The visuals of BAN ROM SAI were drawn by Natsumaya, designer and illustrator, owner of cafe & gallery ‘Uchu Neko’ in Yoshino Town, Nara Prefecture.
‘Protected by the banyan tree and everyone else’.
When I visited BAN ROM SAI in 2019,
I was impressed by the lively smiles of the children.
The big banyan tree, dogs, cats, animals and plants.
Dogs, cats, animals and plants
Many supporters.
Brothers and sisters returned to heaven and
Invisible things
We were watched over by many things.
A big family.
The warmth of their lives.
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BAN ROM SAI is Thai for ‘house under the banyan tree’.
It was established in December 1999 on the outskirts of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand as a living facility for orphans infected with HIV from mother to child. The children at Baan Rom Sai have experienced the death of their parents, discrimination, prejudice and abuse, but they feel this place is their ‘home’ and they live in peace, becoming a ‘big family’.
The banyan tree, with its large, sturdy roots in the earth, gives people shade when it is hot and a place to shelter from the rain when it rains. As its name suggests, it acts as a place where children can live, learn and play in peace.
