header-photo

More Relocations

In October / November of 2014 after an influx of new children – (we had 22 new children received into the Sarnelli House family in 2014 and most came in the last few months of the year), the boys from Jan and Oscar House were moved out to the new house on Jomp’s Farm. This house was originally intended for boys who would not be able to work in the outside world and who had learning or behavioural problems. However with the growing need of accommodating more girls, a decision was made to use the house on the farm sooner rather than later. The Gary and Janet Smith House now houses 17 teenage boys in one big upstairs dormitory. There are bunk beds and old lockers in the room and it has sweeping views over flat, brown, dry rice paddies at the moment. In the wet season the views will be of green and verdant rice paddies. A few add ons need to be completed such as a study room for the boys and a drying area for clothes and a cemented area for the boys to play basket ball or takraw. A sky lab (or tuk tuk) has been purchased for transport to and from the farm, and three boys only have the responsibility of driving it - Deep, Leew and Dow. There are no shops close by and the boys were originally walking their way after school in the dark back to the farm. There are no street lights and the road is dirt and unpaved. Now the boys have repaired some old bicycles and are using them to get in and out of the farm. There is a lady who comes out to cook for them but they are falling behind in getting their school clothes in order, keeping their belongings tidy and getting to bed on time. Presently the house parent job is being divided up between Fr Ole and one of the house mothers from Sarnelli House Ms Noo, but a permanent placement needs to be made to give the boys some continuity and someone who they can rely on being there for them. Maybe a former prison warden would be more in keeping with their style than a housemother!

 

After the boys departed, the Jan and Oscar House in Pi Si Tong is now home to 8 teenage girls. They are older, more responsible girls who do not need the same level of supervision as the smaller girls. Most of them study in Nongkhai so they have long days – getting home after 6pm most days. They have the big upstairs dormitory to themselves and after a few minor alterations were made to the bathrooms like putting a door on, they have settled in well to their new space.