War Orphans in Northern Thailand

Today, over one hundred war orphans still struggle to survive in a disgraceful quandary. The orphans, each of which is assigned a guardian, live in either the Love Center, the Warmth Center, or the Triumph Center located in northern Thailand. Fu Ching-pao, a Taiwanese residing in Thailand, heads the centers. The Triumph Center is located in Chiangrai Province 800 kilometers north of Bangkok, about one-and-a-half hours by car from Chiangrai City, and is headed by Company Commander Huang Ke and directed by Yu Mei-chu. The other two centers are located in mountainous regions that are even more isolated. The nursery run by the three centers is simple but, for the children, it is a place of refuge in a chaotic world.

The three centers for war orphans were built in northern Thailand under the shadow of war out of bricks, mortar, tears, and blood. Many obstacles had to be overcome to establish the orphanages and we get a rough idea of the struggles involved by reading the yellowing, handwritten calligraphy entitled Origins. The stone inscription located at the Triumph Center in Chiangrai also helps to fill out the picture. The following extended passage comes from Origins.

"In 1988, Chien Chiu-hua, touched by a movement known as Northern Thailand Aid, selected the remote, destitute, and backward Pha Dam refugee village as the site for the Pha Dam Warmth Center, the first center in northern Thailand to shelter orphans. Its objective was not only to free the children from gnawing cold and hunger, but to nurture them and provide them with a proper education so that they can become contributing members of society.

"It is difficult to imagine how difficult it was for the Pha Dam refugee village to simply survive, surrounded as it was by the horrors of war. Numerous difficulties and drawbacks have been experienced in the establishment and operation of the Pha Dam Warmth Center. Chien Chiu-hua is extremely grateful to organizations, such as the Chinese Federation of Disaster Assistance, the China Human Rights Association, and the Far East Trade Office [which is the Taipei economic and trade center in Thailand] for their assistance and support. On behalf of all of the teachers and students of the orphanage, Chiu-hua expresses her appreciation to all the groups and individuals that have been so unselfish with their love.

"To ensure that more war orphans in northern Thailand are cared for, Chiu-hua also built the Sanmin Love Center in New Misou Sanmin Village and the Triumph Center in Chiangrai. These three centers are similar in nature and have taken in over one hundred children over the years.

"Chien Chiu-hua has and will continue to single-handedly overcome problems that come her way, so that the orphanages not only survive, but thrive. At the same time, she hopes that people will keep supporting and encouraging her and others like her in their work to ensure that hope continues to shine in that distant land."

Chien Chiu-hua rushes about raising money for the three centers. Her efforts have provided the war orphans a wing of protection under which they do not have to worry about survival, where they receive educations, and where they regain dignity and hope.

Fu Ching-pao, head of Taipei's three orphanages in Thailand, points out that the Triumph Center, concerned with caring for secondary school age children, currently cares for 39 of the more than one hundred war orphans. The other two centers attend to primary school age children. The government of Thailand provides the orphans with free secondary school educations in Thai, while an additional 100 baht is required for each student to receive an education in Chinese. Life is hard for the children receiving secondary education at the Triumph Center, as they take courses in Chinese from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. and courses in Thai from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. These courses make the children proficient in both Thai and Chinese.

Generally speaking, the children enter the first grade at age six or seven, begin secondary school at age 13, and start to earn livings on their own at age 16. The Chinese curriculum and textbooks used by the center are identical to those used in Taiwanese schools. Hope is dawning for these war orphans because of the love shown by others.

Note:

I would like to express my gratitude to Long Sheng, the founder and chairman of Vinaya Gate of Malaysia, for giving me the opportunity to visit the orphans in northern Thailand. He organized the Thailand and Cambodia Charity Tour, a group consisting of 30 individuals, which brought love during the Chinese New Year to these war orphans living so far away.

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(below & facing page) The Thailand and Cambodia Charity Tour celebrated this year's Lunar New Year by returning to the Chiangrai Triumph Center with food and red envelopes.

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Children of the Triumaph Center with Lunar New Year visitors.

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Long Sheng, the director of Malaysia's Vinaya Gate, leads a philanthropic group bringing gifts to the children in the Triumph Center during the first Chinese New Year of the new century. From left-Yu Mei-chu, Long Sheng, Fu Ching-pao, and Huang Ke.

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The yellowing Origins records the founding process of the three orphanages for war orphans in northern Thailand.