Marcia and the Pwo Hostel in Mae Sariang

 

Marcia making a point at the Pwo Hostel in Mae Sariang

By the time we moved to Mae Sariang in August of 1984, a student hostel building had already been built and a group of students had already started attending classes at the nearby government school. Plans though, were in place for much more.

Sten-Goran and Marianne Liljestrom were Swedish speakers from Finland that had already been in Mae Sariang working with the BUS for several years before we arrived. Their role was to work at putting the local Pwo language in writing and to develop literacy materials. At the same time, particularly Marianne had also been involved in starting up the hostel and scholarship program.

Edy, Kle Kang and Johann Facchini handing
out gifts for these boys at the end of the
school year. March 1985

Eva Quist was serving as a Swedish volunteer, also with the BUS. Her main role was to work with the Pwo Hostel and Scholarship program. In addition, our former Chiang Mai neighbor, Johann Facchini would also visit Mae Sariang from time to time and help with construction projects.

Unfortunately, both the Liljestrom family and Eva Quist were soon leaving to return to their home countries. After time back in Finland, the Liljestroms were planning to return to Thailand but in the interest of their children, would live in Chiang Mai. Eva Quist was planning to remain in Sweden and would not return to Mae Sariang either. Now that we were in Mae Sariang however, Marcia would be able fill in as a “substitute Swede” and represent the BUS in Mae Sariang. For that matter, working mainly with the BUS Irrigation Project Duane was also representing the BUS as much as the American Baptist Churches.

Ladda teaching at the Thung Phrow 
Church service

The Thai school year usually starts up in mid-May and ends in March. With March and April usually the hottest months of the year, March, April and early May are seen as kind of a “summer vacation” for school kids. So we moved into Mae Sariang in the middle of a school year. Marcia’s role for the hostel program was to help with various administrative tasks, making English language reports to Sweden, book keeping, looking after related local staff and looking after several building projects.

Some of the early building projects included building a fence around the property, building showers and toilets, digging a well to try and get a more reliable water supply, and building a house for Ladda, a Pwo Karen young woman that served as the all around arms and legs of the program. Lada would interview prospective students wanting to come to the hostel as well as their families, organize the purchase of food, arrange the purchase of school supplies and school uniforms, serve as liaison with the school as well interact with students, parents and hostel parents on a daily basis.

Yong Yut pouring cement for the posts for the
new
fence at the Pwo Hostel

The sleeping quarters of the hostel were on the upper floor with girls on one end, boys on the other and the hostel parents’ quarters in the middle. Toilets and showers were outside. The kitchen, eating, meeting and homework space was on the ground level under the building. Eventually, a second hostel building was to be built so there would be separate male and female quarters but there was just the one building when we first arrived.

Kle Kang and Edy were the initial hostel parents. They were fairly new Christians from the Thung Phrow Church just outside of Mae Sariang. Kle Kang was something of a character and in need of some direction from time to time. But he was good hearted and willing to serve as hostel parent when there weren’t many options. Sadly, Kle Kang got into drug problems after leaving the hostel work and died too young.

The Pwo Hostel with new fence completed.

For some of the initial building projects we were glad to get to know Yong Yut. He was a Lawa Christian whose church was a product of New Tribes Mission work in the area. He was also the husband of Ratana, the young woman that helped us at home. Yong Yut was a great carpenter and all around builder and did a good job on several of the hostel building projects. He was also good about helping us look after the budget and helping us find the needed building supplies.