Raining season in Pai

A lot of heat and flooding

The rainy season is in full swing, at least in theory. In fact, rain remains a rarity this year. When it comes, it crashes over our little town in violent torrents, so that everything near the river is flooded. The flood damage along the Pai River has once again reached considerable dimensions this year. The newly built bridge was washed away, as was as a lot of land belonging to hotels and backpacker destinations along the river. Fortunately, Kwah Dao was not affected. Surrounded by rice fields in Mae Hee, we are in a safe-haven. 

Just in time for the rainy season, a new garden shelter, which we urgently needed for the equipment housed outside, was finally erected using bamboo and corrugated iron. Now everything stays dry even during the heavy rain.

July to September 2019
July brought sobering news this year. Our long-standing English coordinator, Elin, is leaving us temporarily to complete a master’s degree in Norway. Even though we found an equally energetic replacement in Dierdra, Elin leaves a big gap after all these years. We wish her all the best for her studies!

After months of searching, we found a new truck in August! Now we can finally go on day trips with the children to the surrounding area or visit local events, such as the annual Hill Tribe Festival in September. With fun and games, the children were able learn all about the local customs and craftsmanship of the hill-tribe villagers in northern Thailand. We were able to bring back lots of hand printed fabrics, knotted jewellery and woven bamboo dream-catchers to the youth center.

Favorite project of the month

Bamboo wind chimes and DIY boats
In the middle of August, thanks to the active help of our volunteers, we were able to get together enough bamboo and cut it to size so that we could do the long-planned bamboo workshop with the children. The result is a variety of different wind chimes, each with a very individual character. The wind chimes are now available in our shop. The children’s creativity helps them raise additional income.
The project, which provided the most adrenaline in the last three months was certainly our DIY boat workshop. With different designs and materials it was up to the children to build their own boat. The boats were then raced in a small pool with the help of electric fans. A lot of fun was had promoting the engineering skills of our students!

Our mid-year fundraiser at the Pai Pub was a complete success!

To help make the off-season a little more interesting for the Pai’s expats, we organised a mid-year fundraiser for the first time at the Pai Pub. Under the motto “Chok Dee for Charity” (Cheers for Charity) we were once again able to rely on the help of numerous local businesses to supply an exciting array of prizes for our raffle tickets. 
Our thanks go to the numerous businesses, without whose attractive prizes such an event would not have been possible. 

And what else?

Loy Kratong, the annual festival of lights in Thailand, will be celebrates in November. This year we shall help our children to build homemade floats and hot-air lanterns. The floats will be launched complete with candles into the river  and the evening sky will be lit up by the lanterns. 
We’re also looking forward to our Christmas fundraiser at Jazz House in December — the biggest event of the year in our Kwah Dao calendar. If you’re still looking to donate before the end of the year, please consider us in your donation! 
Every Cent counts!