BAMBI Annual Report 2019

BAMBI enjoyed another great year in 2019. Here is the report and financial summary covering 2019.

Please note that this report is from the annual general meeting that was postponed earlier in 2020 due to COVID-19.

2019 was another year of rapid growth for BAMBI with expansion in the Playgroups, Bumps and Babies and Activities teams. We continued to bring you our Bumps & Babies sessions, playgroups including Small World with activities, yard sales, events, activities for older kids, new members coffee mornings, pop-up playgroups, WOMBLES dinners and BAMBI Pattaya activities.

We introduced healthy snacks at playgroups and offered special activities at Saturday Playgroups. BAMBI playgroups became more popular than ever. 

Our new website finally launched in June. With our presence on Facebook and a new website, we are now able to reach more people. 

Most one-off weekend events remained free to members, providing benefits to members, this included pop-up playgroups, “Pirates and Mermaids” Splash party and the Christmas party at IPC. 

We counted over 500 members at both the Splash party and Christmas party.

In order to appreciate our volunteers and their families, we organized volunteer appreciation events including a treasure hunting lunch at Sweet Poppy and Christmas get-together at the Hyatt Regency.

In September 2019, Vice-Chairwoman Emma and Chairwoman Akiko stepped down. The search for a new chairwoman and vice-chairwoman continues.

As BAMBI membership continues to grow, we acknowledge and appreciate everyone who has joined BAMBI this year, and everyone who has renewed their membership with us. We thank you for your continued support of BAMBI and look forward to serving you in the upcoming year. 

BUMPS AND BABIES

2019 was a productive year for Bumps and Babies under the stewardship of Yaz as Bumps and Babies Coordinator, supported by Emma, Lia, Sheena and Anfisa. The team remained stable from last year with five volunteers (three regular and two support members).

The Bumps team facilitated a total of 81 sessions in 2019. (Please note that for nine months of the year no attendance stats were recorded for the Small World free play space). Despite the lower number of sessions, the Bumps team welcomed and supported 683 families, a slight decrease on 2018, also reflecting the cessation of Sathorn Bumps which stopped in late 2018.

We had 34 Bumps and Babies information sessions for expectant parents in 2019 delivered primarily by Emma and Yaz and had a total of 160 attendees throughout the year, over a mixture of Wednesday and Saturday sessions. Bumps and Babies launched a five-week comprehensive birth preparation program in May which ran twice throughout the year. In the second half of the year there was a significant drop in attendance of Bumps sessions. Most expectant mums are now working until close to their due date, and weekday sessions are less convenient. The decision was taken at the end of 2019 to change Bumps and Babies to a monthly event on weekends. 

New Moon Postnatal Group

The New Moon postnatal group has grown to be the most popular offering of the Bumps Team. In 38 sessions we welcomed 421 families. The sessions were adapted to include alternate weeks of 30-minute baby massage or baby singing (Rhyme Time), both of which were well attended.

In addition, we trialled a five-week structured baby bonding course for mothers and newborns, the first group welcomed four new mums but there was insufficient interest to continue. 

Small World

In February of 2019, Small World became a free of charge drop-in unhosted play space due to lack of playgroup leaders. This provided an opportunity for mutual benefit as we were able to then also provide space for the Bangkok Breastfeeding Café, which is under the stewardship of the Doulas of Bangkok. This free support service to new mums was synchronous with BAMBI’s values in supporting breastfeeding and provided an opportunity to keep an established venue for new mums and babies.

In October 2019, Small World became a paid playgroup again, under the stewardship of the Bumps Team as the Playgroups team could not resource it. The playgroup was relaunched with special guests including J Clinic offering postpartum recovery exercises and also Music Room La-La-La providing sing-alongs. Of the nine paid sessions in the last quarter of 2019, we welcomed 102 families; the playgroup was just getting established when we stopped for Christmas break.

Other Bumps activities:

• 11 Bumps articles published in BAMBI News with contributions from all five BAMBI Bumps volunteers.
• Splash Bash with Bangkok Dolphins with 4 special water playgroups for babies 
• Birth Partner Bootcamps for practical advice for birth partners 
• Two special pool safety and CPR sessions run in partnership with Bangkok Dolphins with translation to Thai and Burmese for helpers with donations going to a charity fund for an expat family who experienced a tragic water accident.
• The Bumps team continues to cultivate good relationships with both Samitivej and Bumrungrad hospitals to affect positive change for families birthing and accessing pediatric care in Bangkok.
• From September 2019 BAMBI voted to support a partial rental of Antique Café on Friday mornings for Breastfeeding Café to run independently from Small World Playgroup. 

