เรื่องเล่าอาสานานาชาติ Education for Disadvantaged Children – Khon Kaen
EVS Think Bigger Project
VSA Thailand
By Agata Klijewska
Big cities, small island, fairy beaches, salty sea, cold mountains, Sport Days, Christmas, New Year's party or December in a nutshell.
The sun, the sea, the sand
The second month at the R.P.K. 50 school project I welcomed... in Bangkok and over the next two weeks I was to travel around Thailand and discover its slightly more tourists charms.
After a short stay in a crazy capital, I moved to a charming island off the coast of Cambodia. The intensity of the hot sun, fabulous views, romantic sunsets and spicy Som Tams and Tom Yums was simply incredible.
The second half of my holiday I spent in the cool (at this time of year) North and during a few days of mountain trekking I had the opportunity to see and meet members of local tribes that have lived there for decades. It was a very intense but exciting and tasty time.
Same place, different time
The return to Ban Heat meant a slightly different reality. My co-volunteers, Low and Mathieu, had completed their projects, and I found an empty house. The evenings were supposed to be longer and the weekends less fun from now on..
Nevertheless, the students were still as active, loud and smiling as before and during the whole of December they were preparing for two very important events in school life.
School Olympics
The first of them was Sports Days, which took place in the third week of December. It was almost a real Olympics: with a parade outside the school, an Olympic flame and a marathon... well, almost :) Everyone was involved in its preparation: from the youngest pupils, through high school students, teachers to office workers and cooks. A real feast of competition!
Christmas time
The second event was the Christmas Day. All students prepared Christmas cards or posters and a special atmosphere was felt at school. The day ended with a student performance and the Christmas week with a disco!
So with a disco step, I reached the end of 2019 (or 2562, who knows:), and also the halfway point of my volunteering.
Adventure! Go on!
Anne Guilbdaud , the volunteer from French teaches at Rajapajanugroh 50 Khonkaen School from 6th November until 13th November
Songkhla for 2 months
“I stayed one week in Khon Kaen, in Rajapajanugroh 50 School. The school, only 30 minutes by car from the city center, is a self-sufficient community: there is rice and banana fields, a farm with animals (pigs, chicken, etc), solar panel, the 800 kids from primary school to high school are taking care of the place.
The school is under the Royal foundation so, as in many place in Thailand, you can see that the king and the Royal Family are everywhere. Around 30% of the children have no parents or come from poor family and very remote area. The kids from secondary to high school are sleeping in the school and some of them are going back home for the week end. The teacher are also leaving in houses in the school. So I had a bedroom in a house with two others Thai teachers. The place is in the middle of the beautiful nature so I have seen many animals like snakes, big night butterflies, big lizard, definitely a wild place for me .
When I arrived there, 3 little girls where in charge of taking care of me. Even if they were not able to speak English, they were very cute and helpful with me.
The daily life is very organized, the kids wake up around 4 a.m. from Monday to Thursday then they get ready and go to have breakfast. The kids have a different uniform every day (also Saturday and Sunday!). After breakfast, everybody have to assembly at 8 a.m. in front of one of the building and sing the national anthem in front of the portrait of the king and they raise the Thai flag. They have class from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Then they can do many activities such as Issan Dance, art like music or sculpture, sport, helping in the kitchen at the canteen. I had two to three hours of teaching per day and the rest of the time I could join the activity with the kids.
What’s particularly caught my attention in that school is the fact like everybody seems very happy and the children were very well behaved, polite and I felt like most of them were blossomed.
During that week, the fact that I couldn’t speak English a lot (because I am talkative) made me think a lot about that place.
I remember that the day of the American election was also the day at that school of the election of the student representative. I try to speak with teachers and children about that American election which was a big concern but nobody seems really aware or concern about the election of Donald trump but very concerned with the election of the student representative.
So it makes me wonder, do they really need to speak English?
I think I choose my volunteer work as an English teacher because I think that speaking English is a gateway which allows you to choose your future and your job and offers you new opportunities. But in an other hand, if you’re happy in your community, do you really need to speak English ?
Also, I think the next volunteers will need a different caretaker. Honestly, I felt like she was asking me a lot to integrate, the way I had to dress, to make up, teaching me Thai language and Isaan language. I think it’s normal and I did my best to fit in but I think they also had to consider the fact that I’m coming from a very different culture.
