We have arrived in Ban Tha Song Yang. Elsi is having a great time teaching music lessons and Jane is doing art projects with the kids.Bob and Roger are trying to get the new computer set up and checking email.
Beautiful mountains surround us and we are eating "local". Great food!
Thanks for all your prayers for safe arrival.
About The Safe Haven Mission: (from their website)History of the orphanage
It all began about 15 years ago, when Mrs Tasanee Keereepraneed received a frantic message from a local villager in Tha Song Yang, Thailand that a little girl had lost her mother during birth. In Karen culture this is interpreted as a bad omen, and the child is often killed. Having lost her own father at a young age and her children also having lost their father when Tasanee’s husband was murdered, Tasanee decided that she, if anyone should be the person responsible for caring for the orphaned children of The Karen.
One by one they came, children with nowhere else to go were given to Tasanee to raise. She and her brother converted their childhood home into an open space able to accommodate up to twenty five children. Starting with whatever funds were available, she built the foundation of what has become the first Safe Haven Orphanage. Relying on her personal funds and the donations of the people of Mae Sot, Thailand, she was able to expand and take on yet more children. She now has over 60 children under her care. These days Safe Haven Orphanage is more like a large family whose members love and respect each other like brothers and sisters.
Mission & Aims
Safe Haven Orphanage is a home that provides disadvantaged children with proper nurture, nutrition, shelter, clothing, medical care, and education. Safe Haven Orphanage is open to children from all communities, faiths, and cultures.
Who runs Safe Haven Orphanage?
Tasanee and a number of staff run Safe Haven Orphanage. Volunteers from around the world teach English at the local school and provide support at the orphanage.
Supporters
Donations received from volunteers and visitors are used to cover the daily costs of running the orphanage. We also receive support from some Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s) who assist with food supplies and health checks.
Future Plans
Five acres of land have been purchased thanks to a generous donation from Ireland. There are currently a number of building projects in progress on the new land. As funds become available, materials are sourced locally or from Mae Sot and labor is contracted locally. Projects we are looking to complete in the near future include a more sustainable water supply, dormitories for the children and an infirmary/clinic.
Click "HERE" to see photos of the orphanage from their website.
