Fountain of Hope Ministry was established in 2014 by Wanida and Aaron Jaha. Fountain of Hope Ministries is a Children’s ministry where they have taken in children from difficult living situations and raised them in a Christian home. You can check out a tour of Fountain of Hope ministries here!
Wanida had gone to school and graduated with a degree in Pastoral Theology from the World Impact Bible Institute of Thailand in 2002. She then did YWAM in Chiang Mai, graduating in 2006, receiving a certificate of Ministry. She also attended and received a certificate from the YWAM School of Worship. She served in missions throughout Southeast Asia. After that, she received her bachelor of arts for Human Development and Family in 2017.
She realized that God was not calling her to be a pastor, but that He was calling her to open a children’s home specifically in Chiang Dao. At the time she and Aaron were dating, and Wanida checked with Aaron to see if he would be willing to step into this type of ministry as well, and he was. They got married and later started their ministry called Fountain of Hope. They chose this name because a fountain is a continuous outpouring of water, and their ministry is a continuous outpouring of hope. It has been a long journey to get where they are today. They were able to raise funds to be able to buy the property where the house is now, which is where they knew God was calling them to build their house. They didn’t originally have the funds needed to buy the land, but God provided. They were given funds by friends and people in the village that wanted to help out, and the owner of the land allowed them to set up a payment plan and put down less than the standard amount.
They built the house, and they rent land where they farm cassava. They sell this cassava, along with pigs they raise, in order to earn funds for their ministry. They also own more land where they hope to build homes to rent out to long term travel workers like travel doctors and teachers to be able to earn income to sustain their ministry, and rely on income that is not as volatile as their earnings from cassava and pigs, the prices of which have both come down this year.
Over the years, Aaron and Wanida have trusted in God and God has provided the funds as they’ve needed it, through friends and locals and other charitable givers. Someone also has offered to pay for university for all the kids!
Aaron and Wanida began their ministry with 5 children, and over time it has grown to the size it is now, with 12 children ranging from the ages of 9 to 18. Because of this, they have to comply with Thai governmental regulations for children’s homes. They have been able to receive extended time in order to raise funding to fit within the regulations, but there is a lot that must be done, and it requires a lot of funds, and there are a lot of hoops they have to jump through, like paperwork, having the house looked at to make sure it’s up to the required standards, and they will need to hire an engineer to design a blueprint for the boys’ home. Then the government will meet with the social worker and determine if Fountain of Hope is eligible to officially be registered as a children’s home and have a sign out front.
To be compliant with the regulations, Fountain of Hope will need to build a separate home for the boys so that the boys and girls are in separate buildings. They are hoping they will be able to repurpose the garage for this so it won’t cost as much as starting from scratch. They will also need to hire a social worker who will help them with paperwork and will regularly check on the children and Aaron and Wanida on a monthly basis. They also will need to hire a full time staff person to teach and take care of the children, run errands, and help out Aaron and Wanida in order to alleviate the workload that Aaron and Wanida have. This role also needs to be separate from their roles as safeguard parents to be compliant with regulations. They will need to hire the social worker by May, and would also like to hire a full time staff member around the same time.
Right now, Aaron works full time as a general administrator at the local school, and Wanida spends her time taking care of the children, taking care of and feeding the animals, farming cassava, running errands, and cooking. They also hire an English teacher to come on Saturdays to teach, prepare their own English lessons, and prepare Sunday worship. The kids also worship, pray, and read the Bible together every week night.
Aaron and Wanida work hard to raise funds for the ministry, but 14 people is a lot of mouths to feed! They have been reliant on God and His provision to make sure they have enough to continue to support all the kids. They watch every baht they spend very carefully. That being said, there are some additional costs that have come up that they need funds for as well.
They have a retaining wall, but it is starting to break in certain areas. They would like to build a new high quality retaining wall that they can rely on for many years, and they would like to build it before the rainy season starts in May. As far as home repair projects, this is the highest priority. They also would like to purchase new equipment for Sunday worship, like a new speaker, and a microphone. They would also like to use these for an upcoming English camp as well.
