Category: News

Dear Donors and Supporters,

In 2007 the idea of the Kharma Foundation (KF) was founded and 9 years later I am very happy to write to you after another successful journey: “Kharma Foundation goes Valentine 2016”. Nine is a lucky number in Thailand and I feel lucky to be a part of this great cause.

Today is the worldwide day of love and we have tried to spread some love with the support of many of you out there. I say ‘we’ as it was yet another group effort of donors and volunteers.
Over the years we have had some changes in the ranks, but the goals and the spirit remains the same.

9 years and the Kharma Foundation is still alive and kicking. Already 9 years of unselfish volunteers and donors that take the time to improve the lives of children that can use a helping hand.

This year the volunteers were: Scott, Lucy, Mark, Nat, Charlie, Phil, Bo, Sompong, Thanasat, Nirandon, Tharagon, Pornsak, myself and last but not least Janpen; a varied group from different nations and backgrounds but together in their love to do something positive.

   

We travelled to the district of Umphang in Tak province, the most desolate of regions in Thailand. Accessible only via the Death Highway and even when you reach the ‘capitol’ Umphang; not more than a village, it was still a long and uncomfortable travel to the two schools over dirt roads and small mountain paths. Nature’s beauty all around as far as your eyes can see but you soon realize that due to the remoteness of this part of Thailand not much help arrives to these schools and these children.

The two schools are named the Mae Chan Ta school in Mae Chan and the Le Tang Ku school near the Le Tang Ku waterfall. Both under control of the border police as they are close to Myanmar. The second school was literally 1 kilometer from the border; an imaginary line in a mountainous jungle.

Due to the great help of Lucy bringing greater awareness to the KF we have managed to outscore all expectations and gathered the highest amount of donations in the history of the KF.

We have managed to support 5 ‘building projects’ and the following donations of goods to both schools:

Building projects at the Mae Chan Ta school
– new toilet bowls and tiles to create a more hygienic toilet space
– brand new washing area to clean plates and clothes
– 6 new water tanks that hold 12000 liters of water
– a revamp of the dormitory for the children that sleep in the school

Building project at the Le Tang Ku school
– a brand new and bigger cantina annex activities hall

We donated a brand new playground to the Mae Chan Ta school, and this was HUGE success.

   

Goods donated to both schools:
– 1000 kilos of rice to both schools
– 100 kilos of glass noodles
– professional water filtering system with 2 years of filters
– 2 pairs of flip flops (slippers) for all children of both school, 625 in total
– for every child a big new towel
– a new toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and soap
– thick mattresses, new pillows and blankets for the children that sleep at school, about 70 in total
– mosquito nets for the kids and teachers
– over a 100 kilos in canned food like fish and vegetables for both schools each
– cooking equipment and cooking ingredients like oil, fish sauce, salt, etc.
– school learning equipment like books and paper
– school materials like pens, pencils, paint, glue, scissors, staplers, etc.
– board games for social interaction and play
– sports equipment like footballs, volleyballs, Takrow balls & badminton gear
– a cuddly brand new teddy for each of the 625 children
– a variation of other toys for the older children like etcha-sketcha’s
– a small gift to the permanent teachers in the philosophy “happy teacher, happy kids”
– a multitude of snacks as prizes for the sports day and general rewards in class
– and last but not least 200 new sport shirts for the Mae Chan Ta school for sports activities!

  

As you see, we have spent the donations wisely and we put the funds to good use. We try to find the right balance between the four goals we have: a better place to sleep, education, nutrition, sports & fun.

The visit to both schools was amazing and both head teachers were very grateful that a group of foreigners came to lend some support to ‘their’ children. Unselfish help, help with no strings attached.

They had only once seen a group similar to us years ago but they turned up and unloaded a lot of stuff, took pics with the kids and the boxes of goods and gifts… then loaded it all up again and drove off without leaving anything behind! No good glory hunters that misuse the children to make some profits.

For us to come and help, with no hidden intentions, no bible in hand like previous American churches did to seek more followers, not looking for any other reward then just seeing happy smiles on the kids’ faces… that was new to them. And happy faces we did see. The expression on the faces of the kids after they saw the playground and played non-stop till the sunset was priceless to see.

  

The children that sleep in the school were completely overfilled with joy with their first ever mattress. Just imagine how good they have slept that first night and every night since on a 4 inch thick mattress after laying on a bamboo woven mat… and a brand new pillow and blanket to make it complete.

