Meet Arthur

One of the main reasons Tim and I came to Thailand was to work with our friend and IGN partner Naruethep (Arthur) Teerawutroj. Arthur is a Thai national and a gifted teacher and Pastor. We have had the privilege to come along side him in his dream to help all AKHA people.

Arthur was born in Northern Thailand in a small Akha hill tribe village outside Chiang Rai. He is the fourth child in a family of 5 kids. Arthur has 2 older brothers, an older sister and a younger brother. Arthur’s family was not originally from Thailand. His Grandmother came over from Burma. Arthur’s mother was born in Thailand, as were all of her children. Although none of them are sure exactly how old they are or what month or day they were born. The children were not born in hospitals and Arthur’s mother can only remember things like “it was harvest time” “the weather was rainy” things like that. Arthur’s family was poor, like so many of the AKHA families are. Finding ways to make a living are difficult and most AKHA are not educated past grade school. Like so many of the tribal people, Arthur’s father worked in the opium trade. Opium was used for medicinal purposes among the tribesmen but because of its addictive nature it ruined the lives of many, including Arthur’s father. When Arthur was 9 opium took his fathers life. After his fathers death Arthur’s mom was faced with trying to feed and care for 5 children and herself. Knowing that she would not be able to adequately care for her children, or afford to educate them, she decided to send Arthur and his younger brother, who they call Art, away to be educated and cared for. Arthur was sent to a Buddhist temple and Art was sent to a youth hostel to be raised. While at the temple Arthur would visit his mother and older siblings once a year, sometimes twice. I cannot imagine how difficult it was for Arthur and his brother to have lost their father and to be sent away from their family. How difficult it would also be for his mom and older siblings to lose two more family members by having to send them away. It would not be until adulthood that the family would truly reunite. This is common in AKHA families. They are poor and have limited means for income. When things get hard children are sent away, sometime they are sent to temples or youth hostels like Arthur and his brother were, sometimes they are sent to the city’s to make a living and they end up in drugs and prostitution and other times desperate family members sell them to human trafficking rings for less than $100.

Being confronted with a situation like this is beyond what most of us will ever have to face. Life is full of challenges and we can either make the most of the opportunities we do have or wallow in the circumstances of our situations. What do you do when life sends you unexpected challenges? Do you make the best of it and learn and grow from the challenges?