Ramkhamhaeng University / Ma Ha Thai Slum

Thai university students love Uno, baby powder, and just plain ol’ having a good time! How do we know all this? Right across from where we were staying is Ramkhamhaeng University, one of the largest universities in Bangkok. Every school day at building 7, you can usually find a group of students mixed with a few Farang (Thai for foreigner). On the occasional day, we would drop in to hang out with this unusual group – for it’s quite a rare sight for onlookers seeing both white and Thai together. Not to mention, our group can often be boisterous enough to be heard from the other side of campus.

Our loudness is often due to a heated game of speed Uno, or games that involved plasting baby powder on your face as a consequence. Although we mostly get weird looks from passersby, once in a while a new face would join us, intrigued by the commotion. This little group has become a community unto itself. Amidst the silly games and English lessons, it’s been neat seeing people grow in relationship with one another and through this group, connecting with a church family.

Their hangouts don’t stop at the university either. One day, we joined them to do a slum visit at Ma Ha Thai. Sitting in the back of a pick-up truck, a group of us drove over to hang out with some kids, fellowship with the community and spread love in whatever way we could. Immediately, we were greeted by dozens of people. A little boy greeted us with a Sawadee, and immediately we took to the people there.

Earlier on our trip, we had bought some temporary tattoos just in case we worked with street kids again. Although the kids were hesitant at first, once we had tattooed one kid, the rest wanted to follow suit. Soon enough, kids wanting “Finding Nemo”, “Whinnie the Pooh” and “Ben 10” characters on their hands bombarded us. This emphasized the culture of the Thai children for me. It seemed as if these kids hold up walls of caution towards us. Thankfully, these walls were not too difficult to break down to get them to laugh and play with us. And in a life filled with poverty and tragedy, it’s easy to see why these walls are up.

While we don’t know all of the details, we heard stories of a child being sold for extra money (sometimes even for something as little as a television), or a woman who faces life alone, abandoned by her husband for another woman, and her daughter who ran away to be with her boyfriend. These weekly slum visits, however, offers a glimmer of hope for them – a chance for the community to come together, be supported, and to get to know a God that cares for them and will never abandon them.