2020 plan for Bumps and Babies

The evolving COVID-19 situation has meant that BAMBI Bumps did not meet at Antique Café since the end of January 2020. Despite this, we kept in touch with the families of the Bumps community and liaised with local hospitals to ensure families birthing in the time of COVID-19 are kept informed of the implications for them and their babies. 

In May we launched online sessions via the Zoom platform. Online support continued until the BAMBI committee voted to commence in-person sessions.   

PLAYGROUPS

By the end of 2019 BAMBI had been running ten steady and popular playgroups in Bangkok:

• British Club Playgroup
• Ekkamai Playgroup (Bright Skies International School)
• Novotots Playgroup (Novotel Sukhumvit 20)
• Sukhumvit 31 Playgroup (First Steps International Pre-School)
• Sawatdi Playgroup (IPC International Kindergarten)
• Let’s Play Playgroup (Seeh Phinong International School)
• Thonglor Playgroup (Bangkok Prep)
• Saturday Nana playgroup
• Riverside playgroup
• Tiny Pandas Playgroup

In 2019, we opened two new playgroups:

• Riverside playgroup
• Marionette Playgroup

In total, 10,791 families attended the various BAMBI playgroups in Bangkok throughout the year, an increase of  27% on last year’s figure of 8,495. This is a phenomenal result for the playgroup team.

Some playgroups were closed as the venues were no longer available to BAMBI.

• Bearing Playgroup (St Andrews 107 International School)
• Little Bird Playgroup (Blue Parrot Cafe)
• Sathorn 10 Playgroup (Baan Plan Toys)
• Small World Sukhumvit ( Antique Cafe)
• Small World Asoke (The Best Beginnings)
• Marionette Playgroup (Marriott soi 24)

In January, Small World Sukhumvit at Antique Cafe turned to Breastfeeding Cafe and now it's Small World by Bumps team.

In March, Small World Asoke at The Best Beginning closed as the space required for the playgroup is no longer available.

In April, Little Bird Playgroup at Blue Parrot Cafe closed. The cafe opens from 11am to well past midnight every day and with the playgroup in the morning staff have to come in at least an extra 3 hours and the cafe could no longer find a viable rostering option.

In June, Sathorn 10 Playgroup at Baan Plan Toys closed as Plan Toys wanted to use the space to run their own playgroups and play space.

We also had the last Bearing playgroup at  St Andrews 107 International School which closed at the school’s request. The school was not able to provide the space for BAMBI playgroup as the number of students increased.

In November, we opened a brand-new playgroup at Marriott on Sukhumvit 24.  Unfortunately, we had to cancel the playgroup after two weeks due to safety concerns. It's a good thing that some venues have left BAMBI after they got busy. It means BAMBI has a good influence on the venues helping them to become well-known.

At the end of 2019, the Playgroup team had 32 volunteers. All these playgroups would not happen without our busy playgroup volunteers.  In 2019, there were three Playgroups Leaders Breakfasts where all the volunteers met to socialize and share information. 

2020 plan for Playgroups

• Playgroup Leaders have many tasks not only registration at playgroups but also making and posting monthly financial reports, registering new members and renewing members at home etc. This is a lot of work for leaders who take care of their own kids.  Reducing these tasks has been one of our challenges. 
• The database and website teams are now creating a new system that helps complete these tasks faster.  With this new system, Playgroup Leaders' workload will be lighter as it automates some of their tasks and reduces the paperwork. 
• We will collate our separated manuals into one and cover all tasks Playgroup Leaders need to do. This will make it easier to train new Playgroup leaders.
• The Playgroups Coordinators will continue to support Playgroup Leaders to feel comfortable to run BAMBI playgroups. 

ACTIVITIES FOR OLDER CHILDREN

By the end of 2019 BAMBI was organizing five activities for children aged three to five in Bangkok:

• Zumba at RumPuree Dance Studio
• Creative Dance at RumPuree Dance Studio
• Football at Soltilo Familia Soccer pitch
• Yoga at Bambini Villa
• Nature Based Play Activities at Bambini Villa

Over 450 children attended our activities in 2019. This growth reflects BAMBI's decision to play a wider role in the community by offering organized activities for older children led by professional instructors. By the end of 2019, BAMBI Activities had six volunteers currently leading the activities and three more volunteers looking forward to leading the activities which we hope to lead in the coming year including cooking, martial arts, gymnastics and crafts. Through Activities, BAMBI has welcomed many new members whose children have outgrown playgroups but who believe they can benefit from being part of the BAMBI community.  

