VICTORIA POINT: Tolerance appears to be lacking among Burma's Buddhists these days but we found an endless supply of it at the Maliwan Temple, 30 kilometres north of the Thailand border.

There, five Muslims are among 159 children being cared for by the Abbot, Pairat, and 13 monks. The children are abandoned, orphaned or simply unwanted, for any number of reasons.

The youngest is a six-month-old girl and the monks are all experts in changing nappies.

After hearing of the brutal treatment of Muslim Rohingya and their children in Rakhine state, spending a day with the monks and their young charges provided a welcome contrast.

Poverty accounts for many of these children being at the temple and some are the unwanted offspring of sex workers from both sides of the border.

''We raise the children with care,'' said Abbot Pairat. ''They are free to chose what path they wish to take in life.''

Over the 27 years that the temple has become a sanctuary for children, hundreds of young men and women have achieved an education and a fresh start here.

Since the Songkran Festival last month, with its message of renewal, many of the children have chosen to become young monks and nuns, the boys wearing deep safron and the girls dressed in pink.

This part of Burma, north of Victoria Point on the Burmese side and a short distance from Ranong on the Thai side, has been home to more than 100 Thai families as well as Burmans and Mon for decades.

The anger and hate that have brought accusations of ethnic cleansing and potentional genocide in Rakhine state are unlikely to ever cause divisions here.

Buddhists from as far afield as Mandalay, hundreds of kilometres to the north, visit to help the temple with gifts of food and clothing.

Travellers from the outside are rare because, strictly speaking, the temple lies in a restricted zone.

We watch the children at play and at prayer. One or two are cheeky, as children always can be, but they are paired with older children. Nobody knows how to treat children better.

The advantage of cooperation is something they quickly learn. Taking classes is a daily activity, with the children separated into three age levels.

Each month, a doctor visits to check their health.

''We ask nothing from the children,'' said Abbot Pairat. ''Once they can care for themselves, they are free to go. The number grows year by year.''

Clothes for children aged five to 10 are needed, along with milk. Phuketwan is making another trip to the Maliwan Temple in a few weeks. People who can help are welcome to call Chutima (English or Thai) on 089 4725117.