Life at House Bethesda
Day to Day Life
All children at the House Bethesda Orphanage attend the local government school. The school is three kilometers from the orphanage. They are driven there each day in the orphanage pick-up truck. After school, they go to Chinese language classes for 3.5 hours 5 days a week and 6 hours on Saturday.
There is a driver to take the children to and from school and pick up food from Chiang Rai and Mae Chan and for emergencies. The cook/housekeeper makes the meals and does the cleaning of the facilities with help from the children when they have time.
There is a tutor who assists with organizing the children and helps them with their studies. As per government requirements, the children are visited by a government nurse and psychologist.
The orphanage is managed by Mr. Apinat’s daughter, Ninthida Wantiwattananan. She oversees coordinating with the various government agencies, fund raising, and the day to day running of the orphanage.
At HBO Kids Thailand, the children are tutored and supported by the staff. They have strict homework times. There are also classes in Akha language studies in the study room. We believe that it is important for the children to learn their native language and keep many of their traditions which have been passed down through generations. Due to a generous donation of some second-hand laptop computers, the children also have computer study courses in the evening at the orphanage.