ホリデーイン プーケット

Happy Home Learning Center November 2011 Renovation Project Completed

Kris Stayin’s great work for the Happy Home Learning Center is completed. Kris with her US based non profit organisation called Building Futures Thailand has transformed four rooms into functional spaces for learning, training and education.

Kris and her team came to Phuket and created the Computer room, Arts Room, Learning Room and Lounge. Now the children and partners have a space and environment to display arts, learn new crafts and earn income from creating souvenirs to sell. Souvenirs created by the center will be made available at the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket Minimart.

Holiday Inn Resort Phuket continues its help and work to the Happy Home Learning Center by providing materials to maintain the learning center and sponsors Kris visits to Phuket.

For more information and the support and help for Kris and her organization contact Kris at buildingfuturesthailand@gmail.com

Before Happy Home opened, World Vision, a charitable Christian development organization, had been working with street children for three years, providing education and assistance at a “drop-in” centre in Patong. The aim of the Happy Home was to boost this work by providing a permanent, safe and nurturing environment around the clock to help children to rebuild their lives and acquire skills to go on to a more empowered future.

The project was funded by sponsorship from the Holiday Inn Patong’s owners, LC Thailand Ltd, and its management company, IHG Inter-Continental Hotels Group, along with donations from many Holiday Inn guests after the 2004 Asian Tsunami. A total of 8.5 million baht was invested in the buildings and interior, and Happy Home is supported by 35,000 Euros a year for five years from AIG Private Bank and OVB Holding AG, Cologne. Happy Home had its “soft opening” on July 21, 2006, and was officially opened by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindorn the following October.

At the soft opening, Holiday Inn General Manager Wolfgang Meusburger explained, “As a successful hotel operating in Patong and Phuket, we felt it was our responsibility to give something back to the community. Happy Home is a project we believe will make a real difference to the future of the street children, helping them to escape from daily abuse and misery, and giving them life skills and the foundation for a better future.”

Since January 2011, the Happy Home Shelter is transformed from a shelter to a learning center. Holiday Inn Resort Phuket will keep supporting the Happy Home for its needs to manage the Happy Home as a learning center for children.

To make a donation, you can deposit the funds direct into the following account:

Account Number: 601-3-03155-9
Account Name: Wolfgang Meusburger, Wanpen Jariyantananon and Nongluck Jornsakul 
Account Purpose: Patong Street Children Fund, Holiday Inn Resort Phuket 
Bank: Siam Commercial Bank, Patong Branch, 200 Year Road ,83150 Patong, Phuket, Thailand
Swift Code: SICOTHBK

If you are in Patong, you can make donations or contributions in person at the Holiday Inn Resort Phuket. Go to the front desk and ask for a donation envelope. All donations go 100% to the School Projects or the Happy Home Learning Center. No donation money is used for any form of administration cost.

For more information about Happy Home, please contact the General Manager of the Holiday Inn, Wolfgang Meusburger, by email to wm_hirp@phuket.ksc.co.th