EVENTS

In January, we supported the first Chocolate Ville Charity Carnival along with the Charities Team to help raise money for refugee charities in the north of Thailand. There were game booths, circus shows, raffle tickets, and activities set up for the whole family to enjoy.  

In April, we had our annual Splash Party at Wells International Kindergarten for the second time. The theme for the party was the Mermaids and Pirates, and we had treasure hunting activity, foam pool, slip n slide, swimming session by Bangkok Dolphins, mermaids/pirates photo room, storytelling room, and fun performances for everyone to enjoy. Just as the year before, it was a big success with over 500 people attending the event.

In October, we supported British Club with their Living in Bangkok event by providing our booth with slime making activity and magic shows for the kids, along with swimming sessions by Bangkok Dolphins.

In December, we supported Bumrungrad International Hospital with their Family Christmas event by providing our booth with slime making activity.

We also had our Christmas Carnival at IPC International Kindergarten.  We had carnival games, train rides, mini carousel rides, fun Christmas activities for the children along with some Christmas shopping choices and great music performances for the whole family. The children also enjoyed taking pictures with Santa Dominic in Santa’s Grotto. We finished the night with Christmas Caroling and a Tree Lighting Ceremony.

Events in 2020

The Splash Party was planned on April 4th at British Club this year, but cancelled due to the spread of the Coronavirus.

We would like to plan something else maybe at the end of the summer or in September when everything is back to normal, and everyone can enjoy without any safety/health concerns. We will confirm about the Halloween Party: TBD (late October or early November) and Christmas Party. If we do the Halloween Party, it may be difficult to do a Christmas Party as there is not much time in between to prepare.

Yard Sales

For the September 2019 Yard Sale, 30 tables were sold out. A total fee of ฿17,500 was transferred to BAMBI from the 30 vendors tables. There were 15 BAMBI members tables  and 15 non-members.

The income from extra helper fees (฿60 each) + extra table received was ฿800. We received ฿5,160.00 (86 paid and free entrance for BAMBI members) from entrance donations. The income from the swap shop bag donation fee was ฿200.

The March Yard sale was canceled due to COVID-19.

Plan for 2020

We will wait for the next available date from St. Andrews to host the next Yard Sales for 2020. We also proposed a new venue and strategy for yard sale in 2021.

Ideal strategy

• Host one yard sale at a school per year. (Maximum 40 tables)
• Coordinate events with public venue that is not a school once a year
• In return provide a  free 1 page ad (or 4x 1/4page equivalent) and social media.
• Donations should be made at the end of the event for trustworthy and professional presentation. With proper signage and ceremony so we can also have the participants who attend the event as our witnesses.

NEW MEMBERS ACTIVITIES

New Members Coffee Morning

The regular date of the New Member Coffee Morning last Wednesday of the month has been known to many families. In total, the New Members team organized eight monthly coffee mornings and had 246 families attend in 2019.

Following last year, the coffee morning was held at interesting new venues including indoor playgrounds, Playville and Sunny Side-Up and had activities by school teachers and invited guest speakers. Occasionally the venues were too attractive to people, causing more packed playgroups than expected.

The main purpose of New Members Coffee Morning was to get to know BAMBI, but this was sometimes not achieved at crowded playgroups. On the other hand, it became a place where it is easy to make new friends and where repeat participants introduce BAMBI to new participants.

The New Member Coffee Morning remains an integral part of our relationship  with new vendors to attract moms and babies and for new BAMBI members.

Pop-up Playgroups

The Pop-up team held nine weekend Pop-up playgroups in 2019. We had a range of locations—five in Sukhumvit (Noah BKK, Marriott, St. Andrews 107, AISB, Playville), two in Bang Na (D-prep, Wells), one in Rama 9 (Regent’s) and one in Chaengwattana (Hampton). With last year’s collaboration, we had opportunities to host at different campuses of the schools like Hampton International School (Sathorn) and Wells International School (Thonglor). Having a Pop-up playgroup at international school has been well-known in both hosting schools and young families.

A new style of collaboration with Noah 26 tennis school, Playville indoor playground and Marriott Executive Apartment Sukhumvit Park hotel provided parents and children with new choices for where to go on weekends. It was the first ever challenge to organize a Loy Krathong event with the Marriott hotel. The hotel offered not only a krathong making workshop, and floating the krathong in the water at a convention room, but also provided kids’ friendly play stations, and food buffets at the garden in front of the room. The place was packed with 550 people / 178 families and is our highest turnout at a Pop-up playgroup ever.

