On Nov 31st-Dec 1st, I was able to join a team to visit the Simba home. It was a long journey starting at midday on Sunday and stopping overnight on the way. We then travelled on the next day.
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The Simba home is a small children's home run by Mufasa and his family. There are about 25 children. Some children are orphaned.
Some children have a relative who is able to have them at the weekend but the home enables these children to attend school. Some children have been forbidden to attend school in a remote area and so are able to attend a city school by hostelling at Simba. The home has been very under-resourced and do not have a regular income. The idea was to see if we can help them to develop using some of the lessons we have learnt at Hoay Maw. |
They have two buildings. One is a purpose built facility which is quite well finished. Mufasa, his family and the younger children stay in this building. The other building is Mufasa's original home and is wooden and rather run down. The older children stay in this house supervised by Mufasa's brother-in-law. The sleeping arrangements are quite cramped with the children having to lay out mattresses each night and roll them to the side to make floor space during the day. They could do with some simple plastic storage units to keep their clothes in.
We saw the newly constructed covered area which will provide shade for the children to to do activities outside during the hot and wet seasons. This was supported by a Norwegian family.
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They have dug a simple 3 tank fish-pond which was currently populated with catfish. They are trying to grow some vegetables but the soil is very poor and so they need to dig up the land and introduce a couple of lorry loads of good soil. Money from the HBC children's holiday club supported this.
The water is also a problem as they are using city water and it is costing a lot to get water to top up the fish and water the vegetables. As is common, they have to burn their own rubbish. There was an unsightly pile of old burnt rubbish. It would be beneficial if they can use a metal dustbin as an incinerator to contain the rubbish remains and to burn it more effectively. This would leave more land free for vegetables. |
The children blessed us with singing and dancing and we were able to teach them a song.
Later the helpers and children gathered round with a guitar spontaneously to sing worship songs.
It is a blessing that a donation has already been given to build a well which will give them unlimited water for their domestic and agricultural needs.
Simba also received some support for Christmas blessings for the home, support for a Christmas outreach to remote areas and some further support towards the running of the home.
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As well as encouraging them to make the most of the limited resources that they have, it would also be good in the future if some regular support can be established, in particular in the area of a regular wages for Mufasa. He doesn't receive a proper wage because his work is considered "unofficial".
They have a boy and a girl teenage volunteers who don't receive any payment. It would be great if these helpers could receive a small wage e.g. 1,000 baht (£20 / $35) per month. A similar amount would cover the living costs of a child. They also have a van which they have completed payments for. They use the van to reach out to remote villages. |
If you are interested to pray for or support Simba home then please contact us.
