Singburi Orphanage

What a week..
I think this week has changed my outlook on a lot of things.
Arriving at the orphanage was very overwhelming. We hopped out of the truck after a 30 minute back road and bumby ride and infront of us was the childrens' "front yard". I barely recocgnized it as a school and orphanage at first glance. The front yard was a mud hole. We had to walk to far edges of the yard to be able to get to the buildings where the kids play. Looking into the classrooms as I trip over a thick bit of mud that begins to swallow my shoe, I watch as kids begin to stack desks and chairs on top of eachother, things are tossed in the air, kids run in and out of classrooms chasing eachother and two boys see who can stand upside down on their heads the longest. My Jaw litterally dropped. I thought, "This is exactly what classrooms would look like with no teachers." --and thats because there isn't, in most of them. Their are nine teachers responsible for a total of 280 children under the age of 16.
John, our coordinator, showed us around the orphanage and what projects he was currently needing help with. John is a waundering spirit as we would like to say that originally lived in England but was robbed in Bangkok with a total of almost 600 pounds (1200 dollars). He fell upon this job shortly after. We could tell right away the passion he had for developing a better environment for the kids in the orphanage.
He showed us the rooms where the children slept everynight, which broke our hearts. The rooms are about the size of my bedroom back in Canada and were expected to fit at least thirty kids. There were no windows, mosquito nets (that protect against getting Malaria), matresses or pillows to lay on. They were cement floors. The orphanage is run by a group of monks and we heard them chanting everyday as we worked. John had told us that the previous volunteers had just finished building a medical clinic and they needed roofing. The orphanage is always in need of funding and they noticed that they could save some money because they saw a lot of extra roofing behind the temple. he asked the monks if they could use the roofing and they told him that he could -- 20 baht per shingle and he must make a 1500 baht donation to the temple on top of that. 1500 baht is about 45 dollars. It seems a little weird if the monks own the orphanage?
Anyways, although we were only able to help out for a week, we managed to help with the foundation for a kitchen. --Yep, the orphanage doesnt even have a kitchen. We mixed the cement and layed it ourselves which was extremely tough work. We painted a whole building of windows and frames and the walls of the big communal room. I found out on the friday i was leaving that John was looking for an artist to paint murals! I was a little broken after hearing that. But i still felt i helped out where i was needed and I tried my very best!
On our last day, Elyse and I decided to use a little bit of the money that we raised (thanks to all you guys supporting me by the way) to buy mosquito nets and matresses. We were able to get 35 mosquito nets that are able to cover at least 150 children and ten matresses with blankets and matching pillows for 200 dollars. It was the most incredible feeling buying all of that at the shop. I couldnt stop smiling and it shocked me that only 200 dollars (which is barely half a weeks wage at home) could do so much. Giving it out to the children the next day was undescribable. I felt I was just glowing with happiness. I knew that we were actually changing children's lives, and making them just a little bit better. Little kids lined up and I pulled each mosquito net for them to carry off to their bedroom. They had huge grins on their faces and they ran off with their new presents. I will never forget that moment in my life.