Also, I think you should be at least with an other volunteer in that place. I had live 6 months in Bangkok before and, even if I know Bangkok is not the “real” Thailand, when I arrived in Khon Kaen I really felt that I was in the middle of nowhere.
But, even if I quit that project after only one week, I am very happy to have discovered that very special place. I think that experience was incredible and everybody was very nice very with me. I learned many things about Thai culture, and I also learned about myself.
Project in Songkhla
(from 14th of November to 15th of December)
I am back now to Songkhla since almost 3 weeks. I am very happy to leave in a Thai family with two little cute girls.
I’m working in BanBangDan School, a small primary school in Songkhla. I have around 12 hours of teaching per week with 6 different “Pratom”. As usual, I had a very warm and nice welcoming even if it’s not easy to speak English. I’m getting more and more used to my teacher job and now I know that the kids love to play little English games or to learn English songs. I didn’t know that being an English teacher was so complicated and I think it’s a very good challenge for me.
I also very enjoyed the rice planting activity. I think is very interesting to do different activities with other people.
During the weekend, I’m catching up with the others VSA volunteers because we became really good friends or with the student from Thaksin University that we met during the orientation week. Songkhla and Hatyai are so different than southern touristic place and I really like the fact that I’m discovering that part of Thailand life. I really feel that Songkhla province is still developing after South Thailand Insurgency. The everyday life is quite exciting because there is always funny misunderstanding because we don't speak the same language and there is also many unexpected places to discover like the museum in Ko Yo island, the Songhkla Zoo, the sleeping Buddha or the mermaid in Samila Beach.
To finish that story, I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Tum and Ae, for helping me, listen to me each time I had a problem and giving so much time and energy to make our volunteer work a good and meaningful moment. You made that experience amazing and unforgettable”
https://www.volunteerspirit.or.th/blog/international-volunteer-blog/icl-khonkan
In the middle of his business as a manager program of a NGO in Indonesia, an Indonesian youth named Taufik decided to joined the voluntary program held by VSA (Voluntary Spirit Association) Thailand. Taufik with 7 other selected international volunteers, helped the students in Rajaprajanugroh 50 School (RPN 50) learned English. RPN 50 is a school established and funded in full by the Kingdom of Thailand for orphans, poor, with special needs or from the remote area students in the Province of Khon Kaen and surrounding areas. RPN 50 worked with VSA Thailand initiated short-term voluntary program (12-24 December 2016), entitled "Intercultural Language Camp" (ICL camp). The main purpose of ICL camp are motivates and help students of RPN 50 to learning English and cultural diversity in the world. By providing RPN 50 student an opportunity to meet and learn with foreign volunteers, will be very helpful for them to face the global and competitive future.
"I followed the selection of ICL camp participants because it has been a long time want to visit Thailand and I love education as well." This youth who graduates master of education from Semarang State University said. "in addition, I wanted to implemented my knowledge and skills to helped others, I can also learn many things there ". continued him.
Taufik with 1 volunteer from Indonesia, 2 volunteers from USA, 1 volunteer from the Netherlands, and 3 volunteers from Thailand worked together to created interesting and fun English learning for RPN 50 students. Not only in the class, the international Volunteers also interacted with student outside the classroom. "Although shy and had minimal English, RPN 50 students were very friendly and polite. We chatted, joking and played together in variety of opportunitues. The students assumed us as a friend". said Taufik excited.
This youth who also a lecturer, admits that a lot of new insights he got in ICL camp. "In addition admired the food, art and architecture of Thailand, I admired the hospitality and manners of RPN 50 people particularly, and Thailand people in general. They always smiling and greet. They were also very tolerant in religion. Although they Buddhists, they provided halal food and place for me to worship in Islam. Even they facilitated me a vehicle when I should Friday praying in mosque outside the district. It was very touched for me." said Taufik memorized." From the other international Volunteers, I also got a lot of knowledge and insight. For example, I learned about counseling from Scott, volunteer from USA who is a professor of psychology and learned about language education from Dylan, dutch volunteers who ever be language teacher ". He added.
Finally, the young man who birth in Tegal, Indonesia, was also utilized the opportunity in ICL camp to introduced Indonesia in international scene. "Many asked about Indonesia, I would explain gladly. I also had a chance to introduced one of Indonesian folk song and performed a folk dance (semarangan dance) on the inauguration of ICL camp.
Nafisa, Indonesia
VSA Thailand สมาคมจิตอาสา
https://www.volunteerspirit.or.th/
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