The Kids ARE alright!

In my haze of GRE studying, I forgot to tell you about some exciting news. I heard back from DEPDC about the packages. They received the school supplies that were generously donated by so many. My class also received my letter and the little gifts I included for each of the children.

Below is Alinda, the Director at DEPDC reading my letter to the class.

The entire class. I am worried that so many of them are missing. But as we all experienced, the kids have frequent absences, especially during seasons of crop planting and harvesting. I also noticed two new additions, including the little girl in the middle.

It feels like I just left Thailand, and that I have been away forever, all at the same time. Needless to say, it appears not much has changed at DEPDC. Our class is much the same, and from the pictures, look to be doing well.

What a relief, to finally have proof of their continued existence! And to know that my dreams of late were once my daily reality. With these pictures I remembered, if only for a fleeting moment, how it was, who I was, and what we did.

It is a thing I hope never to forget.

These are the Best Days of my Life

I never blogged about my favorite day at DEPDC. One of my favorite's, because there are many. It also happened to be my last day there.

August 23, 2011. It started out much as every day in Thailand, with a long bus ride to the border town, Mae Sai. We had our entire group (well, those of us who were left), there that day. Me, Aub, Dave, Courtney, Andy, and Mitch. On the bus we hauled as many bags as we could carry full of clothes and toiletries to donate to both DEPDC and the orphanage. I'm sure we all looked quite strange, all these farangs with trash bags.

It was a little strange going up with everyone, as I was used to only the regulars being with me. I know one of my weaknesses while in Thailand was that I was a bit too possessive of the kids. I only wanted people going up to DEPDC who genuinely cared, worked hard, and who wanted to be there.

Despite this, I am glad they headed up, as Andy was so nice to take pictures of the day (I was usually too busy to take any pictures with me and the kids), and Dave so sweet to translate. 

We started out class with Dave and I letting the kids know that it was our last day at DEPDC. I swear, when I was talking and Dave translating, it was the quietest I saw the kids EVER. They listened attentively, with eyes wide. It was a calmness I had never felt from the kids. It was like they were telling me they were going to be okay, and that I would be okay too. 

Aub and I had scheduled the whole day out, as we did not want to waste a moment with the kids. Aub had the great idea of having the kids make cards for Sompop and Alinda, the founder and director at DEPDC. It was so cute. Without us even telling them, the kids decided to draw their hands on one of the cards, and hearts on the other. 

We made sure to get the kids back to the front with half the class time left, as we had a bit of a surprise for them. Aub, Lars, Jamie, Manasa, and I had made cards for each of the kids, with personalized messages in Thai and a picture of us with the class pasted inside. The cards were beautiful, and I was so excited to present them to the kids. Aub had also make bracelets for each of them, each unique in its own way.

We called each of the kids up individually, and I was so glad to be able to single each one out, and to be able to show each of them how much they meant to me and all of us. Most of the kids loved it, some were embarrassed, and some acted too cool for the whole thing. I was happy to see that we only had two kids missing that day, as most days we have more than that absent. 

At the very end of class we had the kids pick out a movie that we were going to watch together in the afternoon. While the kids were at lunch, Aub and I, through the help of key people at DEPDC, procured the large open auditorium to use their projector and projection screen. I was so excited for the kids to be able to watch a movie on the "big" screen.

The young guys at DEPDC were great, helping us set everything up for the movie. Aub and I had brought all kinds of treats for the kids, including popcorn. We bought about 20 bags of it at 7-eleven in Chiang Rai, and carried them all the way to Mae Sai. The things you have to do when there are no microwaves.

I had a great time during the movie just hanging out with the kids. They would feed me popcorn (literally put it in my mouth) and different kids kept coming up to me to give me cards. They were so sweet. Many of them had began making the cards right after I told them it was our last day, and spent the time during the movie making their little creations. Other of the kids were in full attention during the entire movie, as I am sure they had never seen a movie that large before. It was so cute to watch them.

After the movie, it was time to say our goodbyes. I was ready for the moment, and prepared myself to put on a happy face for the kids. Somehow, I caught each one of them, even those that usually hurry away. I was so thankful for the opportunity to say goodbye to them individually, and to be able to hug and whisper words of farewell and love to each of them.

