Fr. Ray’s Village
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Family History and General Information
Mee’s parents were separated and his father refused to take any responsibility for his son and ran away from his family. Their mother lives with her younger sister who helps her to support her son. Mee’s aunt owns a beauty salon shop and has her own family to look after. Mee’s mother has been struggling financially and also is addicted to drugs. She sometimes abandons her son. Finally, his aunt decided to bring him to the Drop-In Centre for better care. Arrangements were made for him to start his formal schooling at the Fountain of Life in Pattaya City. He is now under close observation to ensure a smooth transition to his new environment as well as to meeting his new friends. Like most children of his age, Mee loves to be the centre of attention and imitates some actions and speech from his people. He enjoys watching TV in his free time and diligently does his assigned tasks. He is able to help himself with the routine things like bathing, dressing and eating at the level expected of someone his age. (WS)
Mee’s parents were separated and his father refused to take any responsibility for his son and ran away from his family. Their mother lives with her younger sister who helps her to support her son. Mee’s aunt owns a beauty salon shop and has her own family to look after. Mee’s mother has been struggling financially and also is addicted to drugs. She sometimes abandons her son. Finally, his aunt decided to bring him to the Drop-In Centre for better care. Arrangements were made for him to start his formal schooling at the Fountain of Life in Pattaya City. He is now under close observation to ensure a smooth transition to his new environment as well as to meeting his new friends. Like most children of his age, Mee loves to be the centre of attention and imitates some actions and speech from his people. He enjoys watching TV in his free time and diligently does his assigned tasks. He is able to help himself with the routine things like bathing, dressing and eating at the level expected of someone his age. (WS)
August, 2008
Mee is attending his 2nd year in his kindergarten level at the Fountain of Life in Pattaya City. Like most children at his age, he prefers playing to studying. He was weighed and measured. His weight was 19 kilos and height was 112 centimetres. His current ambition is to be a policeman. An impish and cheerful boy like Mee loves joining outdoor activities with his friends! Particular favourites are swimming in the pool and riding a small bicycle round the Centre’s grounds. It is noted that Mee doesn’t like being in a noisy situation. Along with other children in our projects, Mee took part in the 5th Memorial of Father Ray Brennan on the 16th of August, 2008. This day was the most wonderful time for the children under our care. They and the staff enjoyed the day recalling Father Ray’s memory, who was our great giver. The young men from the Centre had a chance to present their hand-made glass craftwork for sale. All of our children enjoyed partaking of the delicious food and drinks prepared by the kind donors. They all thanked them for their kindness and will never forget this day. (WS)
December, 2008
In September, Mee was transferred into the care of the Father Ray Children’s Village program, our new project which provides a warm home for homeless children or victims of broken homes, giving them love, care and help as found in a normal family. There are currently four homes in the Village. Mee was welcomed into the 2nd home along with 6 other residents, Nampueng, Manao, Suah, Fah, Tee Lek, and Ay. They all call their Caregiver “Mother” who takes care of them under the “we are family” concept and gives them the family life that all children require and deserve. Mee advanced to his 3rd year in his kindergarten level at the Fountain of Life. Being a responsible and brave student, he is often chosen to be a representative of his school. His current ambition is to be a soldier as he wants to protect the nation and to shoot a gun. At the Village, he has adjusted himself to the new environment and the new people. Being a kind and helpful young boy, he is liked by everybody. Mee diligently does his assigned household chores. His current weight is 17.5 kg and height is 116 cm. He displays himself as a playful and inquisitive young boy who looks clever and often volunteers to help other people. His favorite color is green while his favorite sport is football. Like some boys from the Village, he actively participates in the useful and interesting planned activities for the residents. On Saturday morning, he diligently practices his Thai boxing skills at Sith Yod Thong Camp and in the afternoon, at his home, happily studies English taught by the foreign volunteer. Every Sunday, all residents cooperatively take part in the “Develop the Village Activities”. They clean their village and work in the garden, keeping their living place clean and livable. The children all learn how to spend their free time in useful activities. (WS)
June, 2009
