The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

Every year I take a group of high school students from the International School Bangkok into the slums of Klong Toey in Bangkok, Thailand to carry out a community service project for the Mercy Center Foundation.

This year we worked with 3-5 year-old pre-school and kidergarteners.

It was a visually, as well as culturally, interesting place.

About the only safe way out of the cycle of poverty in this part of Bangkok is to commit to education.  Liking school becomes a necessity.

This school is organized as an intervention in the "Eldest Daughter Syndrome," where the oldest daughter quits school at 9 or 10 years of age to take care of the younger children and becomes enmeshed in the cycle of poverty herself.  By providing day schooling for young children, the older girls can finish school and move out of the slum.

The school is not without resources, thanks to Father Joe and the Mercy Center Foundation.

We brought large boxes of art materials and lesson plans for fun projects.

The kids ere very enthralled with the art projects.

Some students showed very good art skills.

We shared our hope with the young art students.

There were many different activities to choose from.

The kids were eager to help.

Art is not easy.

Sometimes an artist just needs to think.

In addition to providing a school, materials, and teachers, the mercy Center, through its donors, also provide vitamin fortified milk and a health lunch so the childrens' physical development is assured.

The kids loved that milk.

The school suddenly became very quiet when the milk was handed out.

Not every day is a good day.

At the end of the school day mothers, relaties, or neighbors would fetch the children.  This mother brought an especially observant baby.