Baan Unrak - Home of Joy

In life, we tends to "launch"' many complaints, however, we will start to cherish our everything we have once we noticed that we are more better than others. One of the beautiful and meaningful experience that I have had in this life is working as a volunteer for a children home in one of the Northwest rural area in Thailand - Sangklaburi. Sangklaburi - located along the Thai-Myanmar border. The region is home to immense beauty along with immense social problems.

A Community Without a Country
This area is also home to many refugees fleeing war, forced labor and poverty in Burma/Myanmar. Leaving family and community behind has destroyed the support network for families and exacerbated the immense challenges they face when relocating to a foreign country and culture.This area is home to many refugees fleeing war, forced labor and poverty in Burma/Myanmar. Leaving family and community behind has destroyed the support network for families and exacerbated the immense challenges they face when relocating to a foreign country and culture.

Upon arrival in Thailand, Burmese immigrants are restricted to living in a small region around the border where they encounter discrimination and a lack of jobs. Access to medical treatment and public education is minimal as immigrants face great barriers receiving social services without legal papers. Most of the children at Baan Unrak have either come from Burma or were born in Thailand but lack legal papers claiming their national identity.


Alcohol, drug and spousal abuse
Rampant alcohol and drug abuse are problems in our community. Tolerance of spousal abuse is also common in this area. Abandonment of children born in prior relationships is a routine occurrence in this region. Poverty exacerbates these problems.


HIV
HIV/AIDS is also a significant problem as many men travel to find work in urban areas where they visit prostitutes and become infected. Then, they transmit it to their wives and unborn children. Women are sometimes forced into prostitution due to lack of employment prospects making them at high risk to contract HIV. This leads to one or both parents dying or being too weak to care for their children.


When I worked in this orphan home, I found that myself are so lucky being born in Malaysia and raise in the family that provides me with education and sufficient foods. In the orphan home, most of the children were being sent to there due to the poor economic situation of their family that having too many siblings. Some cases, the child even being abandon in nowhere and being adopted by the children home. However, one valuable thing that noticed was most of the children in regardless of their background they always have the sweetest smile on their face and live at the moment of joy. Perhaps this is the true meaning as the name of the orphan home; Baan Unrak - Home of Joy