New Members Plans for 2020 

The New Members team recognize the value in providing a regular monthly playgroup offering introduction of BAMBI group and of venus. We will try to find fixed venues in Sukhumvit and Sathorn areas so that more people can get to know about BAMBI regularly.

We also recognize the value in providing a weekend offering for the BAMBI community and will aim to provide one monthly pop up playgroup throughout 2020, though this will be dependent on volunteer availability and interest from schools to participate in the program. This will complement regular monthly weekend playgroups being held at Storytime Pre-School. To provide playgroups like 2019, we need to recruit new volunteer members to work with us.  

BAMBI NEWS

Eleven issues (July/August a joint issue) of BAMBI News were published and distributed to members and supporting organisations such as playgroup venues. 130 articles were written by 100 individuals who donated their time and expertise to write articles of interest for our members. They covered topics about parenting, child development, special needs, single parenting, personal accounts from mothers and fathers, adoption, mental health, crafts, education, Thai language and culture, expat life, and pre- and post-natal support. We also collaborated with the dad's network to encourage more fathers to share their stories and parenting experience.

We had numerous photo features, book reviews, kid’s corner, interviews, and content to support and inform members. Mao Sano and Azusa Uchida produced a diverse range of covers for the eleven issues.

Each month the team source and edit 48 pages of editorial content. In 2019 we retained 70% of our team while facing two changes in both Editor and Deputy Editor. Rina Wongpanich and Francine Kaye Acelar stepped up to become the current Editor and Deputy Editor, respectively. In total, three volunteers left the team, and three new members were welcomed.

Our Japanese Editors are helping us to provide articles to our Japanese members as well as regularly uploading individual articles on the new website. The team received Wordpress training from former Editor Ema Naito. Ema has also led an initiative to preserve our archives by uploading several years’ worth of articles to the website.

Readers now have access to hundreds of articles along with PDFs of past issues. We publish all PDFs on the website, and members can elect (via their membership settings on the website) to read the magazine online if they prefer not to receive a hard copy. The website statistics show us that BAMBI News content is being viewed and shared by members and writers well beyond the month of its publication, with almost 1000 views of the individual articles per month.

BAMBI News Plans for 2020 

We will connect more with readers, share articles on social media, and encourage reader feedback to help us deliver more diverse yet inclusive content. We want to investigate options to improve the online magazine viewing experience for members by possibly having a dynamic online viewer.

We will continue to provide more development opportunities for current team members who wish to expand their skills and recruit additional assistant editors to support the workload.  

MEDIA ACTIVITIES

The Media coordinator role was vacant for most of the year and our then Vice Chair Emma stepped in to ensure BAMBI Facebook page and messenger continues to be a useful communication tool. The role was filled in late October 2019. Facebook continued to be the principle tool for communicating BAMBI cancellations, notices, events and meetups for the first half of 2019. Since the website’s relaunch in the middle of the year, our Media Coordinator has worked to direct more traffic towards it. Every event on Facebook is cross linked, and posts and comments are linked whenever possible. 

At the end of 2019 BAMBI’s Facebook page had 10,047 ‘likes’ and 10,466 followers. Eight admins/editors from among the committee members help update Facebook and answer Facebook messenger. BAMBI continues to use paid advertisements on Facebook to get the word out about selected BAMBI events such as Yard Sales, Splash Party and Christmas Party. 

We continue to receive numerous messages on Facebook messenger. In an effort to manage the workload the Media Coordinator categorized the messages as emergency or not. Emergencies are answered straight away and others are answered within 36 hours. 

BAMBI continues to maintain our policy of only posting BAMBI’s activities and events on our main page on Facebook. However BAMBI has a community page where interested third parties can post. The Media coordinator approves posts for the community page. 

The BAMBI e-newsletter wasn’t sent out in 2019 as the Media coordinator role was vacant for most of the year.    

MEMBERSHIP AND DATABASE

The number of active BAMBI members at the end of December 2019 was 1,118 (end of December 2018: 1182 active members). 70% were first-time members and 30% were renewing members. This 70:30 ratio is consistent with that of 2018 and previous years. The launch of the new website in mid-2019 greatly streamlined the membership registration processes for all involved. These welcome changes have allowed the Database tasks to be returned to one Database Coordinator for even greater efficiency and reliability.