I was particularly touched by one such goodbye. 

It was with Sisen (The boy above on the left), a child who is smart but who acts out constantly in class. He is my most distracting student, as he talks throughout lessons, and leads many of the younger boys to follow his example. But this day was different. During that day he would come up to me and give me hugs, or just shout "Kryssy" and give me sweet smilies. The kid, it short, surprised me. I didn't know he cared that much. Sisen gave me multiple hugs that day, and after the movie, as we were saying goodbye, he kissed me on the cheek and kept his little arms wrapped around my neck. He followed me as I was walking away, and would not leave my side. He was sweeter than I had ever seen him. 

He was the one, more than any other, who made me feel like, at the moment, it was all worth it. All those hard days, where the kids wouldn't listen, or be quiet, when they would fight or be angry or worse, were all nothing. I went to Thailand for him. For him to know that someone wanted him to succeed, that someone wanted him to grow and progress and become more than he though was possible. And he was there for me, to show me that sacrifice is a necessary part of life, that love comes in many forms, and that service, once given, is never forgotten. 

He'll be in my heart, as will all the other kids, forever. As I walked up the path away from the kids and DEPDC, I did finally loose it. I did not want to leave. Not for them, but for me. They made my life better, and I was happier with them in it. Thus, in my last moment, I cried selfishly. But what more can you do, when you know they have given you more than you could ever give back?

My last day in Thailand ends here, with a conviction that real service, when given, is the greatest gift you can bestow upon yourself.

My Volunteer Journey, In Video Form

Our group in Thailand decided to make a video that encompassed our journey in Thailand, and the people we met and worked with along the way. Here it is in its final form for your viewing pleasure.

I loved my experience. I hope this video can bring you into what was my world.

Rice Planting oh my!

Last week most of our group had the opportunity to help the girls at the Monsaengdao Recovery Center plant rice.  I haven't blogged at all about Monsaengdao (or as we call it, the Recovery School) since I am always so busy at DEPDC.

The Recovery school is a residential living campus that houses girls who have been abused, trafficked, or otherwise mistreated or abandoned by their families. The girls range in age from 12-18 and they currently have a little over 30 girls living at the center. The center focuses heavily on the natural environment and both protecting and using these resources responsibly.

This brings me back to the rice fields. The school has about 10 rice fields, and since it is rice planting season, we were asked to help the girls plant!

Let me tell you, rice planting is HARD. I will never eat rice again without appreciating the back breaking time and effort it takes to harvest tiny bits of rice.

Us with the rice plants. We had to stick individual strands of these into the water, one at a time....

 Hudson trying to help me out. As we say in Thailand, Hudson jaidee!

  We were pretty much bent over like this the entire time.

Manasa, Jamie, Me, and Lars on the bus after a hard days work planting. This pictures does not do our level of dirtiness justice.

While I had fun and bonded with my teammates and the girls, I think I can safely say that I have ruled out rice farmer as my future profession.

Work, the Greatest Healer

I have come to find that I am addicted to the work here in Thailand. With so much to do and so little time left (less than a month!) I am seriously worried that I will not be able to leave all there is to do behind. I am already getting anxious about the amount of work there is left to do, as I imagine all of us leaving with no one to fill in for us once we are gone. It is with sadness that I admit there is more to do here than will ever get done, even if I and the entire team dedicate our life's work to this place and its people. 

But it is with great joy that I think about all that we have done, and will still do for the children that we love so dearly. Work here has been going amazing, and it never fails that I wake up excited every day to go out and, as I like to say, do the good work. 

As per usual, I have been dedicating 100% of my time to DEPDC. Our projects there have been getting on brilliantly. Our kindergarten/level one class has gained a sense of organization and cohesiveness that I never thought possible! We had the opportunity and good fortune of being given a newly finished classroom, especially helpful because we didn't have a classroom at all before. The classroom is so beautiful and I love the order it brings to our classes to have actual desks. Thanks so much to ISV (another group of volunteers) for the classroom!

