Our sister charity Mercy Centre Australia is holding a cocktail reception on March 13 to raise awareness and funding for our Mercy Centre in Bangkok. Usanee Janngeon (director of our HIV/AIDS programs) and Ratana Chanto (Finance and assistant to Fr. Joe) will be on hand.

The Irish Ambassador to Thailand HE Brendan Rogers brought the Irish community of Bangkok together last week in an event that recognized and honored Father Joe’s 40 years of community service as co-founder of our Mercy Centre. It was a beautifully orchestrated informal celebration, (beautiful – both spiritually and musically) hosted by the Dubliner Bar in Bangkok. 

Today at Mercy Centre we celebrated the birthday of Galong, our oldest Mercy boy. Born with a type of Downs' Syndrome and abandoned to the streets in his youth, he was found by our social workers over twenty years ago near the Pratunam Market, and has been living with us as an older brother to our younger boys ever since. When we found him, he had no given name, so we named him "Galong," a Thai bird without a nest. And he had no documentation, so we made Valentine's Day his birthday - because that is what he is about: absolute love and joy. We don't know his exact age, so we approximate. On Valentine's Day, Galong celebrates his 49th birthday. Happy Galong's Day, everyone!

What a difference a bowl of rice makes! What joy a toy brings to a child in our shelters!

Mercy Centre is hardly a household name in Spain, but we do have many kind friends, and we wish to thank them all for the concert they organized on behalf of our sister charity, Mercy Menorca. All proceeds from the concert, called “Semillas de la vida” (seeds of life), performed this past November in Barcelona, will go to support our program to protect and defend Bangkok’s street children. Our heartfelt thanks ring out to all the performers, including dancer Ayako Zushi, pianist Gloria Argany, and the poet Luisbel Rodriguez, who conceived of the concert and brought it to fruition. Thanks also to all guests who helped make the concert a beautiful event. And most special thanks to Mercy Menorca! For more information on how we care for street children, please visit our program page here. (Photo below by Ian Taylor: a Mercy social worker with a child beggar on the streets of Bangkok.)

In celebration of Thai National Children’s Day, each of our 23 kindergartens held a spectacular sports competition this morning that featured running races, musical chairs, and even a highly skilled balloon-popping event.