This week we welcomed our boys back from Warsaw, Poland where they competed in a very special football world cup. 

The world cup competition was open exclusively to boys, like ours, who live in group homes. Teams from 29 countries were represented. Our boys, who have rarely ventured out of Klong Toey, competed against teams from Poland, Russia, Macedonia, Tunisia, Hungary and Belarus. How cool was that!!!

“We want to thank our teachers for teaching us, loving us, being here for us, and caring about us even when we are being difficult. Thank you, my teachers for your unconditional love and trust,” said one teary-eyed student from our Janusz Korczak School for street children.

A congressional staff delegation, accompanied by members of Washington D.C.’s Royal Thai Embassy, visited our Mercy Centre yesterday to observe our programs and initiatives in the areas of child protection, anti-trafficking, and sustainable development. Highlights included a tour of our Janusz Korczak School for street children and our on-premise Mercy Kindergarten, where our students sang their favorite songs and were rewarded for their performance with ice cream on a stick – the perfect snack after their afternoon naps. Along the way, Fr. Joe and Mercy staff showed our guests why it is an honor and privilege to work together with the poor.

We wish our friends from around the world a Happy Thai New Year filled with blessings, peace, good health and an abundance of joy! Today we invited our elderly neighbors to Mercy Centre for a celebration of Songkran, the Thai New Year. Hundreds upon hundreds of dear, elderly friends joined in the festivities with our Mercy staff and children; and together we danced, feasted, received blessings from our local Monks, and then danced some more. Father Joe also gave blessings to our elderly attendees, gently pouring lustral water on their hands and wishing them a New Year filled with joy. As they do on every Songkran, our neighbors sang the old songs and showed our children the true meaning and joy of a traditional Songkran.

Last week we held our liveliest, happiest, and certainly most colorful celebration of the year. Our entire Mercy Centre was festooned with balloons, flowers, toys and stuffed animals. To say it was a joyous day would be an understatement. In fact, it was riotously crazy fun! It was Graduation Day for the children who attend our 23 preschools spread across Bangkok’s poorest communities. Amid glorious pomp and circumstance, over 500 poor children donned caps and gowns and received their diplomas; and in a rousing speech that brought all the children to their feet with fists in the air and smiles on their faces, Fr. Joe urged our young scholars, no matter what happens in the future, to stay in school! 

Last week we held our liveliest, happiest, and certainly most colorful celebration of the year. Our entire Mercy Centre was festooned with balloons, flowers, toys and stuffed animals. To say it was a joyous day would be an understatement. In fact, it was riotously crazy fun! It was Graduation Day for the children who attend our 23 preschools spread across Bangkok’s poorest communities. Amid glorious pomp and circumstance, over 500 poor children donned caps and gowns and received their diplomas; and in a rousing speech that brought all the children to their feet with fists in the air and smiles on their faces, Fr. Joe urged our young scholars, no matter what happens in the future, to stay in school!