Now 8 months in the Village, Mee has adjusted himself very well and is a good friend of everyone there. He is an active, playful and pleasant boy who is well behaved and polite in speech and manner to both the Mother and adults. Trained to wash his clothes, he is able to wash some of them. He diligently does his assigned tasks. At the Village, he enjoys riding the bicycle and playing football and badminton. During the holidays in April, he happily swam in the pool and he appeared to be a good swimmer. At the beginning of May, along with some children at our Village, Mee was transferred from the Fountain of life to our Day Care Center where he is now attending the 3rd year of our kindergarten educational programme. Mee is getting along quite well with his friends and shows no signs of any difficulties adapting to his surroundings. It is reported that he is already well on his way to memorising the Thai alphabet (no easy task!) and learning numbers. He is attentive in class and is well liked by his teachers. Mee eats well and is a happy, healthy little boy. His current weight is 21 kg and height is 117 cm. April is a part of the long school holidays for the Thai students. During these holidays, there are many interesting activities to bring more happiness into our children’s lives. Some older children take special courses such as Computer and English. Some joined in programs such as the Recreation of Bright Life Training, which taught our children how to manage their time and how to work like a team. And some took part in the Young Guide Training Program, targeted to develop and support the language skills of our children. There is an important festival for Thai people in the middle of April. This is the Songkran Festival or the Thai Traditional New Year celebration. Our Village celebrated this festival on the 16th of April, 2009. Our children, having learned about the Songkran festival, paid respect to their mothers by pouring scented water over their hands and asking for their blessing for the coming year and then they happily threw water on each other. (WS)
November, 2009
Continuing to impress with his good looks, Mee is also intelligent and well-behaved. He is definitely an active boy who has a good leadership at the Village. He obediently follows the instructions of his Mother and teachers. A self-assured and joyful young boy, he is doing well in his kindergarten classes at our Day Care Center, is a happy boy and a healthy one. His current weight is 20 kilograms and height is 118 centimeters. He has a great many friends that he enjoys playing with here at our nursery. His favourite playthings and entertainment at present are toy aeroplanes and also watching cartoons. Mee likes to visit the beach when possible but this does not happen often, only on very special days. Along with his classmates, Mee has recently been introduced to learn about computers 2 hours a week. When he began the computer class, he was excited to touch the computer screen and is now familiarising himself with the computer games. Just like any other child of his age, he likes the computer and does not hesitate to play games if and when the opportunity arises. Along with 12 children from the Village, Mee was one of the lovely Thai traditional dancers who performed on stage for the Jesters Care for the Kids Charity Drive 2009. He proudly showed his various postures on the stage and everyone liked his performance. (WS)
March, 2010
Mee has developed into a cheerful six year old boy who is extremely active and creative. He is in good health. He is now 24 kilograms in weight and 122 centimeters in height. He gradually builds his self-esteem and confidence. He has a good relationship with everyone and he enjoys playing in the group that the members have the same interest. He loves and is honest to his group. In his group, he and other members have made some rules and he respectfully follows those. He is a good leader and follower of this group. Academically, Mee enjoys his classes at our Day Care Center. He eagerly learns in class, carefully observes what is happening, and remembers from his direct experiences. He needs acceptance from other people and accepts others’ opinions as well. He imaginarily plays but sometimes plays naughtily. His Mother warns him to be more concern on safety. In his home, he is assigned to water the trees and throw the garbage in the trash cans. He perfectly performs these duties. At our Day Care Center, Mee and his friends are in their 3rd year of our kindergarten program, learning about computers every Tuesday morning along with this they are now learning how to swim and the rules of competition every Wednesday. Mee loves this class and happily learns with his friends. This training makes them stronger and brave. Health is very important to our life. Mee is well cared for both at our Village and our Day Care Center. A monthly medical check up for our children takes place on the first Monday of each month at our day nursery. Along with other children who came to our Day Care Center on the 23rd of December 2009 and on the 27th of January 2010, Mee was given an oral polio vaccine. (WS)
June, 2010
On April 16th, the School age Children from the Fr. Ray Children’s Village went on a two and a half day educational field trip. For many of them, it was the first time they went so far away from their home. They visited a waterfall area, a Buddhist Temple and stayed in a small Resort. On the second day they were treated to various activities animated by four members of the Thai Army Camp located in the Nakorn Nayok province. Late afternoon, they all went swimming by a huge dam named Kondan. On the third day, after breakfast, they went to Saraburi to visit Farm Chokechai, the largest dairy farm in Thailand. After the two and a half hour tour and lunch, they headed back to the Children’s Village arriving at 17:00. Upon returning to Pattaya, we asked the children what they enjoyed the most and here is what Mee said: “I liked the Waterfall as I saw many people and there are many green trees there”. (WS)
