where cider meets condensed milk: The big orange house on the little hill

where cider meets condensed milk

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

The big orange house on the little hill

Last year, all the kids at Baan Unrak were living in the school building, with 2 to a bed and 10 to a room. There were 100 children in a space meant for 50, and limited air flow and lack of light was contributing to illness. Didi had purchased land for a new home, but there was no funding for the project. As of December of last year, she told us that she meditated on it, set a date as to when the need would be fulfilled, and kept faith that things would happen as they should. She told us that February was the date she envisioned. Shortly after our trip, she was home on a visit to Italy, and did a presentation about Baan Unrak. A friend of a friend offered to fund the entire project, and they broke ground in February!

The home is on a hill above the town with a view of the lake and the jungle. There are also several huts (below) for single mothers that can work in the weaving center and in the home in exchange for their housing and the ability to live with their children. Single mothers in this area of Thailand are shunned, and it is virtually impossible to get work. Thus, many women (particularly Burmese refugees) will abandon their children in order to go to the city for work, or to enter into a new marriage, or otherwise look for a new life. But, this gives the women and their children a second chance.

The new home embodies everything that I think about Neo-Humanism: open, full of light, complicated, accommodating, and pale orange. (I say orange not to be sarcastic, but because that is the color of clothing worn by its leaders.) The Neo-Humanism Foundation is the group that operates the home, and it is under the international Ananda Marga yoga group. The beliefs of this group are that all lives are interconnected-- animals, plants, people, the environment. The phrase used in meditation, Ba'ba Na'm Kevalam, is translated as "all is love", "all is one", or "love is all there is", and is used as a chant to focus the mind in celebration of a supreme consciousness. As everything is interconnected, we should respect our surroundings, and also treat our bodies with respect. They do not eat meat, fish, garlic, onions, dairy, eggs, or caffeine. Also, they meditate daily, and do yoga. In many ways, this (all is love, all is one) could be any number of philosophies or religions or stoned ramblings, but what makes it stand out is that the expression of this belief is through service to the community. So many service organizations are based in one faith, which can be problematic when you support the goals but not the foundational basis. To compare it to the Catholic notion of "good works," the outcome of community service may be the same, but the works themselves may be motivated by fear of God or Hell, or as a means of being allowed entrance to Heaven. With Neo-Humanism, service is not a means to an end, but the constant and necessary mode to approaching enlightenment. I do think that most people have an innate desire to help others, but motivation and specific direction are the largest barriers in acting upon this desire. And whether it takes religion or socio-spiritual groups or personal quests to guide individuals into improving their communities, then each has served its purpose.

Here are Colin and I with Didi Anuraga and Didi Devamala, who run Baan Unrak. Didi Devamala started the home 17 years ago, after she was given a child to look after while visiting the area. She was then given another child, and another, and she decided that her mission would be to create a home for abandoned children. Didi A came to Baan Unrak in the past decade, and she is now in charge of the primary school. I think these women are amazing, and I'm excited to be back for a few months post-JET to be with them and all the great kids.

posted by Raychaa @ 10:19 PM

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