The kids that got their first teddy could not stop hugging it and were even happier when we drove off and not asked it to be returned to us; of course they could keep it! The more than 200 four different color shirts for the schools’ sport day look perfect on the children as you will see in the photos.

One job was left unfinished and that was the plastering and painting of the inside walls of the dormitory in the Mae Chan Ta school. The technicians/police officers to do this job were called away to perform urgent police duties of stopping illegals crossing the border nearby after a new conflict within Myanmar.
But we have the promise that this task will be finished soon and we will keep you updated with the pictures when it is done. For now the new mattresses, pillows and blankets were a good first step.

  

All in all I can only conclude it was yet another successful mission! 1000’s of kilometers, 1000’s of kilos, 1000’s of smiles, 1000’s of good memories. The group of volunteers was simply great. Everybody supported each other and there was not one negative vibe the whole trip. Enjoying the trip is the reward we were looking for and all the new volunteers enjoyed every minute. The travelling was hard and it was like being in a different part of the world; a place where time has stood still.

The kids, oh the kids… their smiles, their faces, their energy! It was amazing. Shy the first day as usual but the second day the interaction was great. For most of them, the younger ones, it was the first time they saw actual white giants in real life… not on a T.V. screen, but in real, in their school! We have some great portrait pictures for you to enjoy.

I want to thank each donor for supporting our modest efforts to try to do something positive in the world. Each donation, big and small, is greatly appreciated and needed to make these charity trips to a success. I want to personally thank Club Insomnia Pattaya, Legends pool hall Pattaya, Braintrainer Plus Netherlands and Care for Kids Charity for their great support.

Then lastly my sincere gratitude goes out to the volunteers to take time out their busy lives and make the trip to a successful trip and a fun trip. Thanks to Sompong and his friends for the good guidance and care. Thanks to the general mister Amarit for his support and the opening of doors. And a special thank you to my girlfriend Janpen; without you and all your time and energy it would have not gone so well… You are Kharma’s super star for 2016!

I hope you enjoy the photos we have selected and of course I hope together we will keep the Kharma Foundation around for many years to come!

 

Kindest regards,

Martin and the volunteers
-The Kharma Foundation-

 

                                                                 

 

My trust in God flows out of the experience of his loving me, day in and day out, whether the day is stormy or fair, whether I’m sick or in good health, whether I’m in a state of grace or disgrace. He comes to me where I live and loves me as I am.

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From many we become one

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Kharma Goes Valentine!

 

Pattaya, Thailand. 7-November-2105

Dear donors and supporters of the Kharma Foundation,

I hope this letter finds you in the best health possible and in a positive place in your life.
For the ninth time I’m writing an email to inform you about this year’s plans, with of course help from your generous donations.

9 great years with a lot of highs, lots of happy kids and a lot of wise lessons learned!

Over the course of this year there have been some changes within the Kharma Foundation’s organizational structure. Co-founder Nion together with some new and old volunteers will keep focusing on the troubled South of Thailand. For this goal she has made a daughter to the Kharma Foundation; the Kharma Family (KFAM). A beautiful saying about change is “who fears change, will fear life. Who embraces change, will embrace happiness”. So we face the changes with a smile, and will make the best of it.

Our most loyal supporter & volunteer over the years Scott, Janpen my beautiful girlfriend & volunteer and I will continue with the Kharma Foundation (KF), together with old and new volunteers. Two new faces that will be helping with the planning this year are Mark and Lucy who have prior experience with handling donations and supporting schools and orphanages. New faces bring new energy.

We would like to wish Nion and her group the best of luck.

So with that said and done we return to the North of Thailand. KFAM will continue to support the South and KF will explore more of the North and the North-East in the future.

The border region in the North is where we have been multiple times in our short history. This year the KF will travel to Umphang district of the Tak province, the most secluded and remote region in Thailand. We are going to the Le Tang Ku School, close to the Myanmar border. It is accessible only by one road, romantically named the ‘Death Highway’ as in rainy season this road is full of dangers and sometimes is closed down. We are NOT going in rainy season so please do not worry. Being so remote means that not much support finds its way to the area we are going to support.

 

Stateless citizens, refugees and hill tribe people are the inhabitants of these mountainous areas. Like in the year 2010 we will get support of the Border Patrol Police (BPP). You may remember from our previous visit, at that time it was in the Sangkhlaburi province, where we visited 4 schools.

