Opportunity for Poor Children

I do not know how it is possible that I have yet to write about the main reason I came to Mae Hong Son, but I will do my best to summarize these last three weeks of volunteering.

From the concrete road where I park my moped, it is about a seven minute walk to the OPC. The dirt path, marked by a modest blue sign, takes me along side an expansive rice patty field. (The grains of rice have just turned up this last week.) On my left there is a river, sometimes deep brown after a heavy rain and other times completely clear. Along the path there are several bamboo huts, a makeshift iron fence, and always plenty of wildlife - frogs, huge insects, and even once a snake. Two bamboo bridges announce my arrival at the OPC. I tread lightly while crossing, but the children always fly across completely unnerved.

October is winter vacation for the schools in Thailand. So, of the usual fifty children aged 8-15 that live here at the orphanage, only about fifteen remain. The others have returned home to whatever family they have - some Thai, most Burmese - meaning this is not exactly an orphanage in the traditional sense, as it was made out to be in my introductory materials.

"How can orphans be going home?" I initially asked Kam Chuen, the Burmese man that runs the OPC. At the time, he gave a rather brief answer. But over the weeks he told us the boys' stories and I began to understand that sometimes it is not only the children without parents or family who are orphans in this world of ours.

Som Sak - 11
He is quiet and sweet, a total perfectionist at arts and crafts, and has a soft, beautiful smile.
Som Sak has a mother and a father. They live here in Mae Hong Son only five minutes away from their son, but he did not visit them during the holiday at all. They are homeless. Som Sak's father is an alcoholic who made him beg for money along the lake. He was beaten when he returned home empty handed.

Poot and Cain - 10 and 7, brothers.
The first day I met Poot he engaged me in a wrestling match and attempted to get my hands behind my back. We could spend hours playing chase around a single picnic table. He is a big fan of his Power Rangers t-shirt. Poot just returned from two days at home. He came home with his little brother, who the neighbors reported was not attending school and often went hungry. The first day Cain came to the OPC we went on a field trip to a local Watt, spent an hour at the swimming pool, and drank soft drinks. The boy probably though he landed in heaven.

Tee La Pon - 9
This boy constantly strikes a Power Ranger pose. He likes to play pretend kung-fu and really admires Spiderman.
I had the opportunity to meet Tee La Pon's mother on the day we were bringing him home for a few days. Apparently, he had cried that morning when told he would be leaving the OPC for two nights. He asked to only go for one day, and later, not to spend the night at all. It was clear why. Tee La Pon's mother came stumbling up to her empty hut, clearly drunk, wreaking of rice wine, and quite possibly insane. He did not even stay for five minutes.

Sa Zing - 11
I absolutely love this child.
Sa Zing and his brother Sa Hon (15) are orphans in the traditional sense. Their mother died of AIDs a few years ago. Sa Zing has HIV and, subsequently, a constant runny nose.

Um Mong - 11
Training to be a Thai Boxer. Not actually...but should be. We played boxing, not always in a "pretend" way either, nearly every day. He likes to say, "Chicken!" while pointing at the ceiling. I fell for it a few too many times than I'd like to admit and received many pokes under my under the chin. While aggressive, Um Mong was also the most affectionate of the boys, generous with his hugs.


These are the boys I have spend my last three weeks with. I can't even say "teaching," for our English lessons were sparse. (It was there holiday after all!) Mostly it was just playing. Badminton. Coloring. Tag. Kung-Fu. Football. Painting. Made up games. Language was never a barrier with them. We always had something to do, some small, simple way to pass our time.

Now that I am leaving tomorrow, I see how much this small group of boys has taught me about living. They have made a home for their self at the OPC, under terrible circumstances they have become a family. It is all smiles, always a happy face. They have their haven, their Opportunity here at the OPC. They walk along the rice field and the river, cross their bamboo bridge, and have a world where all is well.