Father Ray's orphanage

The best thing is
 to see the kids smiling

During our boarding trips we sometimes have the chance to visit and interact with the local Thai community, especially with those people who are less fortuned and, and don’t always have the opportunities and living conditions that most of us do. We visited Father Ray’s orphanage.

What were my aims?

Most importantly I wanted to interact with the people there, so firstly they and secondly I would be able to effectively and therefore try overcome the Thai-English language barriers, that sometimes are likely make the interactions more difficult. Secondly I wanted to know more about the background of the kids there, and show my caring by spending time with them and doing something positive.

What did I do?

I spend half of the time inside the orphanage to playing and spending some songs with the kids.

 We sang some songs with them drew simple pictures and made several crafts with them. The other half i played some games outside, in the playground. Prior to arriving we had each been given the challenge of getting to know at least three children. We had to find their names, their age, how long they have been in the orphanage and what their favourite color is. In the end of the day I was very delighted as I already made some good friends there. The fact that they were all happy and looking at me with their shiny eyes made me realize that I succeeded to entertain them, making their time more interesting.

What difficulties did I encounter?

My three new friends: Ploy, Bam and Chat

I was faced with the language problem, on the first day. As my Thai was very limited and the kids didn’t know English very well. But then it became easier, and I think that i overcome that obstacle, as we started to use our physical body, like hands to talk and to express our emotions.

What did I achieve?

I feel that through this activity I became a better communicator as I was able to play games, sing and dance with the kids despite the Thai-English language barrier. However I wasn’t able to know a lot about their background as most of the orphanage kids didn’t understand what I was asking them, or I couldn’t understand what they were replying.  However, I did become more of an inquirer and a risk taker as I spoke to the Thai staff there, who knew English, and knew more about the kids.  

Lastly By the end of the activity I could already see myself developing as a Caring person, as throughout the activity I showed empathy, kindness and respect towards the children and their needs and feelings. I thought that I was committed to service, and hopefully acted to make a positive difference to the lives of the children.