2019 began really well! An unexpected donation made at the beginning of the year will enable us to purchase a long-needed new truck for the school. It will allow us to be more flexible in terms of the logistics for our fundraising events, as well as open the door to more adventurous afternoon activities for the children including small trips around town.
January until March 2019
During the first three months of the year we spent most of our time restructuring of the youth center; going through all of the classrooms in order to list and stock up on missing materials for the coming year. With the help of your donations we were able to purchase whiteboard markers for the new school year and stock up on a basic collection of coloured paints for the arts and crafts class in the afternoon. These purchases were only made possible with your donations. Thank you!
Favorite Project of the Month:
Plastic Bottle Water System:
Using recycled plastic bottles, we built an underground water system, guiding waste water from the outdoor sink to our banana trees. A similar system is planned for our upcoming vegetable garden. See more about the project here!
Clothes, Clothes, Clothes
Much of our time at the start of this year was devoted to the sorting and redistribution of donated second hand clothes. In cooperation with local guest houses and hostels we collect donations from tourists. We then resell the clothes at our second hand clothing store to raise money for our school or we redistribute the clothes free of charge in the many Shan villages around town. This time around we were able to supply the surrounding villages with several bags of clothing. The clothes now get a second chance to be worn, making many new owners happy.
Coming Up Next
In April our annual summer school begins once again. As usual our weekend program covers 4 days a week during 5 weeks in which there will be ongoing English classes and afternoon activitiy fun. During summer school we expect to see a few more children than at the weekends – their time off school is often used to join us at Kwah Dao. We have many projects are planned; the curriculum is all set and ready to go. The additional two days a week will enable us to try out bigger projects such as a plant-based fabric-dyeing workshop or a screen-printing workshop and as always many projects surrounding the topic of recycling and upcycling!
