DUM GETS READY FOR CIRC DE SOLEIL
Birthdays are big at AGAPE… we make a real effort to ensure each child feels special on his/her big day. This month we celebrate 7 birthdays. Today I want to write about one which had an impact on me. Let me backtrack a bit…. every day after school many of our kids make a beeline for the trampolines to show off their prowess and work off some excess energy.
One day as I approached the trampoline, one of our boys, Daow, pulled out a Canadian five dollar bill he’d received from a sponsor, handed it to me to exchange into baht but cautioned me with the knowing air of a seasoned currency trader: “That’s 150 baht by the way.”
Fast forward to December 12, Daow’s 12th birthday. After all the presents were opened and the cake eaten, he walked over and sat down beside me. The conversation went like this…..
DAOW
“Pa RAM, I don’t understand…why am I so much smaller than the other boys my age? “Well”, I replied, “it probably has something to do with your start in life….why don’t you tell me about that?”
“I was raised by by my Granny but she didn’t really have a proper place to live and no money for food or schooling. I didn’t have much to eat and didn’t start school until I was 9. She brought me to AGAPE when I was 10.”
“How are you doing in school?” I asked. “I am at the top of my class” he replied, “but it doesn’t mean much when I am in Grade 3 and I should be in Grade 6.”
I thought about that for a minute and replied: “Daow, maybe you’ve already got enough toys and clothes for awhile. Maybe what you really need is a private tutor to help jumpstart you into the grade where you should be for your age. If I could find someone to sponsor a private tutor would you be interested? You’d have to work very hard”, I cautioned.
Oh….Pa RAM….YES! I’d be very interested in that,” he replied without hesitation.
Since December 12, Daow doesn’t let a day go by without asking me:
“When’s my tutor coming?
Well, dear reader….how about it? Can we find a sponsor who will fund a private tutor for a boy whose innate cleverness and charisma puts him well ahead of many of his peers at AGAPE?
We even had fireworks
Mr. & Mrs. Santa
In other news… this week was our annual Christmas Party for all the kids at AGAPE… I’ll have more photos to post next week but it was a blast!
Mr and Mrs. Santa arrived in grand style….watch this space for lots of photos next week.
In the meantime, all of us here at AGAPE send you our love at this special Holy Season and our thanks for all your support in the past 12 months. We have lots of exciting things planned for 2015 so stay tuned to our website for breaking news… as it happens!!
