Hot Tea and a Change of Plans

In Thai, "cha" means tea and "ron" means "hot." I have been affectionately dubbed "hot tea."

Today we were all to visit our placements, but at the last minute as we were about to leave, Pimsuda (the director) called those of us placed at Baan Kanchanapisek into the office and told us that she had just received a call from the director saying that she didn't think it would be a good idea to have non-Thai-speaking volunteers there because she would be traveling a lot and she is the only one who speaks English. We were all a bit disappointed, but there was nothing anyone could do, so we were all up for whatever other placement was available. For the day, though, we all went to the Foundation for Children, where a volunteer is already placed.

The Foundation for Children is a home for children from birth to age 5 who are abandoned, abused or come from homes where their parents are unable to care for them. There were 13 babies about about 20 or so children aged 2-5. The kids were very cute and well taken care of. We sang songs and did exercise with them, played on the playground and in the classroom and helped get them dressed and down for a nap. When I went up to see the babies, I was handed a baby and a bowl of food by a woman feeding three babies at once. The babies all seemed well, but they must be a handful for the two women on staff (there were also two volunteers who are there for a few months).

After the Foundation we left for lunch and went to visit Baan Kanchanapisek, which was no longer a placement opportunity, but a visit. We were all extremely impressed. The grounds are enormous with brand new buildings, looking more like an upscale neighborhood than an institutions. The philosophy of the organization was just, if not more, impressive. The boys are seen not as criminals, but kids who have made a mistake. They must apply to get in and once in, they stay of their own free will. Each day they are required to write a daily journal and the journals are not corrected for spelling or grammar (so as to not discourage them from writing), but rather common mistakes are posted on a communal board so that they can correct themselves. Also any memorable or poetic quotes, with the boys' permission, are copied and put on bookmark to be sold, to show the boys that they do have something valuable to say. The boys also go out into the community schools and talk to other students about their past. They have also been invited to various organizations studying juvenile crime to talk about the reason for their behavior. It was such a progressive organization it was extremely impressive. The only question is to the effectiveness of the program because it has only been in existence for two years and follow up studies are needed.

After Baan Kanchanapisek, we headed back to the house. All day, as I had been taking in what was going on, I had a bit of a grumble going on in the back of my head. All of the other placements seemed to be day care centers and "I had not come to Thailand to work in a day care center." I soon caught myself and reasoned that even if I had to spend the next 12 weeks working in a day care center, I would take it one day at a time and that undoubtedly I would find at least one thing in each day to make me glad I was here. Fortunately for me, in the van on the way back to the house, Pimsuda received a call from an organization that does HIV/AIDS and public health outreach that would take on a volunteer. The organization also does some environmental education and clears "elephant trails" through a contract with a U.S. environmental organization. Needless to say, I was thrilled! I will start on Monday, finishing out this week at a new day care that I will go to tomorrow.