Welcome to the house of love
A woman in Chiang Rai has turned her home into a shelter
for ethnic and Thai-Japanese children and some of their mothers, too
Stories and photos by VASANA CHINVARAKORN
Thanks to Phimphan Kaewsrinuan, a native of Chiang Rai, underprivileged ethnic and Thai-Japanese children have been given a chance to restart their lives. |
Phimphan Kaewsrinuan says she does not think big. But for the 18 children at Baan Saan Rak (House Of Woven Love) in the Mae Lao district of Chiang Rai, the petite woman, known as "Mae Jit", is their matriarch, a person they know they can turn to for physical and emotional support.
She gives them food, a roof to sleep under and on several occasions, she has worked with state agencies to process their documents so that they could go to school. A couple of times, she has even had to file complaints with the police to take children away from abusive adults.
Her thirty-something year old face looks worn down much of the time
"I feel more tired when having to deal with grown-ups than with kids, though," said Phimphan. "Seeing how the children are so fresh and innocent, my exhaustion simply melts away. They are free of guilt. They are never stressed out, unlike us."
Observing the ethnic Akha and Thai-Japanese children at work or play here impresses one with their resilience
their giggles and chatter belie their traumatic pasts. And their ability to live together in peace is pretty remarkable too.
Phimphan said she deliberately accepted children aged between five to 11 who are either poor or from a broken family. Despite their diverse backgrounds, both ethnic and cultural, the children of Baan Saan Rak share a well-behaved demeanour and display tremendous self-discipline. A point confirmed by Raphipat Chailangka, principal of the Ban Mae Phong school that all 18 children attend: "They are very well-disciplined. They divide among themselves what jobs need doing. Even the small ones who may still wet the bed can perform their duties," he noted with a laugh.
Theera Srila, an assistant at Baan Saan Rak, added: "The older ones also help the younger ones, say, in washing clothes. But here even children in Prathom 1 know how to cook rice already."
On the walls of the communal dining hall, there is posted the name of each child and their respective assignments. Sweeping and mopping the floor of their thatched bamboo hut is shared by Amporn and Dong. Yuna and Rieko take care of clearing leaves from the grounds and cleaning the tables. Masae and Kiyoshi take turns cooking rice in the mornings and evenings, and everybody must help in watering the flowers that grow around the house.
The schedule shows the children get up at 5:30am and finish their morning routines before they head off to school at 7:20am. After school, both the boys and the girls must wash their own pinto (lunchboxes), uniforms and other clothes, and help water the vegetables at a nearby farm (owned by Phimphan's father), crops from which will end up on their dinner table. If there is enough time, they can play among themselves. Dinner is ready at 6:30pm. And there is time for homework, and "bedtime storytelling"
where the children themselves read both Thai and Japanese stories, Phimphan added
before they all go to bed at 8pm.
Do the children ever break the rules? Baan Saan Rak's model uses an interesting carrot-and-stick approach. After dinner, each child is encouraged to share what they think was a good deed they have done during the day. Wide-eyed Chieko Mafu seemed proud as she announced in a clear, loud voice that she had "picked up rubbish" and put it in the proper bins at school.
Phimphan pointed to another list of what the children are not allowed to do, and in cases of violation, what punishments are awaiting them. Found stepping on a book, and the person must krab (pay respect to) it three times. Fighting among themselves or taking what is not theirs results in a loss of their quota of snacks for three consecutive days.
"The children decided themselves on the rules and punishments," Phimphan said. "We just gave them guidelines
like what could happen if they played with fire or climbed up on high places
and how they'd like to prevent their friends from doing such things."
petite
(of a girl or woman) small and thin
matriarch
a woman who is the head of a family or social group
abusive
behaving violently or unfairly
worn down
very tired
innocent
having little experience of the world
exhaustion
extreme tiredness
guilt
a feeling of having done something wrong
stressed
too anxious and tired to be able to relax
ethnic
connected with or belonging to a particular race or people that share the same culture
resilience
the ability to be able to feel better quickly after something unpleasant, such as shock, injury, etc.
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giggles
silly laughs
chatter
continuous talk, especially about things that are not important
belie
to give a false impression or understanding of something
traumatic
extremely unpleasant and causing a feeling of upset or anxiety
diverse
very different
demeanour
the way someone looks or behaves
self-discipline
self-control; the ability to be able to control the way you live, work and behave
communal
shared or used by a number of people, usually people who live together
respective
belonging or relating separately to each of the people or things already mentioned
mopping
cleaning something with a mop
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thatched
covered with the dried leaves of plants like straw
routine
the normal way in which you regularly do things
crops
plants that are grown for food
carrot-and-stick
rewarding good behaviour and punishing bad behaviour
approach
method; way of doing something
deed
action; something you do
wide-eyed
with the eyes fully open because of excitement, interest, surprise, fear, etc.
violation
breaking a rule
quota
a set amount of something you expect to receive
guidelines
rules or instructions for helping you do something
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