Friday, June 13, 2008

Staff and Children



The latest photos of the staff and children in the beautiful gardens of BFS.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Our School




The children are learning both English and Thai language. They love their school and our latest project is to provide more books and equipment for the school.

Day Out




A trip to the local gardens, always creates a lot of fun.

Strawberry Picking





The children have a lot of fun in nature. it is the simple things like picking strawberries that makes them happy.

Birthdays




Angie is 5!
With 25 children and the staff, there are birthday parties nearly every week!

New Babies



Photographs of Wanida and the latest baby.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

BFS The Story so far....

Baan Fah Sigh-y Children’s Home (BFS)

Baan Fah Sigh-y Orphanage /Childrens Home is situated in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand in an area called Hot.
Baan Fah Sigh-y translates as the Home of “Blue Skies” and signifies the hope and beauty for the future lives of these children that follows the rains and grey skies of their past.
It has a capacity for 50 children.


How did it get started?

Phil Hohnen a missionary from the Gold Coast in Australia and his Thai wife Wanida are two passionate people whose hearts are filled with love for poor children. Their vision has always been to open an Orphange and to give back to the children of Thailand.

Sally had a synchronistic meeting with Wanida in 2001, when Wanida had an antique teak business and coffee shop. Sally initially started to support the cause by personal donations; however once she heard that the land had been purchased she set about raising funds to provide a well for clean water.
Sally was living in the UK at this time and decided that she too wanted to give back to the world and so left the UK and settled in Singapore and commenced raising funds for Baan Fah Sigh-y.

Through SoulCentre, Sally now raises funds for various projects to support BFS.

Fundings have supported the following projects; Staff accommodation / Laundry facilities/ Dormitory/ mothers at Risk homes/ Outdoor Kitchen Area/ Pre-School facilities.

Progress to Date
The orphanage opened its doors on 1st Nov 2002 and to date has 24 children.

The vision is to provide excellence in care. This means that for every 3 babies there needs to be one carer and at all times supervision needs must be first class.
Wanida works very closely with the social workers and I am pleased to say that the social workers rate BFS as exemplary. Wanida also had the vision to integrate the local hill tribes into the staff at BFS, providing excellent training, and so integrating a whole community with BFS.

How can you help?

S$30 will buy one baby a cot and mattress
S$15 will buy one baby milk for two weeks
S$18 will pay for an annual health check including medicine

Any contribution is welcome and every dollar goes directly to the children.

Thankyou
Love and Gratitude, Sally
Soulcentresingapore@yahoo.com.sg
www.soulcentre.org

Friday, June 6, 2008

Catching Crabs

Recent photos from a BBQ we had. The children love to collect the crabs, but the laundry staff were not too impressed with the mud.










A Beatles Song - refreshed!

Please read below a beautiful song that was written by Olivia Wells from Tanglin school.
They were studying the Beatles and she wrote this song to remember the children of BFS Children's Home
Tanglin School is a great support and each year I do a presentation to the children and they decide how they can help the children of BFS.

Anyway some great news for Olivia- all the children of BFS get lots of cuddles and love as we provide a high ratio of staff to children.....
And its quite amazing, but you rarely hear them cry- I think the large home environment helps children feel connected and loved at all times.

Thank You Olivia and also to Georgina ( Olivia's mum) who is such a tireless support for BFS.
The children and staff are so grateful !!

Love and Blessings Sally


Imagine Blue Skies


Imagine all the children, living without a mum
Imagine not being able to see the sun
Imagine all the children, living without a dad
Imagine feeling in despair and sad
Imagine all the children, living without a family
Imagine not being fed nice food like you and me
Imagine all the children, unloved
Imagine thinking about a dove
Imagine wishing you were one to
Imagine all the children, and what they've been through
Oooooooo
Imagine all the children, with no one to comfort them when they cry
Imagine trying to live under Blue Skies!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Robbie Forrest Dormitory

From Sadness to a Purpose !

In 1997 my mother died from Cancer. It was a devastating moment for me and one which changed my life. The sadness and loss is hard to describe , however I decided to put my efforts into celebrating her life and celebrating the fact she was such a wonderful caring mother.
In her memory , I raised the funding to build the latest building at BFS - a dormitory which was opened on the 10th anniversary of her death.
The children can now sleep safely each night , and the memory of my mum lives on.
Here are some of the pictures of the Dormitory .
Love and Gratitude , Sally





Phil and Wanida


Phil and Wanida
The wonderful visionaries who had the idea and passion to make BFS a reality !
Its due to their dedication , hard work and commitment that the dream became a reality.
We send them our love and gratitude
Sally

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Bring joy to the children!






Dear friends of BFS,
Here are some photos of the children at BFS......
Both Phil and I will update the blogs from time to time with images and updates of the projects .
Our latest project is to establish a wonderful school for the children - so if you wish to contribute in any way ,please do let me know!
The children are all happy and healthy and full of life !
We send you our love and gratitude for any support
Sally