A combined group of young people from Cambridge Baptist, Cambridge Elim and Cambridge Bridges churches left for Thailand earlier this week to participate in programmes with young Thais in various parts of the country.
After arriving at Chiang Mai, the ‘Teens 4 Thailand Team’ will meet up with a New Zealand couple who have established the Baan Itsara Family Home for stateless and exploited children from Northern Thailand, and meet nine children the home is currently looking after.
Before leaving New Zealand, each of the Cambridge team members had put together a gift box of items related to the interests of each of the nine children. They will present that gift box to the youngsters, and will also work on special projects with them and share evening meals together.
The group will then take part in English language classes at Maitreejit Christian School, and will run a programme for all 300 school students. That will be followed by a visit to a hill tribe village near Thailand’s border with Burma, where they will run a programme for 130 children and join in a church service with the villages with whom they will be billeted for two nights.
This will be a first major overseas trip for some of the teens on the team.
They return to Cambridge on July 18.
By Viv Posselt
