Last week over 650 poor children graduated from our 23 slum kindergartens in Bangkok. It was a fabulous day, truly glorious, and for the graduates of our three-year kindergartens, perhaps the most important and most triumphant day in their young lives.

Fr. Joe led the ceremony, exhorting all the children to stay in school. If there are seemingly impossible problems at home, Fr. Joe told them...if they go to sleep hungry…if the roof over their shacks leaks and floods their home, if their moms play cards and their dads drink and neglect them…if there’s no money for lunch or transportation or school fees…no matter what, Fr Joe insisted, they must go to school! “Come to Mercy and let us help, but regardless, whatever the circumstances, keep advancing, keep learning, keep going to school!”

We also wish to congratulate our Moken (ethnic “sea gypsy”) children in Ranong province who earned graduation certificates from kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, as well as vocational college. Considering that not one of their parents ever learned to read and write, these children have come a long way. We are incredibly proud of them! Photos by Ric Gazarian.