Ever since viewing the documentary “Buddha’s Lost Children,” (watch the full film here) I have been looking to support Kru Bah’s efforts at the Golden Horse Monastery in the hills of Northern Thailand. In short, Kru Bah is a monk who takes in Hill Tribe boys as young novice monks in order to give them support and structure in an area riddled with drug trafficking and drug use. The young boys are given guidance and even train Muay Thai under Kru Bah. With my “Saonaklengkhao” Miss Gangster Knee T-Shirts as part of my 5 year anniversary giveaway I wanted to give a portion from each sale to the Golden Horse Monastery, and we were able to raise $240 (120 shirts sold), which is awesome.
The drawing was fun, everyone sending in a photo of themselves with the Miss Gangster Knee shirt, but it was great to lend a small hand to something more serious. Kru Bah’s sister helps run the Monastery and, even with the wonderful work done with the novice monks, the structure of religion here excludes young girls, who are not allowed to join the ranks of novice monks or live in the Monastery. But girls in these communities face many of the same dangers and struggles as the young boys do, as well as high rates of teen pregnancy and lack of education. So I was very excited when Kru Bah’s nephew, and Khun Mae Ead’s son, Zippy, contacted me to ask if the funds could be specifically applied to a Golden Horse program that Khun Mae Ead had begun for young Hill Tribe girls. YES!
Here is the Mission Statement of the new project: