Warm Heart at Work

มาเรียนภาษาอังกฤษ กันเถอะ นี่เป็นคำเชิญชวนของน้องๆจากบ้านพักเด็กของมูลนิธิอุ่นใจ ที่ชวนเพื่อนๆจากโรงเรียนบ้านแม่ปั๋งมาเรียนภาษาอังกฤษกับครูJOSH หลังเลิกเรียนตั้งแต่เวลา สี่โมงสีสิบห้าถึงห้าโมงสี่สิบห้า ทุกวันจันทร์ พุธ ศุกร์ และเรียนกิจกรรมพิเศษทุกวันเสาร์ ไม่ว่าจะเรียนเกษตรกับพี่ปลิว เรียนภูมิปัญญาการทอผ้าแบบกะเหรี่ยงกับพี่ศรีพรรณ เรียนงานช่างกับพี่เพิก เรียนคุณธรรมและจริยธรรมกับครูตี๋ รวมไปถึงกิจกรรมต่างๆ ไม่ว่าฟ้อนรำ กีฬา การปฐมพยาบาลเบื้องต้น
จากกิจกรรมดังกล่าวตอนนี้แหล่งเรียนรู้มูลนิธิอุ่นใจ มีเด็กสนใจร่วมกิจกรรมนี้ กว่าสามสิบคน นับเป็นจุดเริ่มต้นที่น่ายินดีสำหรับการพัฒนาที่ให้เด็กรอบชุมชนมีความสนใจด้านการศึกษา และพัฒนาตนเอง

Dust is swirling over the Warm Heart land these days coating the broad leaves of the teak and banana trees - the throat, too. But we don’t mind. Our little kingdom is almost unrecognizable. Bulldozer and backhoe, steam shovel and dump truck have labored since February 1st to reshape our landscape. (You can see a full site plan and elevations of the children’s homes in the Photo Gallery.)

The lower section of our land - to the east (right on the plan) - has been graded into a series of sweeping terraces on which we will plant our fruit orchards. At the center of the contoured terraces lies the large fish pond and above it a wide, flat area on which we will build the new Warm Heart offices. It will really be something to work surrounded by fruit trees and looking out over the pond with its water lillies and lotus flowers to the mountains.

On the long, north-south upper section of our land, the changes are even more startling. Where once a narrow trickle ran, we have now excavated a wide, winding stream punctuated by seven check dams. When full, the “stream” will become seven fish ponds, each with a small wetland area spreading beside it. A path runs along the opposite bank for fish harvesting, so that the wetland bank can become a wild nature preserve for our children to observe.

At the top of the stream, the real work started on the 16th - the foundations of the first two children’s homes! Yes, after just seven and a half months, we have begun construction on the first of what we hope will be several Warm Heart “Villages in the Valley.” The boys’ home is going up on the west bank of the stream, the girls’ home on the east bank. Also on the east bank will be the kitchen/dining room. Stay posted!

The sound of music—singing, drums, and guitar—has been echoing from the Warm Heart office lately. The musically talented staff have been singing, dancing, and playing in preparation for a Warm Heart “Health Oriented Activities Day” at the Baan Sanhokfah children’s home on Sunday, September 21.

Through community research, Warm Heart has prioritized this children’s home, which houses 80 children aged 5 to 15 years. Due to lack of funding and speculated corruption in administration, the current budget does not allow for food and basic hygiene products for the children, let alone fun activities.

Warm Heart is providing a day full of all three of these things. Staff members have divided the children into two groups based on age (5 to 8 years and 9 to 15 year) and will run a day full of learning and fun activities to bring smiles to every face. The staff has their agendas planned, with activities such as: finger painting and bracelet making, lessons in hygiene, story time and book making, traditional sing-alongs, soap making, and field games. All these activities have an underlying “learning theme” about teamwork, hygiene, honesty, trade skills, culture, or physical fitness, so the children can have fun and learn life lessons.

To wrap up the activities day, there will be a sing-along of the English and Thai version of songs such as “If You’re Happy and You’re Know It,” “The Itsy, Bitsy Spider,” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” as well as some traditional Thai children’s songs. The entire Warm Heart staff has been rehearsing for over a week now and if practice makes perfect, the staff is almost there!

The entire Warm Heart staff is eagerly awaiting this day!

This past Monday, the Micro Enterprise group welcomed two more staff members, Emily Turner from Northeastern University, and Tara DeWorsop from Rutgers University.

The team continues to look for local products, with two site visits to the Sam Li Lang and Sam Li Bon villages high up in the mountains of Phrao. The village heads presented traditional Thai dress products and a few hill tribe women presented their products. The group found that many of these products can be altered to appeal to a Western market, and sold at an increased sale price, thereby increasing overall profit for the local community. These products included a traditional hand-sewn belt, which consists of several bold-colored ropes that can be used for a bracelet when put with a strong clasp, or as a coaster when coiled. In addition, pieces of traditional silver necklaces used for New Years celebrations and weddings can become high-fashion earrings.

By categorizing the information the team has gathered from their site visits and research, the group is now beginning the initial developmental stages of an information management system. This will be a way to keep an inventory of products and people involved throughout the production process.

The Micro Enterprise team is now focused on more site visits, as well as extensive research into possible distribution channels, products, customs, supplies, and FDA regulations. Their aim is to market only high value, high quality, and unique products that have minimal shipping and production costs in order to bring optimal profit to the local community.