Project WIN: Grassroots Partnerships for Thailand

  About two and a half hours from Chiang Mai by four-wheeler and a very long, steep hike there’s a poor village, slowly dying of thirst.   Some months there’s   plenty of rain, but no reliable supply of clean water for drinking and cooking.   Vin’s crew dug temporary ditches halfway up the mountain, lining them with black plastic to collect and hold the rain. They ran PVC pipes to a spigot in the village. The quick fix was good for a few weeks while the plastic held, but a permanent solution was needed. Next Vin and his friends organized college students, held meetings in Vin’s house, borrowed vehicles, and chipped in for gas and expenses.  This time 25 people went to the mountain and battled mud, mosquitos and fatigue as they climbed to the summit.   They surveyed the spot and made a plan: they’d build four concrete reservoirs, 15 feet square and 5 feet high, near the mountain top, to capture and hold the rain.  The PCV network would be ex...

Chocolate chip cookies. cinnamon molasses too, and dark moist brownies. Tom and Mary let me join their baking production line Sunday afternoon.  After the cookies cooled we dropped them into little plastic bags, to sell at the post office Monday for a dime or a dollar (up to you.)  Like last time, the proceeds were for the poor mountain village near Chiang Mai. They need PVC pipes for their water system and pencils for their little school and a maybe second-hand PA system for village gatherings. They know that some of the help comes from American people, and it means the world to them. If you want to help you can bake cookies too, or send a check, or maybe come to Thailand and help out for a week or a year.  For more information contact Vin in Thailand at   kruvin1978@gmail.com   (Thai and English) or David in America at   david.jaidee@gmail.com . If you give money, every penny will go straight to the project.

The People of Nong Lumpuk say Thanks for the Ceiling! Your help made it possible In this remote village, having a real temple means the community has a place to gather and a way of marking life's transitions with familiar ceremony. The temple is a source of pride and a sense of unity. Villagers were able to build much of the temple themselves, but a ceramic tile ceiling required the skills of specialists. At the ceremony,  the ceiling was the star Vin and his crew raised the money (and gave their own).  They worked alongside the villagers and the hired artisans and the ceiling went up fast. The Temple ---------------------------------------------------------------- Next project?  Building a classroom for 5-6 year old kids in a village near Chiang Mai.  He calls it pre-primary school and we call it Kindergarten.  Either way, the village has enough little kids now that that they now need a place...

Vin's big project this year is the temple roof in Ubon Ratchatani, and in February he was making the final push for volunteers and donations.  Meantime, Thailand was still recovering from the terrible flooding. Recently Vin organized 110 students to work with the Thai army.  They cleaned up a grade school in the Golden Bowl Province that was hard hit last year. Vin got all these rowdy teens working together in teams for three days. They made a huge improvement, hauling, scraping, and stacking. They slept in tents provided by the army. Unfortunately, they had their own little flood the first night and had to move to higher ground.

In January Vin’s college got a call from a Thai army representative. Fifty students were needed to work with a military detachment to clean up the school after the floods receded. No problem. Vin quickly organized a crew, got supplies, and was ready to leave in five days.

Volunteers Encourage Thai Flood Victims, Living Small These volunteers know that their country will be in danger for another two to three weeks at least. They are faculty at Sriwatanna Technical College in Bangkok who organized other teachers and student to ride all night in open trucks, often through water, to reach the rural North. They evacuated the sick and aged in boats, filled countless plastic bags with fresh water and food. Just as important, they practiced a Thai specialty: bringing cheer and optimism to a difficult situation. They're back in Bangkok now, planning their next relief trip. r The Royal Army and Police have pitched in, of course, but the bulk of the rescue in some remote areas has been grass roots, and has made all the difference. I've spent a lot of time in Thailand, most recently for a couple of weeks during the flooding.  Thai people are stressed, frustrated, and worn out, but they haven't stopped helping each other, every day, living smal...