Musings on Life by Roselle Kovitz

Maria and Sasha with children at the Ban Rukthai school

More and more people are responding to need where they see it. My first experience with these causes of the heart (which Nicholas Kristof recently coined as DIY Foreign Aid) was through the work of my dear friend, Maria Miller, and her friend, Sasha Bilar.

Sasha, a Thai ex-pat living in Southern California, founded Toys for Thailand (T4T) and co-directs it with Maria, providing support for orphaned, abandoned, and refugee Hill Tribe children in remote villages in Northern Thailand.

I accompanied Sasha and Maria on one of their trips a few years ago. Watching these women work was a little like tagging along with an older sibling—breathless, running to catch up and not always sure what exactly was happening.

Sasha, Maria and Roselle with students at the Tomato School

Sasha passionately wheeled, dealed, and networked to stretch every dollar and baht, while tirelessly translating. Maria managed the money and the details, and kept the PR machine going. We piled into cars and trucks, with people we’d just met, to search for beds, mosquito nets, jackets, and first aid supplies. We bounced along dirt roads to visit schools near the Burmese border and enjoyed an unforgettable Christmas celebration with 250 children in this Buddhist country.

This year, the T4T team is planning Experience Mae Hong Son, a special event for 1,000 Hill Tribe children from schools they support in Northern Thailand. According to Sasha, they are hoping this will be the first of many festivals held annually to promote cultural exchange among the tribal children in the Mae Hong Son area and share ways to generate revenue and support. It will be quite a feat just to get the children to and from remote locations miles away from each other over rough roads, much less get the gifts, food, and T4T supporters and guests from as far away as the Netherlands, the US, and Australia.

Here’s your invitation to (virtually) join the T4T team as they make the final preparations and mount this special event on the Summit of Serenity. I’ll be working with them to post updates on Facebook and Twitter (@ToysforThailand). Please join us there and on the Toys for Thailand Web site.

Sasha and Maria with children at the Ban Kahan school

Donations are always welcome and will go to supplies and services that promote self sufficiency, like gardening, barber services, and raising stud pigs and other animals. I’d also like to give a shout out to another special DIY Foreign Aid pioneer. Personal chef, Stu Skversky is spending a year volunteering at Wat Don Chan orphanage in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In addition to his amazing work, he’s a friend and great supporter of T4T. Read about Stu and his work on his blog, http://stuandthekids.org/.

Tell us about your own “cause of the heart” or one that you support in the comments section below.