Travellers on mercy mission

Not satisfied with the usual holiday destinations, the Switzer family decided to look at where they could do some good. They tell Emma Goodwin about their adventure.

In a self-confessed midlife crisis, Gail Switzer searched the internet to find an overseas experience that would also give something back to humanity.

The search brought the Palmerston North woman's attention to an orphanage in Thailand and a trip that would change her family's life.

"I turned 50 and had a bit of a crisis, where I felt I wanted to do something a little life changing," she says.

"So I got on the net and was looking for places we, as a family, could go and do things that would make a difference."

What she found was an orphanage in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, close to the Myanmar border that ticked all the boxes.

Her husband, Paul, says that it was not easy finding a reputable orphanage that didn't appear to be a profit-making organisation.

"Most of them wanted huge amounts of money for you to go – thousands of US dollars a week," says Mr Switzer.

Run by the International Humanity Foundation, the orphanage they found was established nine years ago by American woman Carol Sasaki as a preventative measure against the trafficking of children as sex slaves, a major problem in the region since the Vietnam War.

Sasaki started the orphanage at Chiang Rai with four children in one room, and the foundation, which began 24 years ago, also has homes in Kenya and Indonesia.

"We looked at the references on the net and decided that the orphanage and foundation were financially clean and that every cent went to the children. This was very important for us," says Mr Switzer.

Volunteers pay their own airfares and board at the orphanage and spend at least two weeks helping out and assisting with the daily care of the children.

Mr Switzer and son Kris are landscapers, and Mrs Switzer is a speech and drama teacher, so they thought their combined skills would be of use at the orphanage. The family applied online in May this year and waited.

Then after they passed the rigorous background checks, they boarded a plane on September 22 and headed off to spend two weeks at the orphanage to help look after 26 children, ranging from 10 to 18 years old.

The children at the Chiang Rai orphanage are from the hill tribes close to the Myanmar border, and because of this, they are not classed as Thai citizens, have no rights and are not counted in any census.

"When we got there we were told there was a population of 80,000 in Chiang Rai, but there were loads more than that," Mr Switzer says. "They just don't count them.

"It's atrocious," says Mrs Switzer. "This whole population of thousands and thousands of people are not counted. Their names are not written down anywhere; they have no rights, nothing.

"Because the tribes are close to the Myanmar border, there is a policy of eliminating them, so they get pushed over the border.

"At least the Thais tolerate them, but that's about it."

When they first arrived, Mr Switzer and Kris set about doing some basic maintenance work, fixing the well that supplied the water and upgrading the plumbing in the bathrooms. "We're not plumbers, but it was all pretty basic stuff," says Mr Switzer.

While it was Kris's second trip to Thailand, with the heat and bugs no surprise to him, his parents found it took them a couple of days to get used to the conditions.

"Cooking in the lean-to kitchen in the heat with no airconditioning was pretty trying and the living conditions are basic, as you would expect, but you get used to it," says Mrs Switzer.

While the home is called an orphanage, the Switzers say many of the children's parents are still alive, but cannot live with the children for various reasons.

"A lot aren't orphans, but their parents may be in second marriages, where the new partner doesn't want the child around, the parents may be abusive, or there may be a risk of the child being sold into the sex trade," says Kris.

"Life is cheap in Thailand."

The family say it is very easy to get attached to the good things that are happening at the orphanage and they would like to return one day.

"It would also be great if people with trade skills would go and help them out, with things like building work, electricity and plumbing," says Mr Switzer.

"It's incredibly rewarding, and they are always really grateful for any assistance they can get.

"We'd be more than happy to give advise to anyone who wants to go and do the same as we did."

Inscribed links with orphanage

It's not just memories and photos that the family bought back with them.

Kris Switzer now has a tattoo on his back that was carved into his skin using the traditional Thai bamboo and ink technique, which took six hours to complete.

While this dramatic procedure is not necessary to cement a relationship with the orphanage, the Switzer family say every cent that is donated to the Chang Rai home gets to the children, with none sucked up in administration costs.

"That was so important to us – that the home had that integrity," says Mr Switzer.

"We wouldn't have gone without that."

Volunteers always needed

The International Humanity Foundation Thailand branch works with the hill tribes, the indigenous people living in the tumultuous borderlands between Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and Laos, and extending into China and Vietnam.

The two tribes at the orphanage are Lahu and Akha. The home has 26 children. At home, they speak Lahu and Akha with their tribespeople, and Thai when speaking across tribes. Situated on the outskirts of Chiang Rai town, the home has boys' and girls' dormitories, joined by a common area where children, volunteers and staff eat meals and the children do their homework.

Volunteers are always needed, and there are various volunteers coming and going, staying for one to three months. They help with homework and administrative work. Playing with the children, helping them practise their English and making sure they are happy is highly encouraged. The orphanage posts a regular blog on its website so past volunteers can see what the children have been up to and how the home is faring.

For more information, go to ihfonline.org/index.php

- © Fairfax NZ News