Not pictured in the classroom is a very beautiful star chart put together by me and other HELP volunteers. The purpose of the star chart is simple. We needed a kind of discipline system as some of the students have behavioral issues. Since we don't want to put any of them out of the classroom as punishment (these are kids without any chance at education before) we decided a card system would work best. They get a yellow card for first warning, and a red card for the second warning. If they have a red card at the end of the day, they do not get a star sticker. Each child needs three stickers to get a prize. So far the kids love it, even most of the older ones. 

This is our classroom before. See the difference? Keep in mind this is when class just ended. 

I cannot get over how amazing these kids are. I recently had the opportunity to visit Burma, and see the country where most of these kids come from, and where many currently live. While there Jamie, Jordan and I had the good fortune to see two of the kids from DEPDC there, and were invited to one of their homes. These kids come from such humble backgrounds, and yet have more of a spirit and motivation than most privileged kids. 

Some of the boys from our class, taking a break from cleaning the grounds. Yes, these kids have to help out around DEPDC. They are taught from an early age how important hard work is to get along in life.

While in Burma we also had the opportunity of visiting a Shan school (one of he ethnic minorities in Burma). Because the Shan are originally from the Yunnan Province in China, school for them is taught in Mandarin. Crazy, right? It never ceases to amaze me how many different types of people can live in one area of the world. While at the school, many of the kids followed us everywhere (as shown in the picture). I felt bad since they were supposed to be in class. We learned while visiting that the school was one of the "good" ones in Burma and was privately funded. 

This varied from the public schools in Burma, which are lacking in skilled teachers, money, and just about anything a school would need to function properly. This is why most of our kids at DEPDC are Burmese. The education system in Burma is virtually non-existent, with teachers so underpaid that they force public students to pay bribes for them to come to class. Those who can't afford the bribes are not allowed back in the classroom. The government does nothing, as they (and the military) are the only ones making a decent living in Burma, and are, for most, the root and source of the problems and corruption in the education system and others in the country.    

Here are some of the children of Burma. I had made it a new goal in life to one day adopt a Burmese child. I cannot get enough of these kids! Aren't they so adorable?

Our other big project at DEPDC was making a basketball court for the campus. This involved a lot of painting and taping to make sure we get the lines exactly right. Jason was so great for coming up with this project! I am pictures below with one of our kids, helping me paint some of the lines. The kids were so amazed they stood around watching the entire process unfold. And they are so cute, we couldn't resist  letting them help paint!

Above are the kids taking advantage of the court with Jason when it was finished. And yes, they are playing basketball with a soccer ball. 

The video projects are also coming along really well. Lauren is a saint for getting control of these and making sure we stay on schedule for getting the videos completed by the beginning of August. These videos have been both a joy and a struggle to work on, as we have to put SO many hours intofilming, taking photos, editing, and gathering data to use in the making of these 2 simple projects. But I finally see it starting to pay off, as we are beginning to see an end in sight. Once I get the go ahead and they have been approved, I will post a link of facebook and my blog for everyone to see! Before than, please, please, please like "DEPDC" on facebook. It takes literally 5 seconds. It's the simple things that help, right?

Lauren and I with 3 of the girls in our class. I love this girl! 

I will end with a picture of Jamie and I on the 4th of July, with one of the twins that lives next to us. Until next time...

DEPDC is the place to be!

I cannot begin to express how much I love working at DEPDC. It is a dream job come true! I love so many things about this great organization, but I love one things about it more than anything else...

The kids. They are the reason behind why I do what I do everyday. They are my purpose for being in Thailand. Let me tell you about our kids. They are almost all refugees. Most are minorities. All come from the poorest of the poor. All are at extreme risk of being trafficked (yes even the boys). Some cannot even write their names in their native language.

And yet all love learning. All greet us with smilies everyday. Most are extremely optimistic about their futures and their lives. All this from kids from the bottom-most rung of society. All this from kids who, at least from the outside, would seem to be without hope, and with little chance of escaping their difficult circumstances. They are my constant example of love, hope, and positivity!

 Our entire Class.

Thanks to everyone for your support and for making this dream possible!