Plans for 2020

We will streamline the registration process at every BAMBI activity, playgroup and event. We will support the environment by reducing paper usage in the following areas:

• Paperless registration
• The chance to opt-out of receiving a printed copy of the BAMBI News magazine
• Offer ongoing support to volunteers with regular face-to-face training in the use of the system for registering new and renewal members
• Continue to clean up the database for more efficient use  

MEMBER BENEFITS

In 2019, the list of members’ discounts became longer and our members were able to enjoy the special offers from many restaurants, schools and businesses more.

Plans for 2020

In 2020, the list has been under review and will be renewed with more offers for members to benefit from.  

WOMBLES

WOMBLES dinners had successfully offered relaxed opportunities for our members to meet and network with other busy parents in Bangkok in 2019.

BAMBI ran a fundraiser in June for Esperanca Foundation to support Maesot refugees. We have raised and donated ฿30,000. Over 35 members gathered and enjoyed Spanish food and music at Barcelona Gaudi restaurant.

WOMBLES welcomed a new coordinator in June and continued until November 2019 when the committee voted to stop monthly WOMBLES and plan charity fundraising dinners instead. 

ME-TIME

Me Time was launched in 2018 to give the opportunity for parents to socialize while exploring new skills and creativity through various workshops during school hours. In 2019, BAMBI offered the following workshops successfully:

• Soap Making Workshop @ Bangkok Soap Opera 
• Terrarium Making Workshop @ Tiny Tree 
• Cocktail Making Workshop @ Revolucion Cocktail - Blue Parrot in Sathorn 
• Me Time Charity Sensory Book Workshop @ Barcelona Gaudi 
• Me Time Roll & Release Therapy Ball Workshop @ IPC 
• Me Time Charity Sensory Book Workshop @ Barcelona Gaudi 
• Me Time Balletone Exercise Workshop @ BAMBiNi ViLLA 

In total there were seven workshops which welcomed 114 participants.  Workshops are subsidized with a discount for BAMBI members, making them a fun affordable way to try new experiences. 

WEBSITE

We launched our new website in June 2019 with a user-friendly interface and attractive design. There is an up-to-date color-coded calendar and blog-style magazine section with access to all past magazine issues.

We set up new processes for a new database, registration and renewals, and Contact Us form. We trained all users in the magazine, playgroup, activities, events, and Bumps teams.  Fixing bugs and improvement is an ongoing process.

Plans for 2020

We have a new website vendor, Quidlab, who was the developer of our first website. They are perfectly capable of giving the support BAMBI needs given they know our organization very well.  

There is a new search function for the playgroup leaders to help them solve any discrepancy regarding membership and expiry information in situ.

There will be a new Finance-Events-PGs signing app to streamline our workflows in the areas of playgroups, event registration and finances to reduce paperwork and be more efficient in our processes. Online payments paid and invoiced by Quidlab: email server, hosting, mailchimp, mandrill, wordpress.

We got a new magazine opt in/out function for members to decide if they want to receive a printed copy or access the digital version.

We will find a new email platform to accommodate the complexity of our communication requirements. Bluehost is not user friendly and requires us to use gmail as a front email system having to double all our email accounts.

CHARITIES SUPPORTED IN 2019

We supported 11 organizations’ projects and events with financial donations. A total of ฿606,646 was spent.

1. Baan Dek Foundation / Tchin Tcho Nursery

Baan Dek Foundation works in construction site camps mainly in Chiang Mai to support children living there by providing access to education, health and safety services. Tchin Tcho Nursery is a registered critical care nursery for vulnerable children aged 1.5 – 4 years who are at risk of neglect, abuse, or living in an unsafe environment.  It provides children a safe environment and essential development skills. Total donation: ฿300,000  

2. Central Thailand Mission

CTM is a NPO under the Thai-registered Haven Foundation (under the Welfare Committee of the Interior Ministry of Thailand).  It organizes various projects/programs to support the disadvantaged in many ways.

We supported the Super Songkran Splash 2019 in April at Ramayana Water Park.

50 children from three disadvantaged communities were invited to a day excursion to Ramayana Water Park. BAMBI supported the event by covering their transportation. Total donation: ฿15,000

In October we supported the Emergency Home “The Magical Makeover.”

