Apologies for the delay in news from Childlife but it's been an incredibly busy time, so there is much to tell!
The shelter is fairly quiet as most of the children have returned home for the school holiday's but those who remain are always finding ways to entertain themselves! This proved to be no problem during the time of Songkran, a festival held to celebrate the Thai new year. Anyone who has been to Thailand knows it is impossible to stay dry between the 13th and 15th April as the country descends into a three-day water fight! Mae-Sai was no exception and the children were eager not to miss out on the fun!
The last couple of months have also seen a number of departures from Childlife. I-to-I volunteer Clare was with us for 4 weeks and during her stay she taught English to a number of children both at the shelter and at nana buffet. She also kept the children busy during the school holidays with a daily stream of activities.
Baan nana also said goodbye to volunteers Angela and Jean. Angela (right), who previously volunteered in 2006, returned in March of last year after falling in love with Childlife first time around. She ultimately stayed for a whole year and gave immeasurable help and support to both the children and staff. This included the co-ordination of volunteers, the initiation of both 'Friends of Childlife' and the blog and newsletter (how the latter have suffered in her absence!), and much more than can be mentioned here. She will be sorely missed by everyone.
Everyone also bid a fond farewell to Pi Sua (better known as Tiger), who worked as a clerk and IT assistant at Childlife for 15
months. After a staff team building day that included a scavenger hunt around Mae-Sai, a party was held with the inevitable Karaoke lasting well into the night!