Home - Ministries - Missions - Akha Outreach - About the Akha Outreach Foundation The Akha Outreach Foundation was started by A-Je and Nancy Kukaewkasem in 2001 as an orphanage called House of Joy, to reach out to the many orphans from the Akha hill tribes within Thailand. At that time they housed three Akha orphans. The second year their number rose to seventeen children. The third year brought a total of thirty-four children, and the home has continued to grow, each year, until currently they have over seventy-five children who call House of Joy their home. These children come from extreme circumstances that deny them hope for the future, but House of Joy provides children with a loving and nurturing environment and enables them to overcome past abuses and achieve their full potential as individuals. The children are also individually encouraged to attain to the highest educational level possible and to develop pride in their Akha heritage and maintain healthy relationships within their home communities. Many of the children eventually return to their villages to act as agents for positive change. The impact of this project thus extends beyond merely being a home for children in need.