CTM annual event at Emergency Home is to host the programs of makeover for the women who reside at the shelter to regenerate their self-worth.  The participants got the makeup and hair done by the professionals and dressed for the catwalk presentation.  BAMBI supported with financial aid for the supplies for the event, as well as provided our photographer to take portraits at the event. Total donation: ฿25,000

Every month, CTM delivers food supplies like chicken, fruits and vegetables to the disadvantaged communities.  BAMBI supports the cost for transportation and personnel for this service. Total donation: ฿60,000   

3. Friends of Thai Daughters

Friends of Thai Daughters is a non-profit organization providing education, safe shelter and emotional support to girls at risk of being trafficked in Northern Thailand. BAMBI purchased a table at the annual gala dinner, seats were offered to committee, volunteers and members. Total donation: ฿60,000  

4. Terres Karens / Giving Tree

Giving Tree is a Christmas charity project organized by Terres Karens which arranges gift bags for children in Karen villages in the mountains of northern Thailand (The Song Yang District). Those children are living among less privileged families and communities and are waiting, each year for these bags and the spirit of Christmas is shared with great joy. 

In 2019, BAMBI offered a financial donation to support the program.  Terres Karens arranged the gift bags with this donation on behalf of BAMBI.  Additionally, about 10 BAMBI members signed up to join the project voluntarily and 14 numbers of gift bags were subscribed individually. Total donation: ฿50,000  

5. Phuket Has Been Good To Us / Coconut Club

Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation was set up in the aftermath of the 2004 Asian Tsunami and works to improve the economic opportunities and life chances of young people in Phuket. The Foundation runs an afterschool and weekend program for over 200 underprivileged students, using English language activities to stimulate their imagination and practice independent thinking skills in a safe environment. BAMBI donated for them to purchase teaching supplies (whiteboard, projector, paper cutter, books). Total donation: ฿30,000  

6. Roy Rak

Being run under the charity, Urban Neighbours of Hope Thailand, Roy Rak (means to 'bead love' in Thai) is a small group of women from the Klong Toei community who make and sell their original jewellery. The creative team receives fair wages, paid holidays, health insurance, workspace, and the flexibility to fit working hours around childcare, as well as the training for jewellery making techniques and English language skills. BAMBI’s donation was used for the supplies for their studio and workers. Total donation: ฿20,000   

7. ESTiN / Annual Charity Luncheon in March

ESTiN is a NPO group working to provide medical supplies, food and clothing for those living in extreme hardship in Bangkok.  For their annual Charity Luncheon, BAMBI purchased 10 seats so that the committee members and volunteers were able to attend the event. Total donation: ฿15,000  

8. Esperança Football Academy / Football Camp

Esperança Football Academy runs football camps for displaced children in Mae Sot and surrounding areas.  Hosting Wombles Charity Dinner in May, BAMBI raised 15,000 baht at the event.  Total ฿30,000 was donated to the academy along with pre-loved children’s clothing.  

9. Baby Carrier Project

This is the project to deliver pre-loved baby carriers to the parents in disadvantaged communities. BAMBI helped with the project manager’s transportation. Total donation: ฿7,371   

10. Learning Resources Community Fair on 1st June

BAMBI participated in the Learning Resources Community Fair at St. Andrews International School. Total donation: ฿5,750  

11. Always Reading Caravan (ARC)

ARC provides a mobile library service to visit schools, villages and homes across Phrao district in Chiangmai. BAMBI sponsored one of the projects, Universal Design Picture Book, to create hand-made touchable picture books for children with low vision, autism, intellectual disabilities, and blindness.  BAMBI hosted workshops for BAMBI members to make the parts for these books.  BAMBI supported the cost for the materials for books. Total donation: ฿3,525  

BAMBI Financial Summary 2019

Treasurer (Mari Someya) stepped back in March 2019 and Katharina Maringer took over as Treasurer in September 2019. The team consists of four assistants. The accountant is Almet Asia Co., Ltd and the auditor is Synergy AP Audit. We changed the billing for the majority of playgroup venues to payment via invoice, to decrease cash handling for volunteers. We started to have quarterly in-person meetings within the team.

Plans for 2020

In 2020 we plan to streamline processes to further decrease the workload. We have improved automated integration with playgroups through a new app (see website update).  

We welcome any questions you may have on the above information. Please write to us at treasurer@bambiweb.org or chairwoman@bambiweb.org.

Photos by Mao Sano and Azusa Uchida.

The views expressed in the articles in this magazine are not necessarily those of BAMBI committee members and we assume no responsibility for them or their effects. BAMBI News welcomes volunteer contributors to our magazine. Please contact editor@bambiweb.org.