On top of their own ministry, Aaron and Wanida also pour into their community. Each year, they host a Christmas program, a Christian youth camp, and carry out projects to support the disabled and widowed people in their community, like building them bathrooms. Aaron and Wanida also give the kids a 30-50 baht allowance each day (~$1-1.50), and have taught them to tithe, so they take an offering on Sundays and this also goes towards these outreach efforts. Their willingness to pour out into their community and provide support outside of their own ministry, where they have their own needs, shows their selfless hearts, willingness to serve, and trust in God.
Because of all the things they need to do to be compliant with the governmental requirements to be a registered children’s home, on top of the regular costs of living and keeping up the ministry, and the extra outreach they do, Fountain of Hope is in need of funds to carry these things out.
If you would be interested in supporting Fountain of Hope Ministry, listed below are the things they are raising money for, and the methods to get funds to them.
English camp – 12,000 baht (~$385)
Retaining wall – 40,000 baht (~$1,185)
Boys’ house – 68,000 baht (~$2,015)
Social worker- 10,000 baht a month (~$300)
Full time staff – 15,000 baht a month (~$450)
They also have their projects once a year that they are raising money for
Christian Youth camp – 30,000 baht (~$890)
Christmas Outreach – 50,000 baht (~$1480)
Disabled / Widow Support – 30,000 (~$890)
They would also like to begin a fund for disaster relief. Last year, Chiang Dao flooded after heavy rainfall. The Fountain of Hope house was one of the only ones around that didn’t flood because it’s at the highest point in the area. They helped out their neighbors as much as they could. They want to have a fund ready to be able to provide help if more flooding occurs. They would like to raise 30,000 baht each year, and if they don’t need to use it, they will save it for when it is needed.
Disaster Relief fund – 30,000 baht (~$890)
Eventually, Aaron and Wanida also would like to build a structure to be able to host church in. Right now, most of the time, they have house church with just the kids, but sometimes when it’s harvest time for lamyai fruit, the workers that come to town to harvest will come to worship. Sometimes they’ll have up to 20 guests. The porch of the house is not big enough to host this many people, so they would like to build a structure to use for church.
Church – 700,000 baht (~$20,700)
To provide funds for them, there are a few options. While I am still staying with them, if you would like, you can send me money through Venmo, Cashapp, or Zelle, and please add a note saying it is for Fountain of Hope Ministries. If you would like it to go to a specific item, please note that as well. The highest priority right now is English Camp and the retaining wall.
Venmo: @Abby-Brinks
Cashapp: $AbbyBrinks
PayPal: @AbbyBrinks
If you are in West Michigan, you can also get funds to my parents, Rick and Chris Brinks. Feel free to reach out to me or them about how to do this.
If you would like to support Fountain of Hope Ministry after I leave, you can send money through the World Remit app. This app has the lowest fees for giving money with different currencies. The account info is:
First Name: Mrs.Wanida
Last Name: Jaha
Bank Name: Government Savings Bank (GSB)
Account Number: 020148798513
BIC / SWIFT: GSBATHBK
Receiver’s Address:
Line 1: House No. 102/1
Line 2: Village No. 2, Chiangdao subdistrict
Suburb: Chiangdao district
City: Chiangmai, Thailand
Postcode: 50170
Email address: [email protected]
Mobile phone number: +66807691286
Reason for Sending: Family or friend support
Aaron and Wanida have a foundation and are working on getting the website and account set up. Eventually if you would like to give through that, that will be an option as well, and I will add that information here and provide an update once that becomes available.
If you would like to give through a different method, please reach out to me and we’ll work something out.
Thank you for considering partnering with Fountain of Hope and supporting them in their mission!
Please keep them in your prayers as they prepare for English camp, prepare to make these changes, and fundraise for their outreach efforts!
Thank you!
