Random Photo Memory: Meet my Thai "Sponsor Child"

No doubt many have heard of (and even some have likewise opted to donate to) the myriad of “Sponsor a Child” organizations that abound, whereby you commit to a monthly donation to “sponsor” a child in some far off land. In reality of course, your monthly donation necessarily gets commingled with other donations, and only indirectly benefits your particular sponsored youngster. Nonetheless, given the right organization, your simple $25/month donation can make a real difference in your sponsor child’s life.Indeed, I witnessed this first-hand back in the 80’s when I first started sponsoring a little girl in a remote village in Thailand. This was of course back when there was no internet, so it was difficult to research the various charities that offered such sponsorships. But suffice I chose one of the most prominent (Christian Children’s Fund, now known as ChildFund International) – and I must say, I’m very glad I did. For several years I received updated photos of the little girl I sponsored, along with letters written in Thai by her parents, and kindly translated into English by CCF staff.

Better still, I was especially impressed with CCF as they fully embraced the notion of “Give a man a fish, and you have fed him for a day; Teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime.” In short, the monies (including my meager monthly donation) funneled through CCF were directed towards such projects as buying a water buffalo that could be shared by all the residents of my child’s tiny village, then repeatedly bred until each family had their own water buffalo.

But the best part was yet to come. In 1989, as an international tour operator, I opted to run a group trip to Thailand. As I was busily setting up the many arrangements for the tour, it suddenly dawned on me that… perchance I could visit my little sponsored child while I was in Thailand. So I telephone CCF, and their response was most exuberant! They said that no sponsor had ever requested such a thing, but they were most eager for me to visit, and indeed, extremely helpful to that end. Not only did they give me details of where my sponsor child lived (in a remote village in northeast Thailand), but reserved a room for me at a hotel in a nearby town, and arranged for an interpreter to accompany me to the village!

And so it was that after my group tour was finished, one of the participants and I flew to Khon Kaen and were met by a CCF interpreter. I had brought a few small gifts (hand soap, etc.) for the family, but – as the weather would soon be turning cold in this part of Thailand – the interpreter wisely suggested we first stop at the outdoor market to buy some warm clothes for my sponsor child and her little brother. After the market, it was quite a little trek to the village, and when we arrived the entire village came out to welcome us!

After meeting my sweet little sponsor child and her family, we toured the village so I could readily see the work that CCF had been doing to improve the health and lives of the village residents. Like many Thai villages, silk producing was a large part of the village’s economy. Everywhere you looked were flat baskets filled with mulberry leaves – and upon closer inspection, hundreds of silk worms happily munched amid the leaves.

The TravelnLass learns to spin silk

Indeed, the grandmother showed me how to actually spin the fine silk threads from a bucketful of cocoons on her ancient wooden spinning wheel – a matter of dumping a bunch of cocoons in a wooden bucket of hot water at the base of the spinning wheel, pulling a single fragile thread from each of several cocoons up the wheel and spinning them into a sturdy thread to be used to weave into silken cloth. The cocoons unravel in the hot water as you spin, and eventually – you’re left with a bucket of nicely “cooked” silk worms!

MORE TravelnLass: Reflections of Thailand

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Munching on boiled silkworms

These, are what you see in the photo at right. They were proudly offered to we “guests” as a delectable treat. Needless to say I hesitated for a moment at the thought of eating little white squishy grubs, but declining was simply not an option as to do so, would surely insult our kind hosts. So munch a few I did…

And the silk worm foodie review? No doubt chock-full of protein, and actually quite tasty – if you happen to like mushy pop-corn.

In short, the visit with my little sponsor child and her family: priceless.

The hors d’oeuvres? Um, not so much.

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About the Author

Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!