you! It was actually an almost uncomfortable sensation at first to have someone return my goofy smile. I think I even tripped in surprise at the toothless little Thai lady who seemed to find me tromping down the Chiang Mai backstreets as exciting and smile worthy as me! I haven't had much of a chance to do anything except make up for lost Zzz's slobbering on my new Apt veranda and getting lost a couple times down random back streets (which is the best way to explore a new city if you asked me!). For my first Thai food experience I channeled my inner Inge and scored a grilled fish popsicle from a friendly street vendor. It may not sound like heave but trust me, I got weak kneed at how delicious that wee stuck fishy was! I have made close buds with the fruit lady (pineapple for under a buck?!) and espresso lady on my Soi (alley). And yes, all you who had sneaky suspicions about my travels always follow the trail of delicious coffee, Thailand DOES grow its own delicious bean and YES I'm drinking massive amounts. It's so good I haven't even gone to Starbucks once! *gasp*
Yesterday, our ARI volunteers did their weekly Young Lions Art Program workshop with the local Burmese refugee children and I was able to sneak out of the office to spend some time and take some pictures of these beautiful children. Chiang Mai is home to approximately 120,000 Burmese refugees and migrants in search of freedom from fear and oppression. What they find here in Thailand is far different from what they expect. The family members are utilized for cheap construction labor and not given rights or residency by the Thai government. As a result, they have no choice but to live in construction camp slums and their children are not allowed to attend school. Instead, you will find them wandering the streets trying to put food on the table. Yesterday morning, three beautiful Burmese girls came up to me with strings of sweet smelling jasmine flowers clasped in their grubby hands and hopeful eyes. I smiled and told them that I was not buying and to my amazement the oldest one, who had bruises circling her neck, gave me the most incredible smile and told me how beautiful I was with thumbs up. As they walked away she kept looking over her shoulder reluctantly and called out the few English words she knew. I was so touched by these children. The Young Lions Art Program is an art workshop Zoe Lambe, the managing director of Cultural Canvas Thailand, put together to reach out to these children, to give them a chance to just be kids as well as to express themselves creatively. It has been a smashing success! We are trying to raise funds to reach out to the larger community of refugee children here in Chiang Mai. Take a peak at our project and lend your support! Young Lions Art Project
If you can't tell, I am a happy girl here in Thailand! I think I was made for tropical weather, fruit galore, delicious Thai food and working with this beautiful organization: Cultural Canvas Thailand