Our choice for the Le Tang Ku School in Umphang is the remoteness and that this school is under solid management. All the support the children get is very much appreciated by the teachers, the leaders and the whole community.

The children are made up from mainly hill tribes with some refugees from Myanmar. Along with the children of the families of that area, there are also some children that have great distances to travel to the school so they board during the week and go home at weekends and we have some orphan children that stay at the school permanently.

We are aiming to support two schools if donations allow it. If we manage to get enough funds we will also support the Mae Chanta School about 40 kilometers from the first school connected via a dirt road through the mountains.

As always we are focusing on 4 main targets:
1. Nutrition.
2. Education.
3. Sports & Games.
4. And just plain old fun.

We are in contact with the BPP (Border Patrol Police) and they will help us with transportation, with the building and also supporting our activities at the school when we are on site. We want to create a new sanitary building with toilets and wash area and extend the mess hall. The current toilet block is now so old, very dirty, in some places dangerous and a breeding ground for all sorts of water borne diseases and infections.  The mess hall is completely overcrowded and is way too small for the 360 children that have to pass through there each meal time.

Thanks to one of our new volunteers Mark, a good friend and old business partner, we are lucky to have the full support of the highest ranking Border Patrol Police General of Thailand, General Payoon Amarit. With his support and clear orders towards the district leader and army staff working in the area, I feel very confident that we will get the full cooperation we need.

 

But also with the backing of the General we feel more positive that all donated goods will be distributed to the children and the donated structures will be properly maintained. It is these two things that are so important in our view.

When you do your best to gather donations and spend the funds on a project but the teachers, the people in charge or parts of the community are not supportive for whatever reason; all your good deeds are at risk of going to waste. Only with positive support and understanding from all sides can a long lasting effect be reached and this is the ultimate goal we want to achieve: to have a long lasting, positive effect on the lives of the kids we visit.

At the time of reading, the Kharma Foundation is still the same. The goals are the same, the children we want to help are the same and ‘doing something positive together’ remains the same. The faces that help may change over the years, but it has never been about us or our faces. Charity should be faceless and nameless. It is the fact that you give what makes it positive, not exactly how much.
“Do your good deeds and let it go and flow down the river” …a wise saying from ancient India. Doing good is not for showing off but for the good of the persons you try to help and maybe also about feeling good within yourself.

We keep the same philosophy that every donated Baht/Euro/Dollar/Pound or any other currency you wish to donate will go directly to the benefit of the children we visit. All volunteers pay their own way, all the way. Companies can donate via our ‘buy direct of a VAT registered company’ principle like previous years. We also like to open more options to get second hand toys donated of people in Thailand that have children.
A second hand toy in the city is pure gold in the hands of child in the North.

All the details about donating, bank accounts in Thailand and the Netherlands, donating goods and the important info of the school will follow below this letter.

I am very happy to be part of this 9^th year of the Kharma Foundation. 9 is a lucky number in Thailand. I hope it is lucky for us too. I wish you all a great last couple of months of 2015. May Christmas come soon and may happiness fill your hearts with your family and friends. Thank you for your ongoing support.

I will close with the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt: “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

Thank you for your time and of course you’re much needed support that makes it all possible. Thank you from our volunteers and of course: a BIG thank you from the kids…
Kindest regards,

The volunteers of The Kharma Foundation

 

“Kharma goes Valentine!”

 

 

Jomtien, Thailand 9-2-2015

Dear supporters of the Kharma Foundation,

We have concluded the 8^th project, the 8^th year, the project “The Deep South”.

A few figures to start with… the 4 goals to achieve this year were:
1. improving the quality of life for the kids
2. Changing the attitude of the children towards school and the future
3. Increase relationships between school-army-community
4. Trying to achieve a positive result so other foundations will dare to go here

We had 16 volunteers for this year with a few cancellations and one or two last moment additions; 4 Schools in 6 days; over 800 kids; over a 800 kilometers traveled within the 4 provinces of Songkla, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat; the highest amount of donations reached in our history of over a 1,000,000 Baht; countless happy villagers; proud and happy soldiers and their commanders up to the general of the 4^th region; hundreds of stories; thousands of smiles.

May we proudly say it has been a success! The Kharma Family has reached a new height. Not that other years were less, not at all, but I feel that this year we managed to excel and to be different than all others.

