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 Our friend Sopin with a young friend at the Vienping Children?s Home in ChiangMai , Thailand. |
Vienping Children?s Home Chiang Mai, Thailand On our flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai this January, we happened to meet a Japanese sociologist preparing to do several months of research in northern Thailand. Dr. Hagiwara shared sobering statistics with us, surprising us with the scope of the problem of HIV in Thailand, largely attributable to widespread prostitution in the country. He told us of a very special place, the Vienping Children?s Home in ChiangMai, and encouraged us to visit there. The Home, the first in the region to specialize in the care of homeless children under the age of seven, was opened in 1986. Later, it opened its doors to orphaned girls under the age of 18. An adjacent facility houses homeless boys. Since 1993, Vienping has also housed children who are HIV positive, many of who are also orphaned and homeless. The Superintendent of the facility is a tireless and nurturing woman named Mayuree Yoktree. She has initiated a number of programs designed to help keep children with other family members, providing support to keep them with their families as their parents sicken or as their own health needs become more demanding. She is especially proud of the number of children the home has been able to place in permanent adoptive homes, mostly with European and American parents. We were very impressed with the level of care and dedication at Vienping. Watch Mingei notices for more information on a benefit for the Vienping Children?s Home. ¨ |
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