About 300 kids live at the Phyathai Babies Home, which is always in need of donations, goods, and volunteers, not to mention adoptive and foster families.

The ever-increasing number of abandoned infants is putting heavy pressure on the Phyathai Babies' Home. Volunteer help could ease the load for kids waiting for a home

Story by ALONGKORN PARIVUDHIPHONGS Pictures by YINGYONG UN-ANONGRAK

It looks like any ordinary day at any kindergarten. A group of toddlers, ranging in age from three to five, enjoy themselves playing a game outside with their
teachers.

This particular game is simple. It's called ``hands up'' and the little ones compete in raising their hands to answer funny questions. Some high-spirited toddlers raise their hands for all questions to amuse their teachers and friends. Some are slower than the others. The laughter is proof enough that they are having a great time.

But this is no ordinary occasion at the Phyathai Babies' Home. The Bangkok-based state orphanage for children under five is now packed with more babies than it can accommodate, and given its limited state budget, the staff is finding it harder to get by.

The fun-and-games normal for kindergarten kids are available only when there is help from volunteers and a subcontracted group that have been helping with the children's developmental activities. It is uncertain when the Phyathai toddlers will again be able to enjoy the play activities, essential for their physical and emotional development.

``Every day, we have one or two abandoned infants brought to our place. The number of children often goes beyond our maximum capacity of 300, but we can't reject them,'' said Nonthinee Petpaisit, superintendent at Phyathai Babies' Home.

Established in 1953, the home is under the Department of Public Welfare, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. As part of the country's eight orphanages nationwide, the Phyathai Babies' Home takes care of abandoned children under five years of age in the Central region.

There are currently 302 toddlers at the home. Most are babies abandoned in hospitals or public places. Some are orphans or children of poverty stricken families living on the street.

``We serve as a temporary shelter for the children while helping them find adoptive families. During this complicated and time-consuming process, the orphanage tries to give proper care for the children as much as we can,'' said Visa Benjamano, director of Child and Youth Welfare Division, Department of Public Welfare.

She said the department and the police tried to track down the abandoned child's parents. Many mothers _ mostly factory workers or teenagers _ take their children back after consultation with social workers. In cases when a baby's parents or family cannot be located after 45 days, the department stops searching and the baby is then placed under state care, raised in the home and, if lucky, adopted by a family.

The orphanage provides children with basic health care, including vaccines, a clean environment and proper nutrition. Although officials say they are doing their best to provide child development activities, many children suffer from slow development and emotional problems.

According to Nonthinee, the home has 103 nannies and child development specialists working around the clock to care for the children.

``The number is inadequate _ they have to take turns working three shifts to take care of 302 infants in 10 different wards,'' she explained.

The challenge is even greater when it comes to caring for HIV-infected infants. Currently there are about 60 HIV-infected babies in a special room overseen by specialists and qualified volunteers.

``Few people want to work with HIV babies because they are afraid of the disease,'' said Pauline King, a volunteer and a trained nurse from Britain. ``Actually, it's just like taking care of normal babies except that I need to wear gloves for hygiene purposes.''

At present, the orphanage has a six-million baht budget each year from the government, and also its own foundation with 48 million baht in seed money But she said the sharp reduction in bank interest rates after the economic crisis had led to a sharp decline in supplementary funds to provide proper care for the children.

She added that, although the foundation received about 200,000 baht in cash donations each month, it was not enough to give some 300 children quality care.

She said the home's major expense was food, which cost about 500,000 baht a month. Salaries for nannies and other personnel are about 200,000 baht a month; electricity is 80,000 baht; and the water bill is 50,000 baht a month.

``We haven't paid our bills for a few months now,'' the superintendent said.The home is in constant need of such basic things as diapers, UHT milk, clothes, soap and tissue paper, and certain brands of powdered milk.

Meanwhile, the HIV-infected toddlers need extra medical care, requiring such items as sterile gauzes, glucose, anti-diarrhoea baby formula, normal saline, anti-fungal ointment or cream, suction tubes for phlegm, 70-percent alcohol for cleaning, gloves for nannies, and medication for asthma, allergies and other complications.

The home welcomes educational toys, cassette players, plus tapes and videos of children's songs, stories and cartoons.

One of the most pressing needs, Nonthinee said, was a washing machine to cope with the increasing laundry loads, as well as air-purifier machines because the home was surrounded by heavy traffic most of the day.

Most importantly, the home was in dire need of volunteers, both to help with basic daily care and with play activities, such as games and excursions.

``Some university students drop by in the afternoon to take care of the babies. Some parents bring their kids to play with our children on weekends. But we need more volunteers on a regular basis, especially on weekdays,'' said Nonthinee.

The ultimate thing all the Phyathai babies want, however, is to be adopted _ a chance to live a normal family life with parental affection and emotional security.

The home aims to place 100 babies in adoptive families each year, but this is not always easy. It's hard to find parents wanting to adopt older kids, who are moved to other orphanages when they reach the age of five.

The home started a foster family programme in 1999 to allow children a chance to experience family life. If the foster family is ready, they can adopt the child.

There are now about 100 foster families who are mainly in the North and the Northeast. They are mostly childless couples or families with grown-up children. Some foster families also receive 500 to 1,000 baht a month to ease the financial burden of caring for a child.

Another urgent challenge is the provision of quality child care to prepare the children for whatever their future brings, Nonthinee said. The home, given its small budget and many bureaucratic constraints, could not be expected to answer the tall order alone.

``I wish the public would take a more active role in giving love and care to our needy babies,'' Nonthinee said.




Info for donations:


- Name of organisation: Phyathai Babies' Home
- Contact person: Nonthinee Petpaisit
- Address: 264/1 Rama 6 Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400.
- Telephone: 02-245-5635, 02-246-8748 or 02-247-9190.
- Fax: 02-246-4092.
- Bank account information: Thai Commercial Bank, Ramathibodi branch
Account Name: Phyathai Babies' Home Foundation.
Savings account number: 026-2-28911-5

Those who want to give donation should contact the orphanage first for specification of goods, eg, powered milk.

Those wanting to volunteer for the Phyathai Babies' Home may contact the Non-Governmental Social Welfare Promotion Division on 02-281-3199 ext 660.

Those interested in adoption can contact the Child Adoption Centre on 02-246-8651 or 02-247-5084, or email adoption

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