Kevin playing with a couple of kids from Future Light
“I’m heading up to my Orphanage in Mae Sot for a few days,” said my friend Jenn, “you should come and check it out with me!”
“I’m really sorry,” I replied, “I have a lot of work to do, I don’t think I can spare the time.” I hated myself for saying it before I was even finished, after all, I have the luxury of working remotely from a laptop where ever I may be. So, the alternative of holing up in a small apartment in Bangkok for a week obviously seemed ludacris in comparison to the opportunity to explore a new part of Thailand I had never been to. And also get a first hand view of an orphanage Jenn had started form scratch 3 and half years ago after finding 8 children abandoned in a shamble of a shack on the Thai/Burmese border. “I’m in!” I said, “I’ll figure out a way to make it work around my schedule.” I wasn’t fully aware at this point, but my perspective on what was truly important, had just begun to shift.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect arriving in Mae Sot, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a very comfortable guesthouse, with air-con, and WiFi, as well as plenty of good restaurants and a city, I later learned, that had a population of more the 100,000 people! This was a far cry from the rural village I had envisioned, how bad could the situation at the orphanage be? I’d soon find out as we hopped on some scooters and drove out towards the Burmese border.
Jennifer Lo (founder of Future Light) with some of the children.
Fifteen minutes later we pulled through a small gate and into a little dirt patch of land with 3 buildings situated on it. Technically it falls in no man’s land between the Thai and Burma border, and it’s next door neighbor to an illegal sweatshop. Burma is basically on the other side of a field at the end of the short block they’re on. I was told it’s not uncommon for them to hear outbreaks of gun fire and the occasional grenade blast as well. Very surreal surroundings to find yourself in, let alone to find yourself suddenly confronted by swarms of smiling children rushing from the buildings shouting “HALLO JENNY! HALLO JENNY!!” It was an instant shock to see so many children, all smiling and jumping around, 39 of them to be exact. In just over 3 years the “Future Light Home School” had grown rapidly from 8 children to 39! How is it possible that there are so many orphaned children in one small area?!
Myself and Vickie, another of Jenn’s friends who had come up with us from Bangkok, were quickly introduced to the kids as “Jenny’s new friends” and we were greeted with shouts of “HALLO, HALLO!!” But we had arrived in the middle of the day, meaning it was still class time for the kids, and they had some arts projects that needed attending to before they were done for the day. So Jenn gave us the grand tour of the orphanage. There was the new school building in the front, big enough for all the children, with a short pathway that led to the main house. Newly added to, and a huge improvement from the original bamboo shack the first 8 kids were found in, the main house is raised on stilts a few feet off the ground now, as is necessary for the annual flooding that happens every rainy season in parts of Thailand. Behind the main house is the new kitchen and eating area, it was hard to believe they didn’t have one before… how do you feed 39 kids without a proper kitchen!? In behind the kitchen was the back lot, still a dusty, dirt patch like the rest of the property, but big enough to one day have a proper football field for the kids as well as an undeveloped garden area further back as well. We were then introduced to Goan and Eeta, the house Dad and Mom. A young Burmese couple that live full time at the Orphanage with 2 of their own children, and care for everyone as though they were their own. I expressed to Goan how amazing it was, what he and his wife were doing, and he simply replied, “Everyone is family, everyone is the same.” They were his own, simple as that.
The new kitchen!
That was an incredibly selfless thing to hear from someone who had so little for himself to begin with. I remember later that night talking with Jenn about the immense burden that Goan and Eeta had taken upon themselves. Then Jenn told me, “Goan is only 28 years old, and Eeta younger still.” Unbelievable. Seeing first hand the situation they were in and clearly understanding the need that those children were in, I still couldn’t fathom putting myself in that position, I don’t know that I’d survive a month, let alone years!
If you can envision a small compound over-filled with children from 1 or 2 years old all the way up to mid teens, you would naturally expect there to be a fair amount of arguing and fighting… but not here at Future Light. The entire time I was there all I saw was happiness in those children. They helped each other, they studied together, they slept together, ate together, did everything together, always together… and yet they never fought. An impossible feat for a group of selfish western kids to perform for a couple hours even. Maybe it was their one common bond, something you wouldn’t think to be very strong, but abandonment was something they all had in common, even if some of them were still too young to understand it.
There’s Monday, a small boy of 5 years, with such charisma and charm that he had me pushing him on the swing set barely 5 minutes after arriving the second day. He was named for the day of the week that he was found on, abandoned in a field at 2 years old. He’ll never know if he was ever even given a real name. Then there’s Hannah, who has been there for 3 years and is very ticklish and loves to laugh… especially so, when she learned I’m even more ticklish than she is. I had to run away from her because I was laughing so hard and I thought I might accidentally throw her across the room in an uncontrollable fit of tickle spasms, hahaha! I later found out she cried for the first 5 months straight that she was at the orphanage. How much heart break does it take to cause a child to cry for that long? Another brother and sister still, were found abandoned under a bridge. I would have thought that “Finding” one abandoned child would be pretty much the most unbelievable thing to happen, but apparently in some parts of the world it’s unfortunately quite common place.
Some seriously stoked kids with their new dvd collection.
Although I was only there for 3 days, the entire experience was incredibly intense and inspiring. To see how much Jenn and her group of volunteers had accomplished so far, but also how much more was needed. To meet Goan and Eeta, who had given so much of themselves already and had created a home of happiness for so many abandoned children. And to witness firsthand, the resilience of those children in such an unimaginable and unfortunate situation, thriving, learning, living and loving, as a family. I had to do more, so I ended up donating 7000 Baht on behalf of myself and Free & Easy Traveler. With this small amount of money, Jenn later told me they would be able to hire a full time employee for 3 months to help with maintenance, cleaning, and gardening, as well as 5 more, much needed garbage bins and garbage disposal services for 4 months! The act of donating to a cause in need makes a person feel pretty good in itself, but it was doubly amazing to know firsthand exactly the impact that was made due to my efforts and the donation. This was easily one of the best travel experiences I’ve ever had and I hope to be able to revisit the orphanage multiple times in years to come.
Kevin Bernardin has done more than a few stints of leading trips for F&E in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. When he’s not doing that he’s overseeing group leaders and taking care of group members prior to departure. 
* for more information on the Future Light Homeschool and how to get involved, contact Jennifer Lo on facebook www.facebook.com/Futurelightkids
or send her an email at: futurelightkids@gmail.com.
You can also donate directly through Paypal, sending to the same email address.
The website is under construction but coming soon! www.futurelightkids.org
