Project WIN: Grassroots Partnerships for Thailand

WIN volunteers lend hands and hearts to the projects, from backbreaking flood cleanup to engineering projects like piping water to a dry village.  They take time off too, sometimes to raise money for Project WIN. Every year, a Chiang Mai Temple hosts a huge festival honoring the cuisine and customs of Buddhists from the far south of Thailand.  This year volunteers, mostly Maejo University students, raised money there.   They did the customary thing: standing with banners and chatting up bypassers, talking about current and past projects and future dreams. They also decided to enter the greased pole climbing event. Teams of two slathered themselves with peanut oil and took on a 16 foot pole, also greased. If they reached the platform on the top, they'd collect 10,000 baht, about $300, and give it to Project WIN. One team came very close, but nobody won.  The best team did get to make a nice donation to WIN anyway -- the consolation prize.   Tradtional methods wer

Rivers in the North  flood  almost every year, but they were knee deep and disastrous for a little village near Chiang Rai.  The Win team contacted local elders and learned that 85 families had suffered serious loss and damage.  They quickly gathered supplies. Volunteers, both Thai and foreign, stuffed 85 bags with staples like rice, noodles, sauces, canned fish, soap, and treats for the children. With borrowed vehicles, they brought the bags to Chiang Rai, about three hours from Chiang Mai, and distributed them to the families. It turned into a day-long party celebrating solidarity and new friendships. A VILLAGE STREET TRANSFORMED BY THE FLOODS THIS OLDER COUPLE APPRECIATED A HELPING HAND AMERICAN VISITORS VIEW SUPPLIES VILLAGERS ENJOYING THE INEVITABLE SPEECHES THE VILLAGE LEADER AND VOLUNTEERS GIVE SUPPLIES VOLUNTEER STAFF FROM A HOSPITAL BRING MEDICAL SUPPLIES VOLUNTEER TEAMS FROM CHIANG RAI AND CHIANG MAI