Christmas is coming...!

Oh yes, the highlight of the year is drawing near - and we are slowly gearing up the children!

Here is the official House of Hope Christmas tree!

We decorate for Christmas in the traditional Shan-style. This is one of the main rooms.

How to stay fit the 'House of Hope-way'

Here are some creative ways to stay fit & healthy in House of Hope:

- You can join Phillip (Sai Laao Mai) & Saai in badmington...

...Or you could join Joy (Nang Luern) and the other girls. (Good luck, this is for the elite only - we've tried without any success...)

Our question is: How on earth do they do it??

Ahh, now we're talking! A fair game of marbles is more our style! (Although some of the youngest players didn't quite follow the rules)

After the the 'peace keeping' play with marbles, we decided to help little Toby (Pawnthep) collect his laundry. (All the children above 7 years old have to do their own laundry at the centre.)

Dinner preperations

The children in House of Hope are divided into teams who take turns helping out in the kitchen. In this way they learn how to cook their traditional Shan food and the resposibilities that come with running a big house hold.
PS: Did you know that the 47 children & 6 staff at House of Hope eat approximately 800 kilos of rice each month??



Here Nahum's (Sai Naw Moeng) team help out frying fish caught by the oldest boys earlier that day.




















Susan's (Tzaarm Noon) team collect herbs to go with the fish - all organically grown!
























These herbs are only to be found in the cold season. They are very nutricious - a natural way to ensure that the children get sifficient intake of vitamins. The herbs are grown, watered and collected by the children in this little garden right outside our kitchen!