In a world where everyone seems to have a (negative) opinion about Muslims lately and where a small bunch of evil men hold a world and a religion hostage for their own gain and sickening views of other humans, we as a small bunch of volunteers tried to make a different and positive sound.

A sound and a signal to the children that have been living in a surreal area of Thailand where there has been a civil war between religious freaks/criminals and the Thai army. These children have lost their parents, family members and/or friends. A signal to the parents and villagers that not all foreigners or people of other religions or of no religion are evil as some of the hate preachers try to make them believe. A sound to the people hiding in the shadows that we as outsiders have not forgotten these children that are caught in a sick adult game of power and death. A signal to the army that guns and bullets alone will not solve this problem, but genuine help from sincere people will be a big part of the answer… A sound that can be heard by friends and foes: the Kharma Family is small but not afraid.

Did I have my worries before? I would be lying if I said no. I think every volunteer was a bit tenser this year over previous years. Nion and I both had our worries: worries about the safety of the volunteers, worries about the reactions of the villagers and ‘the people in the shadows’. The collaboration with the army and the previous visits of Nion to the schools took away the worries bit by bit, but closer and closer to the day of leaving my head was spinning with both positive and negative thoughts.

 

A few volunteers canceled their trip, some with understandable reasons of work, but I can imagine some also due to the healthy fear of own life and limb. We are happy these people made their own choices and are happy these volunteers have helped us in years before and hopefully in the years to come.
But we are amazingly proud of all the volunteers that did show up. They found that the goals we tried to achieve were more important than their worries, and believed Nion that the safety would be as much as possible guaranteed by the good guys of army Special Forces Unit Suntisuk.

I like to thank these heroes! We had the familiar faces like Michal, Heide, Michelle, Scott, Andrew, Neung and of course Nion. And the new faces of Edwin, Woot, Ray, Nick, Radoslaw, Poom, Top and Noodle.

We all like to thank the army lieutenant colonel Natthagarn also known as Mr. Act; the leader of the troops to protect us, and his brave men. A thank you to the commander of the Suntisuk unit Colonel Chalit Puangmaleepradap. They did not only make us feel safe, but also had a great interaction with the children and villagers. From the famous rope pull and other games to helping us painting and construct, they have been versatile and they have been our protecting angels. The army also helped with transporting all the goods which saved us a huge amount in transport fees.
It was great to see that our presence created such a wave that not only Channel 5 news came on two separate days but also the 4^th regional Army Commander, the top of the top, came to see it for himself. He was impressed by the projects and complimented us that this had never happened before.
A thank you as well to the National Thai Railways for delivering all our goods for free in two completely packed and overloaded train carts.

 

We also like to thank each and every donor that supported this year. We had a seemingly unachievable target but you still believed in us and supported us. There are too many donors to mention all but we like to pick a few that have gone out of their way to make this year happen. The companies we like to thank are Syndicatum and Michelle; Parker Bridge via Richard and their 4 volunteers Edwin, Woot, Ray and Poom; BrainTrainerPlus and Hendrik; Vetz Petz and Kevin & Meji; Vizrt and khun Ju; SLC and nong Mui; the foundation Care 4 Kids and Woody & Ray and private donor Michal. But as said, each and every donation, small, big or huge has helped us, so our many thanks goes out to all of you.

This year we try to motivate the volunteers to write their stories and their emotions in their own language. We had (of course) Thai, English, Australian, Taiwanese, Irish, Dutch, Malaysian, French and German volunteers, so it has been a multi-national group of good hearted people. These stories will be added to the website www.kharmafoundation.com and also many pictures will be added over the next few weeks and months.

 

Of course I will add some photos with this letter so you can all get an impression of what was done with your donations and what we have seen.

I would like to finish this letter to you with bits out of a ‘thank you’ note to all volunteers received from Nion after we returned home safely. It shows a bit of the impact we created and the gratitude we have towards our volunteers.

Dear Kharma family,

This morning I received some calls from the girls from Islahuddin School; the difficult school we all visited together. They all told me that they miss you all very much. They all don’t eat the snacks they got as their rewards. They said they don’t want eat it because they can look at it when they think about us. They keep it to remind about us that we have been there. Afterward they asked Neung’s number and also called her to say that they miss us all.

