(COMPLETED PROJECT – 2006)
The Lahu people originally came from China to Thailand many years ago and they are one of the tribal groups in Thailand. Approximately 90,000 Lahu live within Thailand, though there are many who also live in Myanmar and Laos. Within Thailand, about 85% of them live in the provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Many of them live in the isolated villages located on the mountainous area of 600-900 meters above sea level slopes of the mountains. In the past many Lahu involved in drug trafficking, however, many of them have been able to leave the trade. The problem remains that most of the Lahu are poor and living with simple life style with no education.
This was the reason that GAiN wanted to help them to educate them through Red Lahu Student Hostel. Red Lahu Student started in 2004 in San Sali village, Wiang Pa Pao district, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. GAiN formed the Red Lahu Student Hostel Executive Committee and the committee selected the poorest children and orphans amongst Lahu villages and accepted in our hostel.
We supported 19 boys and 23 girls from between 3 to 15 years. Education services were taken care of by sending them to the public school near by the hostel. We put them in our temporary buildings and took care of them.
We completed the 1st dormitory building in March 2006 for Lahu girls and a house for the hostel parent. This was the first time in their lives that they were able to sleep in a concrete building with toilet facilities attached. There were 23 girls living in this dormitory.
The lead agency for this project was GAiN Australia.
The Needs
Boys’ Dormitory
At the moment, there is a need for another dormitory to cater for 19 boys with the potential to increase in numbers in the near future. The current budgeted construction cost is almost similar to the previous construction of the girls dormitory around 230,000 baht.
Clean kitchen & dining hall
As we have been using a small hut as our kitchen and dining place for the children over the years, it is essential to construct a clean kitchen and dining hall. The budgeted construction cost is approximately 356 000 baht.
Double Beds
We plan to provide 50 bunk beds in the dormitories. This would enable us to accommodate 50 boys and 50 girls. The budgeted purchase cost for this item amounts to 95,000 baht.