The kindergarten Home of Praise in the Khlong Toei slum.
In the heart of Bangkok’s largest and oldest slum, Khlong Toei, Norwegians Mission Society has transformed lives of underprivileged children through music and education.
Shoes must be taken off before walking down the long hall, which leads to every child’s paradise; a big sandbox with a playhouse, trampoline and lots of toys. With smiles and curious eyes, the children greet anyone entering their kindergarten, Home of Praise. Between small houses and old sheds in the Khlong Toei slum, lies what some call an oasis.
The Khlong Toei slum is home to about one hundred thousand people and it’s the oldest and largest slum of Bangkok. A poor and socially challenged community, where the kindergarten “Home of Praise” strives to be a sanctuary in the neighborhood. And not only for the children.
“It’s about the whole family. We want to help the children to better opportunities, but also support the rest of the family,” Krittayasai Saengserm, head of the kindergarten, says.
According Krittayasai Saengserm the parents often have a hard time managing the children due to long working days.
“We check the children for bruises every morning, and if we find some, we will talk with the parents about what beating does to a child. How it can hurt them on the inside.”
The love and care that the teachers provide for the children are evident in many ways. It’s the way they wash the uniforms of children, whose parents can’t manage. The way they give them an extra meal to take home, when parents are short on work and money. The everyday routine; singing, playing, teaching and feeding.
The daily routines at ‘Home of Praise’ go beyond basic care. They instill a sense of stability and love in the children, many of whom come from unstable home environments.
It all began 20 years ago when The Immanuel Church, a congregation of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bangkok, decided to expand their diaconal work. A former police station beneath the Chalerm Maha Nakhon Expressway would form the basis of the church’s new work. And at the request of the local community, a kindergarten was established. The kindergarten was run by the Norwegian Mission Society, but today the kindergarten is run by locals.
“You don’t have to be a Christian to be enrolled at the kindergarten,” Krittayasai Saengserm explains.
“But we teach the children about Christian values, as loving one’s neighbor.”
Today the demand for the kindergarten is so high that Home of Praise have a waitlist and a way to prioritize the neediest.
“Our priority is children from poor families and single parents. These families must work a lot and for many hours, so they are very happy if their children can have a place to play and learn during the day,” Krittayasai Saengserm says.
A spot at the kindergarten costs 20 Thai baht per day for each child. However, some parents can’t pay, in which they are excepted.
Changing lives
On the first floor of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Khlong Toei, are classrooms, posters with musical nodes and a room filled with classic instruments. All the instruments are donated, and they each have a little name tag for the child using it.
When the kindergarten first started 20 years ago, it was also a place for social activities for older children. Here they made art, learned English and played music. This led the Norwegian missionary Solveig Johannesen to open a music school with the Immanuel Lutheran Church, located in Khlong Toei.
Today the project runs a music program involving 70 children aged 7-18 in classical music activities such as individual lessons on violin, cello, piano, choir, and music theory. Many of the children come from poor families in the slum and some have even gone to the Home of Praise kindergarten. And despite their challenges, the people working there see a lot of growth and development in the children.
“It’s not easy to change someone’s life. But it is possible,” the music advisor and paster of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand, Chanda Saiyotha, says.
He has witnessed how the music taught at the church can give the children an opportunity for further education. A lot of them has gone to universities and gotten bachelor’s degrees in music, and most come back to the church to teach music to children like themselves.
“It’s about giving back,” Chanda Saiyotha says.
Five years ago, the school became more independent and was registered as the Music for Life Foundation. Like the kindergarten, the locals have put in a lot of work to teach and help the children from the local community.
The priest at the Norwegian Mission Society, Knut Hallen, is only thrilled about this development.
“It’s really great that the projects set up by Norwegian missionaries engage the locals and that they develop more independently, rather than being dependent,” Knut Hallen says.
While not all initiatives have thrived, the success of ‘Home of Praise’ kindergarten and the ‘Music for Life Foundation’ showcases how long-term commitment and community involvement can lead to sustainable change.
