If you happen to be driving or walking past our Mercy Centre, you may wish to stop by for a delicious cup of coffee. The students who attend our Janusz Korczak School for street children have set up a coffee stand in front of Mercy Centre, which they man before school and after lunch, offering freshly brewed cups of coffee for just 10 baht per cup. Ice coffee, mocha and espresso are the current best sellers. The coffee stand manager, Ms. Sherry (age 14, her birthday was yesterday!) says that their stand is making a little bit of money: “The rainy season isn’t helping business, but we are well situated to capture the 70 Rai neighborhood market.” Most importantly, the school children, all of them former or current street kids, are learning how run a small business.

The street kids who live around the Rama I Bridge phoned our Street Teacher, Kru Nang, last week on Mother’s Day, and told her that she must visit them. “It is urgent, “ they said, “but we can’t tell you why. Just come right now. We need you.”

Early this morning we celebrated Mother’s Day at Mercy Centre and gave honor to Her Majesty the Queen on her birthday and to all of our House Moms and all the moms who are a part of our Mercy Family.

Last week marked the beginning of Khao Pangsa (known in English as Buddhist Lent), a period of spiritual renewal in the Buddhist calendar. To commemorate the teachings of Lord Buddha and pay respect to the Monks who make merit on our behalf, our house moms, teachers, street workers, social workers, children, and students representing our eight kindergartens in Klongtoey – over 800 men, women and children in all - paraded to Wat Saphan, our local temple, where we made merit and received blessings. 

Today we celebrated “Wai Kru” Day at our Mercy Centre – the day students throughout Thailand give thanks to their teachers. On this day, all students enrolled in our Korczak School for street children and representatives from ten of our local slum kindergartens invited their teachers to celebrate in a pageant of thanksgiving, music, dance, gift-giving, and blessings. 

Some of our best friends in the world have recently started “The Irish Foundation for Mercy Centre,” a charity based in Dublin that will help raise awareness and increase support for our Mercy Centre in Bangkok.