Not only that, so far many girls and boys texting, posting and telling the soldiers that they want us to go back there again. They all miss us. Some of them trying to practice English with me because they want to communicate with you. I wish you could read Thai so I can show you those messages, I sent many of them to the military already

I told you these stories just because I’m very thankful for what you all did. These are the things money can’t buy. One of the goals was to create ‘curiosity’ for them and to realize the world is bigger. The results are more than expected. I want to bow and say thank you for you all a 1,000 times. I have you all as volunteers and many sponsors to help us achieved the goals.

Do you realize you all are the superstars down those provinces already? One more story is the reaction from the military from other units when they had a big meeting together. Some of military leaders said that what we did is saving the country. Do you realize how much people appreciating this!? Because of there was ‘NO ONE’ trying to do this such a thing before.

I’m really happy we did it together. I’m so thankful that I have a chance to know you all and really appreciate your efforts to help. I’m overwhelmed with the result what we achieve together. Thank you thank you thank you. Khop Khun mâak mâak ka.

Be proud of yourself. And I’m really proud of you all. I can’t come up with the beautiful English words, but I want you to know khop Khun mâak mâak from bottom of my heart ka.

Nion

 

This shows the impact we have had on the children, but also the impact the volunteers had on the founder Nion and she was speaking for me too. No matter how big or small the group, it’s the spirit, the energy and the love of the volunteers that made this year such a success.

May I conclude once more from my comfortable couch in my nice house living in moderate luxury to all of you that are living in similar conditions that what I have seen this year, the poverty that these kids have to endure and the horrible circumstances that is the daily life in that area that this year has made me the most proud ever that I founded this Kharma Family of ours. I thank Buddha for the amazing support this little movement has been given by you all, and via this mail one more time I want to put the spot light on Nion who has excelled this year over other years, from all of the supporters of the KF: Thank you!

Any other organization or foundation that would like to help this region, please contact the Suntisuk Unit. If people come together in this region to help the children, we could possibly change the future for a more positive one in this region and who knows…

There are still so many things we want to do for both kids and the people that take care of them, and luckily we have some money left so more updates will follow. For now, just items like mattresses, pillows and towels have made a huge difference for children that never had such ‘luxury’.

More stories, impressions and photos will follow. For now I am sitting here with a smile and a proud feeling. No arrogance, no self-indulgent… just extremely proud of the volunteers and proud of the support of the donors.
Kind regards,

Martin & Nion
[email protected]
[email protected]

 

Things achieved:

School 1 : Darulhikma, Narathiwas
A: construction= new toilets
B: giving school, sport and food goods for kids and school
C: activity = teaching + sport day

School 2 : Tadiga Mabuwoh, Narathiwas
A: construction = renovating class rooms
B: giving school and sport stuff for kids and food supplies for school + playground
C: activity = teaching + sport day

School 3 : Issarahuddin, Songkhla
A: construction = renovating girls dorm
B: giving sport equipment, food and study material for kids and school
C: activity = teaching + sport day + big cleaning day + veggies gardening competition

School 4 : Jaroensaat, Yala
A: construction = new boys dorm
B: giving sport equipment, food and study material for kids and school + extra kindergarten school
C: activity = teaching + sport day + big cleaning day

Stuff we donated via our Kharma Family members:

• 1000 kilos of rice
• 1000 bags of vermicelli
• 1000 underwear and clothing
• 2 playgrounds
• Gardening tools and seeds
• 2060 bags of sanitary napkin
• 6 ceiling fan
• 1010 towels
• 12 small tables and 12 book shelves
• 1,000 toothbrushes
• 1000 underwear
• 1,000 buckets + 1,000 soaps
• Paint for toilets and sleeping quarters
• 1 Cooler tank
• Sporting equipment for 4 schools
• 170 mattresses
• 50kg of detergent
• 40 big cooking spoons
• 600 bra’s
• 2,000 notebooks
• 100 boxes of color pencil
• 200 cans of canned fish
• 20 brooms
• Snacks for 4 schools
• 20 kitchen knives
• 10 cutting boards
• 1,000 bags of snacks
• 3,200 pens and pencils
• 1,000 rulers
• 50 liters of fish sauce
• 50 Kg of sugar
• 50 liters of cooking oil
• 50 liters of soy sauce
• 40 Kg of salt
• 18 water bottles
• 2 lunch boxes
• 12 puppets
• 2 umbrellas
• 17 handbags

 

• Roofing for soldier huts (private sponsor)