Life with the Kardashians? I'd rather stay in poverty in Thailand! The 13-year-old 'orphan girl' Kim was desperate to adopt says NO
- Kim Kardashian fell in love with Pink when she visited Thai orphanage
- Star was so moved by plight of children she offered to adopt the teenager
- But Pink has said no because she wants to help rebuild her country
- Gifted scholar says Thailand needs her after tsunami ten years ago
A teenager from a children's home in a poverty-stricken region of Thailand made an astonishing decision to turn down an offer from reality TV star Kim Kardashian to adopt her into a life of wealth and glamour overseas.
The level-headed 13-year-old called Pink said she shook with excitement when she heard the multi-millionaire wanted to adopt her, but insisted she wanted to study in Thailand instead then help her impoverished homeland and the orphans she has grown up with.
The girl with a sunny smile stole Kim's heart when she visited the ramshackle children's home in Thailand's Phang Nga province, a region where more than 4,000 people perished in the 2004 tsunami.
Pink, an outstanding scholar whose mother sent her to the home because she was too poor to care for her and fund her education, immediately bonded with Kim and gave her a bracelet in a visit in April filmed for her hit show Keeping Up with The Kardashians.
But after being told the reality TV star wanted to adopt her, Pink said: 'Everyone wants to have a different or a better life, I suppose. But when I thought about it I realised it wouldn't be good for me, because I would have to leave so much behind. I wasn't ready for that.'
'I want this one!': In an August episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians Kim visited an orphanage in Thailand and bonded with Pink, then 12. She called husband Kayne West about adopting her
'I realised it wouldn't be good for me': Pink, 13, told MailOnline that she wanted to stay and help her country rather than live with Kim Kardashian
'I wasn't ready': Pink, pictured above with her schoolfriend, told MailOnline that she loved being on TV but wanted to stay with the orphans she grew up with
Poverty stricken but determined: Pink, 13, back row, who Kim Kardashian wanted to adopt with younger children she helps look after at the children's home in Phang Nga, Thailand
Scholar focused on studies: Pink, pictured left this year, was put in to the care home after her father left and her mother, Rose, 44, pictured right, was left destitute. Rose now helps at the home.
After the visit, Kim declared on camera: 'When you meet someone that you really connect to like this, you can't help but think like how you could change their life. And I think that looking into adoption would be amazing.
'I literally cannot stop thinking about her. I told (husband) Kanye, I was like, honestly, this girl is so sweet and so cute, like, I would honestly adopt her.'
She then appeared to abandon the idea after being chided by her mother for treating adoption like a shopping trip and then told by her resort manager that adopting children from Thailand is 'very, very difficult'.
But Mail Online found that Pink was taken aside and told by the home's supervisors about Kim's adoption wish in the show which went out in August and, although delighted at the offer, immediately said a polite but firm 'no'.
Pink, who shares a basic dormitory room with mattresses on the floor with five other girls at the Home and Life Foundation in Phang Nga, said: 'When I found out she wanted to adopt me, I was shaking. I was so excited. It would be such a change of life for me. '
Recalling her meeting with Kim – who was so smitten with the teenager she visited the home twice – Pink admitted she and the other children had no idea who Kim was when she first arrived.
'When she came here, it seemed as if I was the first one she looked at and smiled at. We had a connection straight away. I think she is really pretty and she has a very nice personality.'
'I thought she was lovely and I really enjoyed meeting her – and I loved being on TV too,' said Pink, whose real name is Laddawan Tong-Keaw.'
Pink makes an exhausting 100-mile round journey by bus every day with two other girls to attend the province's top government school after the three of them passing a demanding entrance exam. She gets up at 5am and returns home at around 6 pm.
Special bond: Kim said she had developed a special bond with Pink, adding 'I’m really impressed with how happy these kids are with you know, so little of what they have'
'It makes me so sad': Kim described how visiting the orphanage had left her feeling deeply emotional, and orphanage bosses told Pink that Kim had offered to adopt her
Caring home: Pink shares her bedroom, pictured above, with five other girls and spends 12 hours a day out of the home either at school or travelling there
At evenings and weekends, she does chores and helps look after younger children in the home which was set up eight years ago to care for orphans and children from families devastated by the human and economic impact of the tsunami.
Pink plans to go to university in Thailand then work as a tour guide or a teacher. 'I want to help my country,' she said. 'I want people to come and learn about Thailand and understand more about my country. That is why I am thinking of being a tour guide.'
Pink's mother Rose, lives in a nearby village with Pink's younger brother and comes to the home every day to help cook and clean for her daughter and the other 24 children at home.
'I spoke to my mum about Kim and she said 'When you finish High School and you can look after yourself, I will give you permission to go and live with Kim if you want to go',' said Pink.
'But the other children here and like brothers and sisters to me and I couldn't leave them behind. They are my family and I couldn't just go away and leave them.'
Asked if she would like see Kim again, Pink smiled shyly as she replied: 'I would like to see her again one day if it's possible. But not just Kim – I'd like to meet her husband and her daughter as well. I'd like to meet the whole family.'
When she visited the home, Kim appeared unaware that Pink was not an orphan and that her mother, Rose, 44, was present throughout the visit.
'I was very proud when I heard that this famous lady wanted to adopt Pink but at the same time I didn't want her to go away with the Kardashian family. She is only young and I would miss her very much,' she told Mail Online.
Giving children a future: The Home and Life Foundation in Phang Nga, Thailand, cares for 25 children in the
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