Help a Child --- Meet an Elephant

My recent trip to Pattaya included a visit, all too short I might add, with my friend Reed Johnson and his lovely wife Pranee.  Reed is the director of the 46th Special Forces Company (Airborne) Association. The association supports 26 schools in five provinces Chiang Mai, Lop Buri,  Buri Ram, Sarin and Satune.   The total number of children is around 6,500!  The 46th SFCAA also has a marvelous wounded warrior program.  The website is http://www.46thsfca.org  There are many ways you can help.  Let me suggest just one that will be meaningful, affordable and pretty darn easy:

Simple wooden pencils are at a premium here in Thailand.   You can buy them in the States for a fraction of what they cost here.   Look for sales at Office Depot, Walmart and the like.  When you come to Thailand, pack your second travel bag full of pencils.  Let us know you are coming and we’ll collect the pencils and get them to the children.   

I digress!  Reed took me to meet Papa Chang, his wife’s family elephant.  Actually she comes from a family with a long and storied history with the elephants.   Papa Chang, whose real name is Somrak is a very old Thai elephant. I’m told his registration papers say he was born on 28 October 2439 (1896).  That said he’s way beyond the normal life expectancy of an Asian elephant.  Mrs. Reed’s mother, who is now 90 remembers Somrak from her earliest memories, age 5 or 6.

Papa Chang

The head of a very old elephant 

The year 2004 was very significant for Reed and for Papa Chang.  Reed had suffered a motorcycle crash where he hit the ground so hard that his helmet was cracked.  Later in the year he’d visit Papa Chang who would rest his trunk on the left side of Reed’s neck.  Papa Chang knew what the medical community would soon verify; Reed had a cancer in his neck.  Today Reed is cancer free!

Papa Chang, Reed & Papa Chang's kwan chang

Studies that have been done with dogs indicate they can “smell” cancer with a very high accuracy rate.  I have no doubt that elephants possess far more abilities than dogs.   

Perhaps when you come to Thailand you can drop off a bag of pencils for the schools and if Pattaya is on your schedule, maybe you can meet Papa Chang as well.   He’s really a very nice elephant! 

Papa poses with Gary