Dear everyone


To write to you at the end of a school day.  The kids are fine.  Everyone is healthy. True, they wear masks (most of the time – wash their hands proper – and are as cheerful and happy as five and six year olds can be / We strive for social distancing – and achieve it …. Somewhat …as much as can be expected at kindergarten level.
 

The grannies of the slum come & help in our marvelous 22 slum kitchens – attached to each slum shack school, as I have told you before & wash the pots and pans & help cook the food - but this is so exciting, I need to repeat myself!!!
 
  And there is more.   if one of our 150 teachers is sick for a day or even a week, as does happen … normally … her own mum comes and teaches in her place, or one of the grannies …   so life goes on.   And the quality of education does not suffer.  In fact, it get better.  -  Yes, our full quota of two thousand slum kids is almost full – the municipal government helps, cooperates.  The total slum community comes and helps. In brief, as I have mentioned before, we’ re so very Blessed:  we teach and feed almost two thousand kids each school day, - and a large hunk of the money does come in -  now I want you to know, it costs a bundle, even in the slums to nourish, and teach two thousand kids and now over two hundred elderly folks, who live in the slums /// yes the community leaders and politicians and folks ‘just driving by who stop and help’ plus the government help lot.  But the school shacks average age is over 20 years per wooden building, and the slum volunteer carpenters keep them going – and patch them up - most, not all but most of the money comes in. And that’s a lot of wear and use even with small kids going barefoot in the school – on wooden floors for 20 years…   so yes we need help.  And as I have said in other places, please come and help … cook a few meals with us … wash some pots and pans … teach for a while…
 
You might say here, Fr Joe … it looks like you are begging!!!!   And that’s true!!! I get down on my knees before each one of you asking you to help our kids.  I was desperate recently – no money and really needed to help a sick 3 years old … so went to a pub on my knees … a couple patrons laughed at me – the old priest – and poured beer on my head  a big joke, but a couple others helped with the medical bills and the child is recovering and back in school.   A great kid. 
 
God is good.  The community helps a lot.  The poor care for the poor. We don’t have much in the bank, but we are not supposed to … we go … day by day…
 
I do wish with all my heart that you good folks reading this could come & help – cook- - teach – go to the fresh market – wash the pots and pans – whatever needs to be done.   You see, this whole Mercy Centre with   schools and HIV-Aids and going to help kids at police stations, and the 101 kids who live with us as they have no place to go, and the list goes on and on  is a daily miracle.   Only by the special grace of God and the protection of Our Blessed Mother and the angels can all of this happen, day after day.  And our Moken sea-gypsy kids who we teach and care for in mid -South Thailand …Fabulous. 

 
As I referred to, our legal aid team are very busy:  in police stations almost every day -in fact over-loaded … sometimes two to three abuse cases a day & criminal court - to protect abused kids and give them shelter…  that’s why our Mercy Centre now has just reached the 101 kids mark – that’s right … 101 kids living with us .and some of the kids instead of calling me Father Joe … call me Dad Joe … and I guess that’s okay also.      
 
Plus our para legal team works every day – trying to obtain documents for kids with no papers etc…- proving they were born here in Thailand and have legal rights, and trying to find their parents and sometimes from far away village their family came from.  Not an easy task.
 
And our street kids team, tracking down kids daily here in the city, especially the kids who live under the big city bridges.  – it’s unbelievable…  My letter today is short, but just want you to know – how blessed we are, and thank you – but again to repeat myself… the whole Mercy Centre and Human Development Centre is a daily minute by minute miracle.  Thank you for being part of our family and of our miracle. - also even though we are COVID-19 free… please do not forget to help us… please.
 
Prayers & Respect as always   Fr. Joe and all of us