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When you decide to go somewhere to volunteer, you have some big ideas about changing lives. At least I did when I went to Thailand as a tsunami volunteer in 2005. I found the Tsunami Volunteer Center which placed me with an organization working with the Burmese migrant community in the tsunami affected area of Khao Lak.
Burmese children did not attend school before the tsunami for a variety of reasons so Grassroots Human Rights and Education Committee was establishing learning centers for these children to get a basic education. I taught English in the learning centers, to the staff, and to the teachers, and worked in the office doing grant writing and program planning. Let me tell you, kids who know they would be working if they were not in school make the most enthusiastic students you will ever meet.
When I got home, I quit a stable job running a public health program for immigrants and took a sabbatical from my teaching position so that I could spend 6 months in Thailand. Since then, I've rearranged my life to have a more flexible career that allows me to spend part of each year with Grassroots watching it grow bigger and better each year.
Last year, I started to wonder if I could continue to spend my time and money doing this. Then, I went to a Burmese ceremony commemorating the 1988 student uprising in Burma where at least 3,000 students were killed for demonstrating for democracy. (It was only a year before Tiannaman Square but I had never heard about it). The ceremony was moving —candles, singing, survivors telling what happened. Then, they asked if any of the young people wanted to speak.
One of my first students stood up. I remember him as a scrawny 11 year old who seemed about 5 when he was using puppets to act out a little conversation in English. At 14, he was taller than me, skinny as a reed, with a face shining with goodness and he talked about his hopes and dreams in English. He addressed that roomful of adults and spoke as if he was the president of a nation. "We aren't home, but it doesn't matter where we live, we have to work for our country." Another teacher and I just about fell on the floor with pride and awe. And yes, that moment cemented it for me—I'm planning my next trip back. Going off to volunteer did change one life, but it was unexpectedly mine.
The Khao Lak area is a wonderful place to vacation, but still needs volunteers to help the local Thai and Burmese communities. Interested in helping? Check out:
Fun4Kids: an organization started by former tsunami volunteers that accepts short and long-term volunteers to help with teaching or playground construction. This is a great way to get closer to the community and see if long-term volunteering might interest you or a terrific way to make your vacation in Thailand more meaningful.
Foundation for Education and Development (also known as Grassroots) is an organization serving Burmese migrant workers through a variety of programs. They need help in the office and the learning centers. You would be better suited to this organization if you had more time to volunteer and feel comfortable getting yourself situated in a new town on your own. (Email: zurine@ghre.org)
An hour north of Khao Lak is a town called Kuraburi where you can get a real Thai experience away from package tour operators. An organization called Andaman Discoveries provides structured volunteer opportunities with significant support to volunteers through a fee based program. |
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From 6 People
