Baby Sunday

This is Apyou and his son Atit (Sunday).  His wife died a couple of months ago and since then he has not had anyone to watch the baby while he goes to work so he lost his room and was living in a plastic makeshift tent when I saw him selling flowers in a bar at night.  I wondered where the mother was because I remember her selling flowers when she was pregnant and he told me that she had died of a heart problem in the hospital but he didn't know anymore details than that.  He doesn't have any family to help him because he ran away from the Burmese army when he was 10 and they took him to be a soldier, he hasn't been back since.  His wife's family is far away and he does not know how to contact them.
He also has a 9 year old son in a missionary school in Chiang Dao and he is trying to save up enough money to go and tell him that his mother is dead.
Currently he is living in the store room at Thai Freedom House  and we are supplying him with food and formula for the baby but he desperately wants to work, he can garden and do construction; if you know anyone who might have a job for him please let me know.  Also, we need help supporting him until he is on his feet again, if you or someone you know would like to help with formula expenses or has anything for a 4 mo. old baby boy you can drop it off at the school on Moon Muang, Soi 7, Chiang Mai, across from Wat Lam Chang.
You may also make a donation on our website www.thaifreedomhouse.org

Thank you

Visiting Free Bird Cafe

Hi there--

I am sitting in my favorite and most colorful cafe's in all of Thailand, Free Bird Cafe.

I am spending time here Mentoring clients and Coaching an Interior Design Company in Bangkok. It's the perfect office with children's paintings every where, art work, toys and the dreams of hopes of children painted on the walls and I know that 100% of what I spend here goes to support Thai Freedom House.

Freedom House is a non-government, not-for-profit organization dedicated to assisting refugees in Thailand. Their work includes helping refugees from Burma who have come to Thailand as well as Indigenous Hill Tribe families. The Shan, Burmese and Hill Tribe families don't have the same rights as the Thai people and there is a real sense of joy from the staff and the community of volunteers that have come here to help from all around the world.

But unlike most cafe's there is some thing special going on here, the Burmese people working here are students of Freedom House and you can feel the heart felt service, because they know that this cafe is helping the school and their Shan brothers and sisters to get a free education and to me that sincerity makes a world of difference.

In this space I can feel the energy and excitement of what is happening here and as a result of this creative abundance I am able to open my mind and be in the right head space to understand and meet the needs of my clients. For me being in this colorful and magical environment I have realized how much of our humanity has lost its ability to work with each other, instead of competing with each other we need to co-operate and this is a fine example of a community in action.

So from my time here in this Extra-Ordinary Community I have made it my mission now to work more with people, to respect the friends that I have and to build on the Freedom Foundation for the next generation to come, as we are all part of one family and we all need to co-operate as one Universal Humanity and make the future bright for our children.

Andrew Morrissey.
www.iam-andrew.com

Shan New Year Celebration

Shan New Year was celebrated Nov. 17 this year.  It is on a lunar calendar and is now the year 2104.  So this year at Thai Freedom House we got to celebrate 5 New Year Days!  The traditional Western Jan. 1, then the Chinese New Year, Thai New Year and finally the Shan New Year; they know how to party in Asia! 

Our Shan New Year party was organized by our new assistant director; Nang Yomt One.  She informed us of all the traditional foods that needed to be served and organized some song and dance for the students to perform.  All of the students families were invited to come and a lot of them were able to.  We had a great afternoon and evening of Shan culture appreciation.  A lot of the students commented that it was nice to have a place to celebrate like a family since normally they would be celebrating with their whole village and extended family.  I am glad that we got to share this together as our own Freedom House Family.

A student looking at our Shan culture display.

Some of the students and family members in front of Thai Freedom House

Singing some Shan traditional songs.

My volunteer experience at Thai Freedom House

I knew from the first day that I arrived at Freedom House that 3 weeks would not be enough for me. The feeling in that space is amazing both during the day within the Café and at night in the school. On the first night I didn’t know what to expect when the children arrived, I was greeted with Sawadee Ka (Thai for hello) from the cutest bunch of kids. I was extremely surprised at the way the children where presented as I had seen footage of the construction camps and slums within which most of them lived. The students where neatly dressed and the girls had the prettiest braids in their hair. The students take great pride in presenting themselves for class. But it was the big smiles across their faces that amazed me the most.

Now my time has come to an end and looking back, I have experienced and learnt a lot within the past 3 weeks from the Director Lisa, Nong (who works in the café) and all the students at Freedom House. I was lucky enough to spend a day out of Freedom House with Nong. We went to the Zoo which was amazing just to watch how excited she was by the trip. We then went and had lunch at Nimmenhamen (an upscale part of the city) and then to Iberry for desert. This was Nong’s first time in this area of town and we had the most wonderful day. To be able to experience some simple pleasures with her was fantastic. I am now sure that I want to come back to Freedom House for a longer period of time and that way I can bring my son back to share in the experience.

The work that Lisa is doing within the school is amazing and inspirational. Her energy for life oozes out of her and the moment the students walk into the school you can see that they feel loved and cared for. Freedom House is an amazing place and a great learning experience. If you have the time and any experience to share, I highly recommend volunteering.

Here is a photo on me (on the right) having lunch with some other volunteers at Free Bird Cafe.