Projects, Projects, Projects

I am very excited to introduce the projects I am involved in here in Thailand. All projects are at DEPDC, an NGO that has quickly become my favorite place to work at!

PR Video Project: 

Taylee, Courtney, and I have been working tirelessly on a video project designed to increase international awareness about 1-human trafficking as a global issue, and 2-DEPDC and what they are doing to work against trafficking in the GMS (Greater Mekong Subregion). So far this video has involved a lot of planning, interviewing, editing, filming, and photographing. I have had so much fun working on this, and am excited to see the finished video. I will be posting the video sometime next week on both my blog and my facebook page, so make sure you check it out then! 

Education Projects:

Kindergarden class-
When we visited DEPDC, it was very apparent that they are short on funding, and as a result, were short on teachers as well. While meeting with staff, we were told they did not have anyone to teach their kindergarden or Level 1 classes, and were wondering if we would mind taking them over. We, of course, were happy to help, and told them we would love to! 

The rest is history! DEPDC assigned HELP volunteers as the primary teachers for their two kindergarden classes. We have taken over all classes, and teach 3 days a week. The kids are so excited to learn and we are excited to teach them. Are kids ages range from 5-14, and for every child in our class, this is the first encounter they have had with formal education. Almost all are ethnic minorities, hill tribe children, or refugees from Burma. Many don't speak Thai, and almost all did not know anything in English.

The kids have come so far since we started teaching them a few weeks ago. Almost all can now say the English alphabet and numbers, can say colors and certain animals in English, and are currently learning the days of the week. What I think is one of their biggest accomplishments, is when we used to class rolls (which was missing many of the children) to help them write their names in English. They loved decorating their name tags and knowing what their names looked like. During this process, we also realize many could not write anything in Thai, and as such could not write their name in the native language of their home country as well. 

This simple fact has become sadder as I have come to know the children, and to understand how much they want to learn. I am lucky and privileged to teach children who understand the value of education, and who know what it is to live without educational opportunities in their lives. 

One thing I want to stress about our kids is that most do not have Thai citizenship, and as such are excluded from their basic rights to a public education in Thailand. Some of these kids live in Burma, and cross the border every day to be able to go to school. We have such a diverse group of kids, and we love it! 

Creativity Class-

Our group is in charge of a weekly creativity class with the kids where we allow them to express themselves through art, music, dance, writing, etc. I am particularly excited for a photography project we will be doing with the kids very soon. Our idea is that we teach the class the basics of photography, and let the class practice with our own personal digital cameras. When we think the children are ready,  we will provide them each with a disposable camera so they can implement the skills and lessons that were learned in class. We will allow them to take these cameras home and take photos of their everyday lives. 

We hope that the images that come out of this project will open the international community's eyes to the issues surrounding stateless and impoverished children living on the Thai/Burma border.

Unfortunately, disposable cameras are very hard to come across in Thailand, and we are looking at options of having the cameras shipped into Thailand from overseas. Until then, we are waiting patiently to begin the project, which I think has the potential to greatly impact the lives of the DEPDC children.

Statelessness Project- 

I am also hoping to work on an issue involving the statelessness problem we have encountered here in Northern Thailand. Many of the people living here are without citizenship, which excludes them from their basic rights to healthcare, education, etc. Most of the stateless are born in Thailand, but because they lack birth certificates and official documents, they are considered "stateless" by the Thai government, and as such cannot travel, go to a hospital or public school, and are, more than any other group in Thailand, at risk of being trafficked and sold. 

As I have come to find out, almost all those in Thailand who have been trafficked are stateless, migrants, or refugees.

Right now we are looking into potential projects with an NGO named Plan. More on that later!

Prostitution is Alive and well in Thailand

Last week I caught a glimpse of the underworld of illicit prostitution. Along a dimly lit street in Chiang Mai, on our way to a night market, the HELP group accidently had stumbled upon one of the hubs of prostitution in Thailand. The streets were lined with bars, karaoke clubs, and massage parlors. Girls were everywhere--they lined the streets outside the parlors, they sat on bar stools, they peeked out from dark rooms. Foreign men were around every corner, could be found in every "business," inside, outside, walking, sitting, prowling, drinking, talking. Most where old and white, traveling the streets alone. Some had already found a girl, and the ones still in the bars were busy eating and drinking with these girls, girls half their age, girls dressed in next to nothing, with enough makeup to shine through the grime and blackness of the night.

