Volunteers blog, Thailand July 2011

Weeks 1 and 2

Volunteering isn't easy. If you look hard enough you can find the disclaimer in the small print next to a list of possible side effects, including; may result in extreme and constant dirtiness, increased attractiveness to small feasting insects, cases of mild cultural confusion, sleep deprivation and ridicule from puzzled, but smiling, local people. However, as with most medicines the net result outweighs the side effects, and it is with this in mind that we have completed the first two weeks of our project with the Lahu tribe in the hillside village of Baan Nam Rim.

Our project is to initially help the village to build four new toilet blocks, 4 new water tanks and a wall to enclose the village shower, along with teaching English in the local primary school. When the project is completed we hope the legacy that is left will greatly improve the quality of the daily lives of the villagers and possibly even leave a slightly greater understanding of the English language, attitudes and what to them must seem incredibly peculiar cultural practices! In return, because this is very much a two way relationship, our team hopes to pick up the odd new skill or two, a greater appreciation of the differences in the world we live, a bit of perspective, a sense of achievement and a feeling that we have made a difference. And if we are really lucky, a few new friends.

Our team is ten strong, nine volunteers, Ruth, Laura, Phil, Dave, Marie, Natasha, Hannah, Lara and David. All led admirably by our super human crew leader Maria. Without Maria's local knowledge, leadership, enthusiasm, sense of fun and ability to crack heads together the project would not be possible. The strange, but somehow perfect mix of laid back humanitarian hippy with Germanic efficiency and organizational skills make Maria the perfect leader for this crew on this project in this village!

Despite some initial teething problems the physical building work has taken shape very quickly and already only 2 weeks into the project we are starting to see some real tangible results. Thanks in no small part to an industrious, skilled and enthusiastic indigenous workforce who have shown great patience with a strange bunch of 'farrang' (foreigners) who want to help them work! Work on one toilet is all but complete with two more to follow in the next few days. The old water tanks have been removed and one and a half shiny new ones now stand in their place.

We were all a little apprehensive before entering a class of young and noisy students. With little experience of teaching English the first lesson can be a little scary. The children in the school are mainly from the hill tribes, which all have their own languages, so they learn Thai first. As you can imagine, it's a little bit difficult to keep them motivated as they are learning English as a 3rd language and most of them will never see any farrang in their lives because their tribes aren't exactly in the tourist areas. Time to get creative. Using games, toys, brightly coloured pens and lots of smiles and encouragement, we attempted to teach the kids some very basic conversation. One thing that can be said is that they are very good at parroting what you say, to the extent that some of them developed an east London accent when Hannah was teaching, but getting them to understand the concept of Q&As like "How are you?" "I'm fine" was fairly difficult as they often just repeated the question rather than answering it. On the face of it, it may seem frustrating when it takes an hour to teach a class of children two sentences, but seeing the progression from a roomful of vacant expressions to a roomful of children who understand some basic English words is definitely rewarding.

The Lahu people are both kind, helpful and always ready to share a joke. Whether it's on the building site with JaJoh, cooking with NaNa the work is always enjoyable and leaves one in high spirits. Perhaps the most unique attribute of the Lahu people is their willingness to help out the farrangs. This comes in various forms from teaching us how to use native building tools to riding motorbikes outside the school.Always laughing and working together, the Lahu people are one of the closest knit of all the hill tribe communities. This makes anytime spent in Baan Nam Rim an exciting and poignant experience.

Special thanks should go to our first departing volunteer Marie Christopher. Marie provided incredible energy and enthusiasm for the project in her two weeks. Her role as reluctant, but very good, group mother was appreciated by all and she will be a massive miss to both the group and the people of the village.

Weeks 3 to 6

Fastforward 4 weeks and its time for the remaining 5 battered, bruised, tired, scratched and bitten volunteers to sneak slowly out the back door of Baan Nam Rim and wave goodbye to Thailand. Diligently we wait for a handful of home comforts yet still we pretend that the fond farewells are something we can always forget until tomorrow. But what is today but yesterdays tomorrow?Sitting in a most plaintive mood under the shade of Prasong's coconut bar we sit in a state of pleasant pain and recall everything that we have achieved with MAD.

The daunting challenge of building four toilets, four rather large water tanks and a series of paths and staircasesis almost completed save for a single day of cementing. Under the eternal scrutiny of Maria the work swiftly progressed towards the finish line and despite a series of minor setbacks has been completed and is in (just about) working order. We leave Baan Nam Rim, if nothing else, decked out in a lot more cement and pipe than when we arrived.

With luck, the legacy of our six week placement will amount to more than just a few more toilets and some sturdier steps. The time we have spent working and living with the villagers has been an experience that both parties will learn from and keep with them for a long time. For our part, we will take home with us a far greater appreciation for the luxuries in our lives that we may have previously considered necessities. Hot showers, washing machines, Wi-Fi, Facebook and cheese toasties are the tip of this iceberg that we now know we don't really need. As for the villagers we hope they enjoyed our help and our company, and if nothing else all the children in the village can read Tolstoy.

Special mentions should go to our new recruits who joined us after two weeks. Liz, who joined us for the final month of the project, quickly passed the initiation of making friends and mixing cement with flying colours and seamlessly made herself a valuable member of the team. Special thanks should also go to the Wyse brothers, Henry, Sam and George, whose priceless two week cameo give us some invaluable working skills during a time when building was at is most frenzied.

The highlight of the final weeks was the seemingly spontaneous harvest festival. This was cause for much excitement amongst the villagers, largely because it involved significantly reducing the village pig population, with a spear, in the street, while we were having breakfast. Our dinner that night numerous variations of the animal including barbecue pig, boiled pig, and best of all: chili pig. We hastily said our goodbyes when our cook Nana began to dissect a pig's head… The other main characteristic of the festival was all night Lahu dancing from dusk until dawn. Unfortunately it started to rain at show time, and we were in bed when it finally stopped at 1am. Inevitably the village was uncharacteristically quiet the next morning, as it was Lahu tradition not to work the day after a festival.

It would be a lie to say we are not looking forward to hot showers and cheese toasties but the list of things that we do not wish to leave behind goes ever onward. Drinking tea when rain has stopped play, eating our dinner of chili pig with the villagers and riding in the back of Prasong's pick up truck to the Lahu Market. We will miss the feeling of friendliness and hospitality that surrounds the village, we will miss the strong bond established over the hard graft of mixing cement and most of all we will miss the friends who we may not see ever again.

Final thanks should go to our group leader Maria, who marshaled and organised a difficult project with great skill and determination; our hosts and co workers, Jakhadtae, Prasong, Nana, Jajoh, Megae, Jafar and Janga whose hospitality, warmth and sense of humor have made our experience what it was.

And finally, thank you to all the volunteers who have worked on the project, your hard work and big smiles have achieved a lot and made a difference - not only to yourself!