This was an easy trip since it was only about two hours from the small town of Mae Hong Son. We didn’t even need a four wheel drive truck. None the less, the school was difficult to reach. We had to cross four streams and drive on a road not much wider than the truck. One side of the road is a mountain side; the other is a two hundred foot drop into a ravine. The children are extremely poor, but at least their village is close to the school so they don’t have to walk far.

This was about a six hour drive. We had to put the truck into 4-wheel drive most of the way. As with most of the schools around Mae Hong Son, this one was composed of Red Karen hill tribe children. Not too many students. But they were poor, poor, poor.

After Huay Hee, we drove onward to the school of Nong Khao. At least the students had “hand-me-down” used school uniforms. The school’s facilities were, however, quite basic. The teacher and students made a fish pond the year before and stocked it with fish. In this way they get much needed protein by including fish with their diet of vegetables and mostly rice. Unfortunately, the pond either evaporated during the hot season or perhaps the soil was too porous to hold water. Anyway, no more fish pond.

The school of Huay Poo Loei had a nice school house and other facilities. However, the students were some of the poorest children I’ve seen.

This trip was the tough one. The school’s name is Hua Nam. We drove to a staging area at a village in the valley and were met by Red Karen woman porters from the Hua Nam village. We then began an all day walk to the top of a third mountain. We had to walk about a third of the way through a stream that ran between shear gorges. During the rainy season the stream turns into a raging river and no one can get to the village school. The children have to stay in a "dormitory" because their villages are a couple of days walk away. No cars or motorcycles get to these places. We had to stay over night and leave early in the morning. I'm too old for this kind of adventurous trekking. From now on I’ll have to leave the more trying trips to the young folks.

This visit was to Mai Sak Pae, a school on the western Thai-Burma border. Since this is a malarial vector area, besides dealing with poverty the kids have to deal with Malaria. Surprisingly, they do have electricity. The Mae Hong Son Educational Department, which has helped many times, invited us to visit this school with them. A few doctors were visiting and giving a seminar on Malaria.

The Huay Moo school’s children are extremely poor. A Japanese tourist donated a lot of material. We supplemented it with supplies we had in stock. Khun Dao, who helped begin ACY, organized and led this donation trip. As you can see she has taken some dramatic pictures.

Phaw Kaw By. The village headman was the teacher and his house the "school." Mr. Chonchi found the village. He and Miss Dao gathered some donations from the Japanese tourist and the Bangkok Storm Motorcycle Club, bought supplies, and then transported the materials to the village.

Tong Yai. The Mae Hong Son Education Office invited me along for this trip. The ACY Foundation was not yet registered and at that time we had little to give. It was a last minute invitation. Three schools met at the Tong Yai location. The donors consisted of local Thai businessmen and the Education Department.

This school is on the Thai-Burma border. Around the bend and across the border the Shan and Wa tribes are fighting periodically. You can hear the mortar and rocket fire in Mae Hon Son town, so imagine how the conflict affects the learning environment in this school. The school is a mix of Pa-O and Shan Tribes; many have different levels of Thai citizenship. When the fighting takes place, the school is locked down. The last time there was fighting the Thai Army had to truck in water and food.

This is a new school and very poor. The kids are Lisu Tribe kids from the neighboring village. It was to the south of Mae Hong Son in the district of Khun Yuam. Once again, the Mae Hong Son Education Department directed us to the school and provided free transportation. The trip wasn’t that difficult. We had to make a few “running starts” up the dirt roads on the hills, but the terrain was relatively flat.

Various schools and villages. Here are some pictures of a few schools we donated to before we were a registered foundation. There are also some interesting pictures of scenery, people, and culture along the way.