(Another draft post) If you’ve read the introductory material on the Thailand page you will recall that the main purposes of my trip are to participate in site visits for current grantees of Pangea Giving and to learn more about several potential partners. One of Pangea’s current partners, Fortune, is located in Fang. Fang is in north Thailand, close to the border with Myanmar. Fortune is comprised of ethnic Burmese who have migrated from Myanmar as a result of violence and ethnic fighting. It has several programs to help Myanmar migrants that have been displaced. During our visit with Fortune we visited the regional administrative offices where migrants apply for and obtain Thai Identification cards (Pangea funds are used to support this program). We also visited a preschool for migrant children at a local temple (Fortune pays for a teacher and supplies, several migrant camps (Fortune visits the camps to provide information about ID cards, schooling, health care, etc.), and Fortune’s office.
Fortune has a person who spends everyday at the region’s administrative offices helping translate (many migrants don’t speak or read Thai) and explain Thai bureaucracy. The Thai government officials are extremely appreciative of Fortune’s services because it helps make their job a bit easier. We were ushered into the head administrator’s office, where he told us he was quite appreciative of the work Fortune does and he thanked us for supporting them. While we were there at least three different sets of people approached the Fortune person and asked questions or asked him to look over their papers.
We visited the school at nap tim and spoke quietly while the students were quietly laying on their mats. Some, but not all students where actually sleeping.
We visited two migrant living arrangements. One was located in the middle of an orange grove. The other in a large building that looked like a converted stable that was one the outskirts of town and adjacent to a large corn field.
We also had lunch with 6 of the fortune team at a really picturesque restaurant surrounded by fields.
At lunch we learned of a local fair that was happening, so we visited that in the evening. There we saw and smelled a wide variety of Thai “fair food,” displays from various regions, technical schools, a local national park; and heard competing loudspeakers of a local Thai comedian duo (apparently not very funny as no one was laughing), and music from the main stage before the main event of the night started. We left the fair free 1 1/2 hours or so and went to nearby restaurant for dinner. We were the only party there at the begging but a few other groups showed up when the live music started. A small bad that played U.S. covers. They were surprisingly good though I am not sure how much they really understood what they were saying, because they didn’t react when just after they finished playing “Hotel California” they asked us where we were from and I replied “California.”
I love everything about the school you visited – the photo, your quiet voices and seeing the children, not all asleep. I love what you are doing. Thanks for taking the time to write about it and post all the photos.
What an experience you are having. Thank you for taking the time to scout out where you can help!