Little Am is looking forward to a new day in kindergarten. Am lives with his parents and little brother in a small room, in a shed, under the highway. There is no room to run around and play, and so for an active three-year-old it is a dream to be able to come to Home […]

Little Am is looking forward to a new day in kindergarten. Am lives with his parents and little brother in a small room, in a shed, under the highway. There is no room to run around and play, and so for an active three-year-old it is a dream to be able to come to Home of Praise. Here Am can play in a safe environment, both outside on the playground and inside a classroom with toys adapted to his age. Perhaps most importantly, Am receives love and care from confident adults.

Twenty years ago, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand’s Immanuel Church decided to expand its diaconal work. The pastor of the church, together with the then Norwegian Mission Society (NMS) missionary Dag Johannessen, challenged everyone in the congregation to look for a suitable place in the local community, a place where the church could start up new work. Under a highway, in an area called Nong Mai, they found an old, abandoned police station for sale. A wealthy Englishman bought the building as a gift to the church, and members of the congregation volunteered to renovate it. The centre was named Home of Praise, and at the request of people in the neighbourhood, a leisure club and a toddler kindergarten were started.

As a NMS missionary and preschool teacher, I was given the task of starting the kindergarten. Today there are 35 children aged 6 months- 4 years who attend. Common to all of them is that they come from the slums located in Home of Praise’s neighbourhood.

Home of Praise is an oasis and sanctuary for the children. The children live with their families in small sheds or small rooms, and many come from families with major social challenges. At the kindergarten, there is plenty of space for physical activity and a handsome playground with sandbox, race track and a small cycle path. The classrooms have age-appropriate toys and craft activities. There is room for good education, focusing on play. Home of Praise offers good preparation for the day they will start public preschool.

Home of Praise has a good reputation in the neighbourhood, and the leader of the area brags to anyone who wants to hear about this kindergarten. Recently, he brought a delegation of local authorities to visit Home of Praise, and many kind words were shared. One of the most renowned international schools in Thailand, Bangkok Patana school, has engaged in the work that is being done at Home of Praise, and today contributes training and guidance for employees in the kindergarten, and the children from the Home of Praise regularly go to Patana to be with the children there.

Patana runs its kindergarten according to the model “Independent learning” and Home of Praise use parts of this method in their work. The method is based on children having an active role in kindergarten, such as choosing which toys they want to play with. The children must also take responsibility for cleaning up after themselves when they have finished playing. In shaping activities, the most important thing is the process, not the result. The children are also encouraged to do things themselves, such as getting dressed and eating. In a traditional kindergarten in Thailand, the program and activities are usually very adult-controlled.

Every day the children are fed a healthy lunch. After a good lunch, they get a refreshing shower, before they all get a bottle of milk and a blanket to sleep on. Perhaps most importantly, here they meet adults who surround them with love and care. Home of Praise is located in a socially deprived area. This, and the fact that Home of Praise cannot offer teachers a good salary, makes it difficult to get trained personnel. Despite this, the services in the kindergarten are of good quality. Today, the kindergarten is run entirely by local employees, but I am still involved as a supervisor.

If you would like to consider the opportunity to serve as a volunteer in mission, serving in practical ways, teaching English, teaching in the seminaries and institutions of our partner churches, or in local churches, you are invited to phone LCA International Mission on (08) 8267 7300 or email lcaim@lca.org.au. For more information, go to https://www.lcamission.org.au/join-gods-mission/volunteer/

Read more stories about volunteering at www.lcamission.org.au/category/join-gods-mission/volunteers/