Got any charitably minded friends? Know anyone who has a company that would like the benefit of good PR and to make a real difference at the same time? The Stratton ABC Foundation,( registered Charity No; C.M310), in Chiang Mai, is presently looking for Sponsors to ensure the continuation and development of  its work helping [...]

Every now and again I am privileged to be pointed in the direction of something special in and around Chiang Mai. Last Friday was one of those occasions. My good friend Ally has been doing some work for  Panyaden School who are presently constructing an innovative new school for children of  kindergarten up to Prathom [...]

I’ve long said that we have got far to ahead of our selves and there is much about the modern way of life that has been fast destroying our communities. So I am very happy to have heard from an old workmate of mine, in the UK, about his new website which offers a step back from the usual consumerism. Take a step back in time to the days of barter and neighbourlyness. This wonderful site gives a modern day platform for people to ask for help, from people in their community, in return for either money or like favours or maybe goods of some sort. There is also a swap section.

Its early days for the website and I know that its creator, Ian, wants to expand and improve the concept in time. One of the great things with this site is that it also plans to assist Charities by donating a percentage of all transactions to Charities chosen by the customers.

I think that we all know that, although we would like our governments to do more, if we really want to regain proper civilised communities it is up to us to do something about it. I truely believe that the ideas behind this website offer some assistance towards this aim. Take a look and spread the word:)

Todays post is just to say that life is good. Our Foundation Project, The Stratton ABC Foundation is going well and we now take care of 9 children from disadvantaged backgrounds, all from Northern Thai Provinces.

Today I visited nearby Sarapee, to watch a Parade involving two of our children who attend Mattayom 1 and 2 in Sarapee.

Its a sad reflection of todays society that parents around the world have little time to attend such events and I feel blessed that it is my job to make the time to do so. many children do not understand the constraints put on their parents, by modern day living. I’ m sure, like myself, you can remember the good feeling whenever your parents turned up to see you take part in something; sports day, a school play maybe. That feeling that they wanted to give up their time for you, to take pride in what you were doing.

Its that time of year again where love is in the air.

Take a moment to consider the origins of Valentines Day.

Before the day was high-jacked for lovers, it was originally meant for

close and trusted friends and companions.

So why not send a card to all your loved ones on this special day.

Even better, purchase your cards from The Stratton ABC Foundation online shop.

You will find a lovely collection of designs produced by the children at Stratton House Childrens Home, Chiang Mai.

During a visit to Chiang Mai this weekend I came across this interesting stall in the lower floor of Kad Suan Kaow shopping Plaza. Foot therapy in the manner of letting lots of little fish feed on your dead skin. I decided to try it out, even at 99 baht for just 15 minutes. As it [...]

Due to technical difficulties this post is a bit overdue, but see here an example of the effort put in to celebrate the annual Childrens Day. The official Childrens Day is on the second Saturday of January, but it came a day early at Pasak School with a large event held, to which several local [...]

To celebrate New Years Eve we decided to treat the children of Stratton House to a evening out at the Chiang Mai Cold Season Festival held at the grounds of City Hall.

This a huge event, very popular with the locals, with hundreds of stalls where you can find food, clothes, toys, etc.

There are also many ‘fairground rides’ , as well as several stages with live music acts.

Our children had a great time looking around this fantastic spectacle.

They had all received a little pocket money to be able to buy snacks or drinks and then we allowed them to choose a few fairground attractions to enjoy. They all did very well, considering the vast variety of stalls and tempting things, in not asking for too much.

During their time there they enjoyed rides on a merry go round and a ‘Big’ Wheel, and spent time in the Bouncy Castle and House of Horrors.

New Placements
We are happy to announce that we are now caring for another 5 children, bringing the total number of children at Stratton House to 8.
Responding to a call from Nan province, Boon and I traveled to Nan on Boxing Day to assess the childrens circumstances and make a decision on placements.
It was a long trip, having also to pick up a relative of some of the children concerned, from Mae Wang, in order that she could liase and translate for us. As you may know there are many regional languages in use in Thailand, so we could not just rely on Somboons Thai.
It took nearly 9 hours in total and we arrived at our first destination,the town of Phua, in Nan Province at around 5pm.

Wat Pasak Banthi is where Pasak School is also located. This, you may know, is where I work as part time, volunteer, English Teacher. Whilst at school this week, I noticed the construction of large marquees in the school sports field and was informed that there was to be a Tamboon ceremony, to raise money for [...]