Watershed: Burma News Update

Two weekends ago, after class on Thursday night at Freedom House, I boarded an overnight bus to Bangkok for the weekend (screening Rocky, dubbed in Thai). When I returned to the street of the guesthouse I was staying at on Saturday, there was a cluster of people clogging traffic that turned out to be a momentary audience for student demonstrators for a Free Burma group. It was the 21st anniversary of the 8.8.88 uprising - the height of the days of protests in Burma (August 8, 1988) and the launch of a massive strike. The uprising swelled across Burmese land into the ethnic minority states, with university students leading the charge, joined by monks, teachers, children, professionals, farmers, government workers, and even some military personnel. It was the beginning of a persistent struggle for democracy that spans longer than my own life, punctuated only by occasional eruptions of dissent from under the military’s blanket of suppression and seasoned with the death, disappearance, or imprisonment of thousands of activists, brothers, friends, wives. The students I saw in Bangkok were Thai, but demonstrating in a tourist-infested area with English signs that quotes from democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi that implored: “Please use your liberty to promote ours”.

It has been 19 years since her party – the National League for Democracy – won in a democratic election and the military junta placed her under house arrest. Tuesday, August 11, 2009, the new court decision was made: Aung San is to be under house arrest for another 18 months, a tidily convenient period to keep her out of the 2010 election the junta is planning. Until then, when the winds may change with whatever events and outcomes emerge from the gathering storm clouds of that election, we might expect to continue receiving truckloads of new refugees turned migrant workers and prostitutes, bartered on the streets of Bangkok.

You can join the international outcry against the sentence and for her release with action messages from sites like Amnesty International: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=12656.

Thai Mother's Day 2009

In Thailand Mother's Day is celebrated on the current Queen's Birthday, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, August 12.  Since Thai culture and tradition is part of the curriculum at Thai Freedom House and the kids really never get to show their appreciation to their mothers for all of their hard work, we decided to have a party.  Part of our mission at Thai Freedom House is to make sure that our students families are stable and have some time to relax together and enjoy each other in their hectic lives, sometimes we take a trip to a waterfall or park or have an event such as this at the school.
We started with a monoprint making workshop so the kids could make some original and beautiful cards for their mothers.  Then the students painted small planters and planted flowers for their mothers and we arranged an evening of snacks, a movie called "Burmese Eyes," filmed in Burma by a local ex-pat Marco Monti and performances by the kids.  This gave a chance for the parents to share their memories of life in Burma with their children by responding to the video and images of current Burma. 
The mothers who could attend were moved to tears when their children presented the cards and homemade gifts to them.  I was also in tears when I received some mothers day cards myself from the students.  It was a very sweet evening and all of the students, families and volunteers enjoyed themselves.

 submitted by Thai Freedom House Director:  Lisa Nesser

Volunteering during the rainy season!

When stepping into Freedom House you cannot help but sense you are in a supportive and caring environment. That is certainly what I felt when I first stepped through this Thai style house, nestled within a cozy part of Chiang Mai’s inner moat area. The house itself has a community spirit, with every inch of the building covered in a piece of artwork created by a Freedom House child.

After much hard work and innovation, Lisa Nesser has managed to transform a once old and lifeless building into a creative art space for children to learn and escape harsh realities for a brief moment. Freedom House has an open door policy and as a volunteer you are overwhelmed by the warmth and friendliness of both Lisa and her employee Nong, who is also a student of the school and extremely keen to learn English.

Spending several weeks at the House gave insight into the operations of a small non-government

organisation (NGO) providing underprivileged minority children, a majority of whom have fled Burma with their parents, an education. A basic human right they are not afforded due to Thai laws and policy on the immigration status of these children.

Several of my own perceptions have been quashed for sure and when undertaking a variety of tasks, I am reminded of the mammoth task it must take one women to keep such a project running. Especially a project which so many families and children within the community are dependent on for basic education.

I have been lucky enough to see the beginnings of the recently established Freedom House Café , Free Bird Cafe that is based on the grounds. A quirky and neat little business run from the house by Lisa and the students, which helps provide some income for the organization, allowing it to be more sustainable.

I have been lucky enough

To try Lisa’s homemade cookies and hummus, as part of her trial run before she finalizes the café food menu, (which I may add is all vegetarian) was a delight. There were certainly no complaints from being the taste testing guinea pig.

Above all, the lasting memory that will stay with me from the entire experience will of course be the children. Amongst the many interesting things I have been doing for the school, I have especially enjoyed teaching English to the kids and young adults, who everyday show me affection and an enduring spirit of hope, despite their uncertain fate ahead.

The children’s lessons were always interesting and certainly kept me busy; devising lesson plans for classes which included the crafting of windmills, learning parts of the human body, shapes and colours as well as the creation of a Shan folk story book (with the view of being published).

Leaving Chiang Mai after spending almost a month in this eclectic city, I am revelling in the fact that an exceptional lady is caring for the children, and I have learnt so much and will miss the friendships I have made. This is an experience I would truly recommend to anyone interested in volunteering in this area of South East Asia.

Thank you, Sofia

Thai Freedom House Blessing and Open House at new location.

In May of 2009 Thai Freedom House moved to a new location, after a lot of rehab on the new house we moved in and celebrated with a traditional house blessing and an open house for the families of the students.  For more information about house blessing ceremonies in Thailand: http://www.thailandlife.com/blessingnewhouse.htm 
On the evening of the party the families of the students attended and the kids got to show off some dancing and singing karaoke for the crowd.  There were also speeches made by some parents expressing their gratitude for the school and all it offers.  It was a lovely evening enjoyed by all.
We are truly lucky to be in such a beautiful, convenient location with wonderful neighbors who are understanding and accepting of our project.