How do these men, lacking all tact, openly partake in such an evil thing?

I wonder how many of these prostitutes are being controlled by violent pimps, if any are underage, and how they got to where they are today. Choice is a complex idea, one which merits consideration when one is unlocking the mysteries of prostitution. And one which does not receive consideration by those men roaming the streets of Chiang Mai's red light district.

Do they consider the possibility that a prostitute does not choose to have sex with them, but is forced to do so, for varying reasons? Do they consider that she might have been taken from her home country and family, into a world that is dark, horrible, and terrifying, but worse, a world that offers little to no option of escape? What can you say to these people, who are our everyday neighbors, coworkers, and church members back home, and who have come to a foreign country to escape the rules and laws of their home countries? Do they know it is illegal? And more importantly, do they know that it is wrong?

In Thailand, as in the rest of the world, evil is alive and well. But here it is different. Here the hidden escape from the surface of things, exposing ordinary people to a world we would not have ordinarily seen back home. It is a reality that I find hard to grasp. It is an image that I cannot forget.

I believe in the overwhelming goodness of people, in all sappy ideas like hope, peace, and love thy neighbor. But I also believe many people have forgotten what it means to be good, and what it is to be evil. Whether someone trafficks a person, or buys a person for sex (after they have been trafficked), it is the same thing.

I hope that I will not lose my dreams here. But when I see such things, I wonder how any of us make it out alive.

Engaged in a Good cause

I have been in Chiang Rai 3 weeks now, and in that time, I have been involved in partnership creation (or re-establishment) with local Thai NGOs, ascertaining needs assessments with each NGO (where we basically ask the people what they need), and creating potential projects around each need. This involves a lot of traveling, talking, listening, and A LOT of meetings. I have enjoyed this part of the work, but was also happy to move onto stage 2, where we create, individually or in groups, potentials projects to develop in conjunction with our Thai NGO partner. This involves tons of brainstorming, writing, thinking, and research, which I love! From all our hard work, we then propose official projects, each of which must be approved by the entire Thailand team.

All the projects I will be involved in are at DEPDC/GMS, or the Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities. DEPDC is located in Mae Sai, which is the one of Northern Thailand's border towns with Burma. I have learned so much about this organization since coming here, and the more I learn about it, the more I get excited for all the work they are doing to prevent and combat human trafficking and the exploitation of children.

  

Let me give you a little background. DEPDC has various centres, all of which are located in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The GMS used to be the largest exporter of heroin and methamphetamine in the world, and still is the 2nd largest exporter of opium (after Afghanistan). It is currently a hot spot for the trafficking of persons, both within the region, and into different areas of the world (exportation). This region is more commonly called the Golden Triangle.

DEPDC works mainly on the prevention side of human trafficking, rather on the more dramatic intervention and treatment side, although they currently operate a few isolated centres for rescued girls. Most of the children DEPDC works with are ethnic minorities, including stateless children from hill tribes, as well as migrants from neighboring nations (especially Burma).

DEPDC does this with a 4-pronged approach, which includes:

1. Education 
1. DEPDC operates schools and vocational training centers for children
2. Protection Program 
1. This includes DEPDC shelters for children rescued from trafficking
3. Community Development and Outreach 
1. DEPDC operates a Community Learner Center, where they teach evening classes. They also operate a radio station and a hotline for people involved in trafficking, etc to call in. Each time they do, DEPDC opens a new case and investigates the claims made, often preventing or rescuing a child because of 1 phone call!
4. Youth Leadership Development 
1. DEPDC currently operates a program called the Mekong Youth Net, which trains youth to be leaders against trafficking and exploitation in their home communities. 

In operation since its inception in 1989, DEPDC has since helped 4,000 children, 96% of which have stayed out of prostitution. For more information on DEPDC, I love their blog. 

 For more about the projects we are getting involved in at DEPDC, tune in next time!