GVI, Ethical Impact. Volunteer in Thailand

My time with GVI Chiang Mai has been one of the best experiences of my life and I'm so sad to have left! I've learnt so much and met so many amazing people... it really is a little family on base. I have a new-found appreciation for the Karen culture as well as wildlife conservation and sustainable living which I'll take with me wherever I go next. If you're thinking of volunteering abroad I'd highly recommend doing it with GVI. It's so much more than volunteering: you learn about why they do what they do and how important this is to the different bases; all the staff I encountered on my GVI journey were amazingly helpful, friendly and truly loved what they do. I'll definitely be volunteering with GVI again, hopefully sooner rather than later.

In January 2022 I was involved in the GVI Chiang Mai project. As part of the project I helped with the collection of health and behavioural data on a group of Elephants in the mountainous village of Huay Pakoot. Each weekday we hiked to where the elephants were eating their breakfast and observed them, recording their behaviour and interactions with other elephants at set intervals. Seeing these creatures in the wild gave me a greater understanding of why it's so important to protect them. I didn't fully comprehend the complexities of the tourism industry surrounding Elephants but speaking to the locals and GVI staff has educated me on the most ethical ways to experience these animals- in their natural habitat! I was lucky enough to be able to complete this project and travel to and around Thailand with my boyfriend. I'd highly recommend having a travelling companion because it's wonderful to share the experiences together and reflect on the trip when back home. However, I wouldn't let a lack of travel buddy stop you from travelling! You meet so many amazing, like-minded people along the way that you soon have a great group of friends to share your time with. Before deciding to volunteer, I had no idea what I wanted to do with the next stage of my life. I thought I'd enjoy doing something that involved helping others and protecting the world around me but I wasn't sure what that looked like. Having this experience has reassured me that I really want to be a part of something important and impactful. If you have the opportunity to volunteer with GVI, take it.

Prior to my trip, I didn’t have any experience travelling, and though the program had amazing reviews and I’d never be truly alone, I was away from my family for the first time. Hell I was terrified, I didn’t know what to think. I quickly got to know the rest of the volunteers, who felt the same way, about it. It’s a scary step. The program was brilliant, I got to learn the karen language, Pakinyaw quite well which turned out to be a very rewarding venture, as talking to the villagers was so interesting! Day to day activities consist of the morning hike (either elephant hikes or other bio hikes, which are like caves and cool shit) lunch at base, theres always school going on in the afternoon, so you can wander up to teach English to the locals village kids, (who are all to fun and crazy) theres truly a lot to do! It was about 3 weeks that I realized that though the elephants were incredible, the people were truly the magic to this program. You’ll realize by the end of your stay your not leaving a group a strangers you met by circumstance, you’re leaving a family, a GVI family.

With GVI I was able to travel to a remote village and be involved learning about elephant conservation programs in Chiang Mai in Thailand. In such a small amount of time I was able to see how the staff GVI take data and health checks on the elephants as well as encouraging volunteers to become immersed with the Karen Tribe culture by teaching us the native language, have us practice this by staying in homes of the local villagers. This was a fantastic opportunity to meet other like minded people from all over the globe of different ages, back grounds, life experience together to make a difference for good of this community.

I chose this trip as my first experience with GVI because I am fascinated by elephants and loved the idea of traveling and learning about them. I loved how GVI was there every step of the way, during booking and questions from slight confusion when landing to the best way to find a taxi at the airport, I always had support. The experience of staying in the village was absolutely amazing. My home-stay family was friendly, accommodating and nice. I got the opportunity to learn some of their language and to interact with the local children at the school teaching English and playing games. All the volunteers were super friendly and I met people from all over the globe. I loved following the elephants through the forest and learning about their behavior and history. These beautiful gentle giants were adorable and showed their individual personalities the longer you watched them. It was truly an inspiring adventure.

My time in GVI Phang Nga, Thailand was amazing. The staff are all incredibly supportive and so dedicated to the cause, and were always open new ideas, allowing for the constant evolution and growing success of all the projects. The fact that GVI are so well respected within the local community just goes to show the extent of the impact that GVI are creating, and it was amazing to be a part of the positive work going on through GVI. I would not fail to hesitate to recommend GVI and hope I can return soon to the Thailand base to continue to support the amazing work being done by GVI there.

I spent two weeks with GVI in Thailand Phang Nga. I learned a lot about nature and about the marine life.

We went to a sea turtle sanctuary twice a week, cleaned the tanks and tended the turtles and checked their health.

Super organized, very great staff. Still very inspiring for travelers alone to meet new people from all over the world.
And to learn about the environment and marine life at the same time.

Twice a week we were cleaning the beach once with the military and a school class that helped us a lot. We collected over 300kg of rubbish

A real once in a lifetime experience I doubt I can do justice to. Being able to observe these elephants in their natural habitat up close is incredible and it’s something you do everyday on this program. I was there 4 weeks and in that time you’re able to recognise each individual elephant and their own personalities. You get to see first hand how different they behave to captive elephants and the progress they’ve made since being released form their camps. I was even lucky enough to see Lah Lah, a 9 month old baby who was born in the forest and is essentially a giant puppy!
The only thing I was apprehensive about before going was the home stay, I was nervous about staying in someone else’s house who didn’t speak the same language as me. I stayed at Old Chief’s house and it became obvious very early in my nerves were misplaced, although it’s an unusual experience for me it isn’t for them as they’re very used to having westerners staying with them. GVI give Pakinyaw lessons so you’re able to communicate in a basic way and this really helped. Being vegan I was also worried how my home stay would cope but Faw, who did all the cooking, was great. The food was amazing and I certainly never went hungry with the portion sizes she served. They made me feel very welcome and I was very sad to say goodbye when my time was up.
Twice a week we teach at the local school and some evenings we go to teach English to other villagers. This really helped you feel a part of the community and even in my short time I was able to build good relationships there especially at mahout football (where I put in a couple of wonderful performances)
All in all I can’t recommend this place enough, as soon as I left I began planning my return and I’m counting down the days until I can come back to Huoy Pakoot and see all my friends again.