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!

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!