In the middle of March just as COVID-19 was ramping up, the Thai schools began their summer break. Our staff had to make some tough decisions about how best to keep our girls at BHJ protected from potential exposure while also wanting to be sensitive to their requests to visit family members during their break.
After much discussion, we made an official decision to keep the girls on lock down and BHJ in order to reduce potential exposure. However, the Thai government requested all children's homes to send kids back to their villages. Nitaya made phone calls to all the families and determined that only about half of our girls would be safe to go back to their villages. The other half of our girls remain at BHJ.
Our staff and volunteers have made the best of this quarantine and the BHJ girls are really enjoying some great activities!
Art classes with Uncle Mike!
All of the art school participants pictured here (even our staff participated!):
Quarantine projects are in full force — washing the walls and repainting!
You can't have summer without a little water fun!
Bracelet making and paper flower crafting was a huge success!
Palm Sunday:
Bible study and prayer time with the littles!
Regular walks to the dam have been a huge sanity saver for everyone!
Our girls have been sewing masks to stay protected when they go out (not only from the virus but also from the horrible pollution in Chiang Mai right now!)
Our kids at BHJ and D1 are staying positive through this crisis and learning to enjoy all this time together. We are grateful that our staff has been so supportive and innovative as we navigate these uncertain times.