Street Children Go Camping

Although these kids trust few adults, our social workers were able to persuade 40 street kids to join our Mercy staff for a holiday at Kao Yai National Park, where they played children’s games just like other children, took long hikes, exercised until they were exhausted, cooked their own meals, made friends, learned lessons about sharing and about trusting others, laughed more than you might think humanly possible, and, best of all, lived without fear for four full days. Our hope is that these kids will think a little harder about leaving the streets and join us or reunite with family or anyone who will take care of them, send them to school, and let them be children. Given half a chance, they will thrive.