A life-changing experience

I travelled with ISV to Thailand in January 2012. It was my first overseas experience, and one that I can confidently say changed me for the rest of my life.

My specific project was volunteering in a local fishing community in the south of Thailand. Upon arriving in the village by long-tail boat, we were introduced to our host families who warmly opened their homes to us for the duration of our stay. Most host families spoke little to no English, but this did not prove a problem, in fact it resulted in many fun and amusing interactions. The housing was basic, but very clean and homely, with running water and electricity.

Every morning we would eat breakfast at our homes, with lunch and dinner provided by a local cook and eaten communally with the volunteer group. The house I stayed in was on the river-front by the small dock, so each morning we would get to watch as people went to and from the boats to cross over the river for work or the markets.

Following breakfast, we would meet at the school to commence one of our main projects during the volunteer stay; to paint mural on the new water treatment plant in the local primary school. Our other project was teaching English to the children, so we painted murals with Australian animals, shapes, weather and common sayings, all with Thai and English translations.

Following our delicious traditional Thai lunch, we would then do different activities each day; such as a cooking school, learning how to weave reeds into baskets, visiting the rubber tree plantation (how many locals made a living), rubbish collection and mangrove replantation.

Later in the afternoons (once school had finished) we taught English to local primary school children; aged anywhere from four to twelve years old. With younger children we played educational games such as Simon Says, while the older children enjoyed sitting down and learning vocabulary and grammar. This was the most rewarding part of the volunteer experience. Many children in Thailand do not continue on to high school, and it was inspirational to see how many children came to class of their own free will wanting to learn as much as possible.

The evenings were filled with way too much food, reflections on the days work, educational discussions and many fun card games.

The main focus of our volunteer project was to improve the lives of people in the village through promoting eco-tourism. This is obviously a huge project, and not something that can be achieved in two weeks, but the work that we did is one part of a whole that is continually being built on. For these children, learning English not only improves their future opportunities, but promotes their self-esteem and knowledge of the world. The increased self-confidence of the children is something that truly could be seen in two weeks.

While my volunteer group did give to the community, I felt as though they gave so much more to us. It opened my eyes to both the struggles that other people face, but also how happy people can be with seemingly less than what I felt I had. I have come to realise what is important to me, and have changed the way I live based on this. Since then I have travelled to another four countries, and look forward to a life-time of learning about other societies and cultures.