The Chiang Mai Lions Mercy Visit to Thomas House
On 28th September 2023 the Lions Club from Chiang Mai drove a tortuous 8 hours round trip, due to heavy rain, due North of Chiang Mai through the Chiang Dao mountains to deliver a van load of help, assistance and donations to Thomas House, a school for disabled children in Tha Ton, just 2kms from the Myanmar border.
Past International President and Thai celebrity Lion, Khun Kajit Habanananda and Immediate Past District Governor, Khun Wisut Nimmakulvirat and various other selfless Chiang Mai Lions members answered the call to assist the small school that manages to get by on donations and support of Bryan and Rosie Massingham.
The Massingham’s, ex-teachers from the UK who taught in Hong Kong schools for many years, before establishing the Maekok River Village Resort and Outdoor Education Centre on the banks of the Kok River. A river that runs through Tha Ton from the Daen Lao mountain range through Chiang Rai to the Mekong.
About Thomas House
Thomas House was opened 6 years ago to cater for disabled children unable to access their local school, most of whom come from hill tribe and Shan families. Many of the parents and children have no identification papers and are effectively stateless so they cannot access medical or support services for their children.
Sadly, many of these parents are superstitious believing their child’s disability, be it Down Syndrome, loss of sight or hearing, is some sort of punishment for past misdeeds. Thomas House gives a sense of hope for these children and has been successful in assisting six of them into their local school system.
The head teacher, Kru Joy, who is from the Karen hill tribe people herself, and a small team of volunteers and helpers run the school and give these children an opportunity to learn, and play as well as help them integrate more into the community. As you can imagine this is not an easy task. But they manage it well with love and enthusiasm.
So, when the Lions of Chiang Mai were recently made aware of Thomas House, they raised funds to purchase educational and administrative supplies. They not only delivered these supplies but much more and gave the children a wonderful afternoon of fun!
Thank you Chiang Mai Lions International and your valiant efforts.
Thomas House School. (address, telephone number, email for donations, etc.). [email protected]
Maekok River Village Resort. 333 Moo 4 T. Tha Ton, A. Mae Ai, Chiang Mai. [email protected]
Check Availability & Rates for River Village Resort
Affiliate Disclaimer: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, Expat Life in Thailand may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your support helps sustain our work.
