Once Chala fought with the Shan State Army to defend innocent villagers against the Burmese army that was intent on enslaving and killing them. Now he has about 40 children that he is struggling to keep alive.

Several of the children made it across the border on their own. The whereabouts of their parents is at best unknown and it only gets worse from there. But just getting to Thailand from Burma doesn’t guarantee safety. If the police find them they will be deported back to Burma. And if they manage to avoid the police there are still the human traffickers. If a trafficker finds a child without parents, alone, that child will most likely end up as a sex slave in a Bangkok brothel for the rest of their abbreviated life.

Others are from refugee families so poor that they are forced to consider selling a child to slave traders or abandoning them rather than let the whole family starve.

But Chala has taken in 40 of them. He makes sure they go to school, he does his best to make sure they have food and clothing.

Chala is a very resourceful, and energetic guy. Somehow he has managed to provide for these 40 children who are not his own. It can’t be easy.
                                                   clearing space for a vegetable garden for food

In some ways the children are better off with him than they would be in a village with their parents. Except for the obvious void that not having parents leaves. With Chala they are getting an education, and citizenship in a country where the government isn’t trying to kill them, which is more than was ever available to them before.

Thanks to the kind donations of many people in August, they were all able to move to a new district where the children will be able to get Thai citizenship papers. Their future will be more secure as a result.

It’s the present that they still have to worry about.

The need is great

It is still a struggle financially to feed them every month.
                                 the kids line up for a meal

They need to buy mosquito nets to protect against malaria in their new area, they need to buy new school uniforms and a rice cooker. There is rent to pay and drivers to get them to school and back.

Chala has no one to help care for the children. His wife left him, because her parents didn’t think he was providing for them well enough. It is their cultural right to leave.

It costs less than $3000 US/month to cover all of their expenses, including wages for workers to help care for the children.
That’s less than it costs for our family of 5 where we live.
                                                    they have to buy clean drinking water too.
Below is a monthly budget for the orphanage. Each one of these children needs two people to pledge $35/month to help them have a chance at life. Will you be one of them?

                       

Here is the list of monthly expenses:

• Rice-14 sacks of rice each month-9000 B/sack.
• LPG gas-4 cylinders per month-300 B/cylinder (cooking fuel)
• House rent-3000 B/month
• Electricity-1500 B/month
• Drinking water-1000 B/month
• Water supply-1500 B/month
• Soap-3000 B/month
• Soap powder(Laundry soap)-1500 B/month
• Tooth paste-1500 B/month
• Tooth brush -700 B/month
• Shampoo-1500 B/month
• Food-23,000  B/month
• Ingredients-3000 B/month
• Wages for helpers-16,000 B/month
• Transportation to school-6000 B/month
• For the driver-6000 B/month

                                  Laundry hanging. It's a lot of work to keep 40 kids clean.

This children's home is just one example of many like it that we plan  to create a support network for.