Visit to Ban Pong and Meeting Our Students
Together with Igor, I once again traveled to Ban Pong, in northern Thailand. During this brief visit, we visited the children’s home and met with two of the five students who, thanks to our scholarships, are currently studying at various universities. Everything is going well for them.
We were also very pleased that Martin Geijtenbeek decided spontaneously to come to Thailand and join us in visiting the north. Martin is the co-owner of CARD Services in Zwolle. CARD Services has been one of our sponsors for nearly 25 years and has been maintaining our website ever since. The visit turned out to be a special experience for everyone, both for the staff and for us, despite the fact that the school year had just ended and most of the children had gone home to visit their families.
Thailand has a school vacation from the end of March until early May. Thai New Year, also known as Songkran, takes place on April 13, 14, and 15. Thai families gather during this period to celebrate together. Thailand also follows a different calendar system: the Buddhist calendar, which starts in 543 BC. That means that in 2025, it will be the Buddhist year 2568.
For Martin, the welcome was very warm—“like stepping into a warm bath,” as he described it. The children were extremely grateful that someone from so far away took the time to visit them. We can hardly imagine how much this means to the children and the staff. It really gives them a boost to continue their efforts, knowing they are on the right path.
Igor and I gave Martin a tour, showed him the surrounding area, and gave him a small taste of the Akha hill tribe culture. Unfortunately, the visit was just too short to also visit an Akha village in the mountains.
Father Pensa is now 85 years old, and it is remarkable how he is still so committed to caring for children aged 6 to 17. Over the years, the home has provided a safe place for more than 2,500 children, and some former residents still regularly return, now with their own families. A fantastic achievement!
When we asked what the home currently needed most, it became clear that the roof of the shop area was in urgent need of replacement. The old roof is leaking and can only be temporarily patched. These spaces store all the school materials, and the shop is essential for selling the items designed and made by the children and staff. Sales from the shop are an important source of income for the home’s self-sufficiency. The cost of the new roof is estimated at just under €3,000. We have committed to raising the necessary funds. So if you would like to contribute, your support would be most welcome. Please mention ‘Roof’ in your donation reference, so they can soon remove their water buckets.
Of course, you can always sponsor a student through us as well. Please note this is a multi-year commitment. For more information, feel free to contact us. Our foundation has ANBI status, which means your donation is also tax-deductible.
We are very grateful to CARD Services for their many years of support. It was therefore extra special that Martin visited the home and had the chance to meet two of our students.
The water system, which was upgraded in 2018 under the leadership of Balt van der Made, is still functioning excellently. Since Solis Engineering decided to outsource the work locally wherever possible, the new installation has perfectly replaced the aging system and can now also be well-maintained by local technicians. We, and certainly the people on site, are still deeply grateful to Solis Engineering for over 25 years of providing clean drinking water.
While writing this newsletter, we received the news that Myanmar was struck by a powerful earthquake. The children’s home in northern Thailand also clearly felt the tremors. So far, no damage has been found to the buildings, and no reports have come in of children who might have been affected elsewhere during their school vacation.
In October, Future for Kids will celebrate its 25th anniversary. We certainly will not let this milestone pass unnoticed, and you will hear more about it in our next newsletter.
For now, I wish you all a pleasant and sunny spring.
Rob Akkermans
Chairman