My new partners, Steve Skilbeck and Marco Gorin, had invited me to attend the initial meeting with the orphanage to reconnect and assess what their needs are in the upcoming year. Their invitation was gracious, and I would have gone with, but the trip’s timing (around Christmas) would have demanded a flight cost upwards of $4,000. While it is my hope and desire to visit the orphanage in person, I regrettably can’t afford that at this stage. So I wished them well in their travels and eagerly awaited their report.
Upon their return they reported back that recent flooding in Thailand – the worst in over 50 years, had taken its toll on the orphanage. While the buildings in Yasothon were not directly damaged by the water, the impact on Bangkok was severe, and in turn their donations have plummeted.
The timing of the flooding reminds me why it’s so important that I succeed in setting up a project to support the children there.
Helicopter surveys flooding damage over Bangkok in October 2011
Major roads overtaken by the water
Large scale evacuations
People on a flooded truck in Bangkok
A monk in the streets of Bangkok
The Hope Collage 