Welcome to Baan San Fan Orphanage
Baan San Fan is a family orphanage a few hours north of Phuket on the beautiful Andaman Coast of Thailand. To support the orphanage we have an organic farm, take in volunteers from all over the world and sell our handmade products.
On December 26th 2004 an earthquake off the west-coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra created a massive tsunami wave which caused huge devastation in several countries, including Thailand. The Phang Nga province was worst hit and many thousands of people were killed, leaving behind several hundred orphans. The owners of the orphanage (Sam and Gai) came to the area to help and ended up running a tent, looking after a group of children. A Swiss gentleman by the name of Dr Donat Schibler was inspired by the couple and offered to buy them land in the local village of Bang Wan. In October 2005 Baan San Fan opened its doors to 8 children.
Now Baan San Fan has a capacity of 40 but a lack of financial support means that they are only able to care for 14 children at the present time. The tsunami has long since passed but Thailand is very poor and hundreds of children in Phang Nga still desperately need care and protection from the drug and prostitution trades that blight the poverty-stricken people of the region.
We are working hard to become self-sustainable and we are running a number of programmes to create revenue, including;
- Organic farming
- Volunteering
- Handicrafts and local products
We cannot do this on our own and we need help from the outside. We are looking for partner organisations to buy or sell our products, volunteers to help with the day-to-day running of the orphanage/farm, and, of course, donations. If you feel that you can help, in any way, we’d love to hear from you.
Our most urgent projects
What we've been doing
February 29, 2016It’s all new and shiny
Hi, I’m Darren, I was backpacking through Thailand when I discovered the Baan San Fan website and decided to make a short visit, I only planned to stay for a week. It was so hard to leave, I stayed 8 weeks on my first visit and I’ve spent many months here since, it’s my second home
2
February 15, 2016Chris misses school
Chris couldn’t make it to school today, so to practice his English and learn how to translate on the computer I asked him to write about himself in Thai and showed him how to translate it. Hello, my name is Chris. My home is Baan San Fan. At Baan San Fan I mow the lawn,
December 28, 2014Christmas Thank You to Zenroq
Whenever you buy a pair of their flip flops, you're not just buying a pair for yourself, Zenroq will donate a pair to a child who is in need.
November 7, 2014Morgane’s First Week
I dreamed of this moment for years. The moment when you are surrounded by children's smiles, that lift you with happiness and love. You forget everything. All that matters at this moment is to be there.
What people say about us
I've just spent two superb weeks here at Baan San Fan. Gai, Sam and all the children have been so warm and welcoming, coming here really is like having an instant family! I’m really happy to have been included in so much around the home: going to the markets with Gai, helping to dig the new pond with Sam & the children, playing games, doing homework, helping (I hope!) with coconut oil. There were special occasions too: I was here for Christmas which was a lot of fun, food and giggles, we also had an awesome trip to beautiful Bangsak beach one morning, again a lot of giggles. One of the highlights for me was being able to teach at the local school and my enormous thanks to Gai & Sam for helping to arrange that, it was more than I'd hoped for. Gai’s cooking deserves a very special mention. If nothing else, come for the peanut curry, mushroom salad and plentiful papaya. I hope to be back to visit again soon.
Read more from Lucy at www.lucyjames.com
