VOLUNTEERS
Volunteer Projects:
Additional volunteer Needs:
High school science teachers
Music
Kindergarten teachers
Tutoring
English teachers
Maintenance
Building
Grounds/Landscaping
Gardening
- We would like to set up industries at Sunshine Orchard and are open to suggestions/ideas/help.
- Maintenance needs-repair of toilet buildings and general maintenance-so MUCH work to be done!
- Painting Sunshine Orchard "Riverside"- buildings
- Continued cement paths
- Mountain schools are in urgent need of toilets, staff homes, kitchen, cafeteria and classrooms!
Additional volunteer Needs:
High school science teachers
Music
Kindergarten teachers
Tutoring
English teachers
Maintenance
Building
Grounds/Landscaping
Gardening
Welcome to Sunshine Orchard. Please read this information about Sunshine Orchard because it contains essential information that will help you before you arrive.
About Sunshine Orchard
Sunshine Orchard is a Christian learning center on the border of Myanmar and Thailand. Established in 2009, out of a crisis, the school has developed hugely over the years. The center is run by the Adams family, together with native staff. Foreign volunteers are usually unpaid, raising their support, serving God sacrificially, with a cheerful heart.
Keep in mind
Making God first is the school's motto, so take care of His school and its environment. Everything belongs to God. Your example and influence will impact our children immensely.
Volunteers
Everything here is basic and straightforward. Most houses lack indoor bathrooms; toilets are Asian squat style, toilet paper is not supplied, and the people here use water instead; please purchase your toilet paper as needed. Most beds are on the floor; we provide a traditional Thai sleeping mat, a blanket, and a mosquito net. Some bring thermal rest camping sleeping mats. Please be prepared that power outages occur depending on the season and weather conditions.
Shops
You can take an overnight bus from Bangkok or fly with Nok Air; there are flights several times a day from Bangkok, arriving in Mae Sot(the nearest city to Sunshine Orchard). There are local buses, essential pickup trucks(orange) with a plastic or metal covered roof, and seats in the truck bed for passengers; this can take you the two-hour trip north to Sunshine Orchard. We can sometimes pick you up, but please help with fuel, as it's a four-hour round trip.
Flora and Fauna
There are poisonous snakes in this area. Anti-toxins are available at nearby clinics.
Cute furry caterpillars cause nasty skin blisters and pain. So, please don't touch it. Giant centipedes have a bad bite. Scorpions are similar to a bee-sting reaction. We have bees that sting as well.
About Sunshine Orchard
Sunshine Orchard is a Christian learning center on the border of Myanmar and Thailand. Established in 2009, out of a crisis, the school has developed hugely over the years. The center is run by the Adams family, together with native staff. Foreign volunteers are usually unpaid, raising their support, serving God sacrificially, with a cheerful heart.
Keep in mind
Making God first is the school's motto, so take care of His school and its environment. Everything belongs to God. Your example and influence will impact our children immensely.
Volunteers
- Volunteers are most welcome-We love having volunteers! However, this is not a tourist destination. This is a learning center on the border of a war-torn land.
- Before you come, please get in touch with us. We love having volunteers!
- Volunteers need to be self-starters as much as possible and able to handle most of their own needs. But we are more than willing to minister to volunteers and will go out of our way to help you.
- We are here to provide a practical, well-rounded education to equip young people to take their stand as valuable members of society and, hopefully, as God's workers. You become their example, and they will most likely follow your lead. We believe in servant leaders and expect our volunteers to do their best to have this heart. If the Lord calls you to come to teach or work on specific projects, we appreciate it if you can help in the practical things of everyday life as strength and time allow. Many areas of ministry could use an extra hand; child care, cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, carrying water, gardening, landscaping, construction, tutoring, teaching, medical work, and so much more. Working together with the students and children is a true blessing.
- Plan to live as we do – we have a vegetarian diet and rice for every meal(the school sometimes may have fish or chicken-but it's extremely rare, in that case there is always a vegetarian option). If you would like bread, treats, and fruit, feel free to purchase your own, as we can't afford these items often, and it's therefore considered a treat. Karen food is more straightforward than Thai cuisine; the food people usually associate with Thailand, sweet and sour, cashew nut veggies, pad thai, coconut curries, spring rolls, and such, are available in the nearby towns, not at Sunshine Orchard. We serve Karen food, and it's simply just vegetable stews cooked with assorted seasonal veggies such as pumpkin, bamboo shoots, greens, long beans, eggplant, and cucumber-yes, we cook the cucumbers. We use lemon grass, galangal, cilantro, ginger, chili, garlic, and onions for seasoning.
- The people we serve are predominantly poverty-stricken and often exist on white rice, chili paste, salt, and MSG... pigs, rats, snakes, frogs... ANYTHING that moves. Fish, chicken, goats, cows, etc., are for special occasions or as the people can afford. Greens are found in the jungle during the rainy season. A fish paste preserved with salt is a staple; sometimes, a bean or sesame paste is served similarly. But poor people eat rice, chili, salt, and MSG for their daily bread, sometimes with a watery vegetable soup, with the other items mentioned added as able.
- Health products and dietary supplements, such as you might be used to, are only to be found in larger cities and specialty grocery shops, catering to foreigners or the more well-to-do Thai. Therefore nutritional deficiencies are common.
- Please come with a happy heart, willing to accept what we have and are. Criticism or complaining is the hardest thing for our children and us to handle.
- So, if you come, please bring a happy, optimistic smile to your face and warmth, love, and adaptability in your heart.
- The common diseases and ailments are respiratory conditions, bronchitis, pneumonia, dengue fever, wounds that won't heal, and infections. Though we don't have many mosquitos at Sunshine Orchard, we recommend that you bring mosquito repellent, and any other medications and natural aids you might need. We do have a well-stocked medicine cabinet, and there are nearby clinics and hospitals. You can purchase most meds over the counter at a very reasonable cost.
- CLOTHES TO WEAR: Don't bring heavy shoes – flip-flops (sandals)are what everyone wears. Fast-drying garments such as sports shirts and lightweight skirts and pants are welcome during the long rainy season when it takes what seems to be forever to dry clothes—a fleece jacket for the cold season. Modesty is important. Skirts need to cover the knees. No low-cut tops shoving cleavage, please. Please don't bring bathing suits etc. for swimming-this would be highly objectionable to the children. Instead, wear lightweight shorts and a T-shirt. For swimming the school girls wear skirts and T-shirts, and boys wear shorts and sometimes a shirt of some kind. For daily bathing, sarongs are used, and it takes some practice to learn how.
- Internet: You can buy prepaid sim cards for cell phones. You need an AIS sim card.
- Visas: Thailand has a 30-45-day tourist visa on arrival. It is VERY IMPORTANT as a volunteer that you come in under a TOURIST VISA. Please don't put WORK as your main reason for coming. (you are not getting paid). We will send you an invitation letter for those coming for more extended periods, and you will need to obtain a three-month Non-O-immigrant visa at your local Thai embassy/consulate. We encourage volunteers, especially teachers, to remain a whole school year, and you will be assisted in obtaining a work permit/visa. Please bring copies of your high school diploma/GED and other educational certificates/diplomas that will help towards that end.
Everything here is basic and straightforward. Most houses lack indoor bathrooms; toilets are Asian squat style, toilet paper is not supplied, and the people here use water instead; please purchase your toilet paper as needed. Most beds are on the floor; we provide a traditional Thai sleeping mat, a blanket, and a mosquito net. Some bring thermal rest camping sleeping mats. Please be prepared that power outages occur depending on the season and weather conditions.
Shops
- There is an "open" small shop within walking distance for small basics.
- The closest town is Mae Salit, approximately 10 minute's drive, with a few more BASIC small shops.
- Tha Song Yang is the nearest town, approx 40 minutes drive. Mae Sot nearest city, about 2 hours drive.
You can take an overnight bus from Bangkok or fly with Nok Air; there are flights several times a day from Bangkok, arriving in Mae Sot(the nearest city to Sunshine Orchard). There are local buses, essential pickup trucks(orange) with a plastic or metal covered roof, and seats in the truck bed for passengers; this can take you the two-hour trip north to Sunshine Orchard. We can sometimes pick you up, but please help with fuel, as it's a four-hour round trip.
Flora and Fauna
There are poisonous snakes in this area. Anti-toxins are available at nearby clinics.
Cute furry caterpillars cause nasty skin blisters and pain. So, please don't touch it. Giant centipedes have a bad bite. Scorpions are similar to a bee-sting reaction. We have bees that sting as well.
