The concept of Happiness Home began in 2007 when Bro. Rama was visiting someone in the local hospital in Churachandpur. There he learned of a young mother and child with HIV/AIDS from Burma who were being released but had nowhere to stay. She needed to remain in the area in order to have access to medical treatment to stay alive. Bro. Rama offered the lady and her child a tiny mud hut to live in. Word spread at the hospital that Bro. Rama was willing to shelter people with HIV/AIDS so people started going to him for help. He soon needed a bigger place. Bro. Rama knew the perfect place but the owner would not sell the property to him. Bro. Rama prayed, and three years later, the man agreed to sell the property to him. Not only did the man sell his property to Bro. Rama but the neighbor agreed to sell his too. Thus, Happiness Home began.
There are several buildings on the small campus, each housing several families. Each family is self-supportive as much as their health condition allows. Many work jobs in the local city, such as construction, rice paddy fields, etc. Others work on campus by doing contract work for local businesses, such as weaving. There is a very strong work ethic among the people of Happiness Home. Each family desires to contribute to the overall management of the home and they make every effort to do so.
In 2009, Agape School was started within Happiness Home to provide education to the children since they could not attend the local schools due to some of them being infected with HIV/AIDS. The school is ran by local volunteers who teach the children. They study many subjects including geography, music, science, history, math and English. The children are placed in a class according to their skill level where they learn at their own pace and then advance to the next class level once they have mastered their current class level. The classes are small and the children are often given one-on-one attention throughout the day.
I interviewed three children today. In the beginning, I attempted to stay away from the subject of school because in America the children do not like to talk about school. It's a boring subject to them. Surprisingly, I discovered that school is a hot topic for the children of Happiness Home. They LOVE school! These children are from Burma which had a poor educational system. They always dreamed of going to a school where they could wear uniforms and have their very own pencil and paper. (A local school donated used uniforms to Agape School; school supplies and teaching materials were donated from other sources.) So, when they moved to Happiness Home and started attending Agape School, it was like a dream come true for them.
Currently, Happiness Home has 78 residents with new people entering the home on a regular basis.
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| One of the men working hard on a weaving machine. |
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| All the children lining up for morning devotion. |
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| Children starting the school day with worship. |
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| Small class size allows for individualized teaching. |
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| The Kindergarten Class is located outside. |
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| School was a little too much for this young lady. |
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