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 THAILAND
Tentative Trip Dates: July 17 – 30, 2012
Meet the Thailand Team and Alum Leaders
Phang Nga - 2011
The Thailand team set lofty goals for their service trip, wanting to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those living in the Krabi region. To do so, they spent months raising funds and in-kind donations and communicating with in-country coordinators, and seeking to understand the needs of the local community.
Collaboration was purposefully undertaken to communicate respect and empowerment to the local Thai community, having them serve as our guides to the needs of the community. Accordingly, this fostered trust and built rapport between Youthlinc and the school and local community.
–James Griner, Thailand Team Mentor
While in-country, the team worked so hard on their various projects that at the end of each night, “the whole team was always sore and exhausted-- but happy to be making the people's lives a little bit easier,” according to Sara Swaminathan, West High School. According to team leader, Peter Frost, the 2011 Thailand Team more than met their goals. Here’s a summary of what they accomplished:
Culture
To develop and deepen relationship between the two cultures, the cultural committee:
- Organized an opening and closing ceremony for the village, with a fun talent show, acoustic guitar and singing.
- Executed a fun tie-dye project
- Painted a mural for the community
Construction
- The team wanted their construction projects to significantly improve the quality of the children’s health and education. With the generous financial support of the Michel Foundation, the team was able construct a kitchen add-on for the Thamthonglang School which allowed students to eat lunches on the grounds. Building the kitchen was no easy task—it included building a tiled sink, grease trap and septic tank (5 foot hole). “We helped the people by making a kitchen for them, but I think the friendships formed were just as big of an impact.” -- Shandy Smith, Wasatch High School
- Up until now, a teacher would have to leave class early in the afternoon and drive back and forth to her home numerous times to retrieve prepared meals for the students. Now the school has their own place to store and prepare food. Teachers are now able to stay on campus and better utilize time in educating their students.
--Megan Dunn, Thailand Team mentor
- Cleaned, renovated and painted bathrooms to improve sanitation in the community
- Created a garden and 2 planter boxes with vegetables and herbs, which promotes nutrition in the community
- Constructed a fence around a fishpond at the Wat Bang Sai School. Without this fence, the fish—which were used to feed the school children—would be stolen.
- Built a compost storage facility which would improve the soil for the community
 Education
Education is a critical component to the sustainability of all Youthlinc projects. As such, the team:
- Taught 9 English lessons each day, which were prepared by the 24 students on the team. In many regions in the world, the ability to speak English allows for people to take advantage of employment opportunities that would otherwise be unobtainable.
After I taught my English lesson I walked in the class the next day and they all smiled and repeated words I had taught them. It really made me feel like I made a difference.
–Sarah Mecham, East High School
- Offered food preparation courses and hand washing and nutrition lessons.
The kids all came up to me saying my name and giving me hugs. It really touched my heart. I was so happy to know I was making at least a small difference to these kids and I was overjoyed and so thankful for what I have.”
–Luke Baptiste, East High School
Medical
Access to adequate health care is essential for a community to thrive. Dr. Jeff Robinson and Bruce Jenson D.D.S. led the Thailand team’s medical committee in improving services. The team:
- Stocked the first aid room with basic supplies.
- Gave every student in the village a wellness check and dental exam. The team’s dentist, Bruce Jenson, attended to major dental work that was needed.
- Gave hygiene kits and personal first aid kits to each student and family
- Translated all of the English medical instructions into Thai
- Organized a very successful medical fair, teaching the community about malaria and dengue fever, and how families could prepare their houses and yards to prevent illness.
At the health fair I saw parents taking notes and I could tell that they were interested in what we had to say.
--Katelin Turner; East High School
Service transcends countries, cultures, language barriers etc. It provides an enormous learning experience that teaches about how much we have and how much can be gained by doing service.
--Peter Frost, Thailand Team leader
Through this experience I have learned to love every single person on my team. We all came from such different backgrounds but found that service brought us all together.
--Sarah Mecham, East High School
2012 Trip
Tentative Trip Dates: July 17 – 30, 2012
For 2012, our team will be led by Youthlinc’s 2011 lovely Educational Mentor, Megan Dunn. The team will return to beautiful village of ThongLang, which was where our 2011 worked. To build on the progress that was made in 2011, we have many potential projects to keep our 2012 team busy!
- Construct a fish pond with a fence around it, which will allow for the local school to use the fish for lunches
- Construct a compost pile and teach lessons on best practices for composting
- Collect supplies to help improve the computer lab, and teach lessons on how to use the technology so that the community can better access information online
- Offer environmental lessons on waste, and how to dispose of garbage and keep the village clean.
- Give medical consulations to each family, teaching about how to prevent malaria and other diseases
- Offer vocational trainings on gardening to build on the lessons taught in 2011
- Provide lessons on the importance of dental hygiene
- Educate villagers on the health services they have available to them
- Translate medical information into Thai
2012 Thailand Team Leader:
Megan Dunn
Megan Dunn started her life of service in 1992 when she became a Job’s Daughter. Service got in her soul and never really left. Her service with Youthlinc started in 2006 when she traveled as a student to Kenya, and then in 2011, she went to Thailand as a mentor heading up the educational committee. Megan cannot wait to return to Thailand as the Team Leader!
When Megan is not involved with Youthlinc, she teaches 3-year-old’s at the Challenger School. She is also a Big Sister with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. She is a Big to a 10-year-old Little. They love to hang out, go to movies and explore all the fun places Salt Lake has to offer. The most important things to her are her family, friends and making a difference in every person’s life she meets. Megan inspires us with this quote: "I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back." ~Maya Angelou
2012 Thailand Alumni Leader: Jenessa Halliday
 Mother Teresa once said that “we can do no great things, only small things with great love.” Though it seemed small at the time, one of the greatest decisions that Jenessa made in her life was to take a Youthlinc trip to Mexico in 2006. While there, she discovered a great love for service that has since been the greatest influence in her life. Thanks to her experiences with Youthlinc, Jenessa has volunteered with many organizations that help children in need, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Courage Reins, and the Family Support and Treatment Center. In addition to her wonderful experiences locally, Jenessa also had the opportunity to complete a development internship in Thailand last summer. During those months, she helped at a local orphanage and worked with an organization that helps children affected by AIDS. She fell in love with the generosity and hospitality of the Thai people and has longed to return ever since—to give some small service back to the people who touched her life and welcomed her into their communities and homes.
Jenessa plans to become a physician assistant and one day volunteer for a worldwide health organization. Although she looks forward to her experiences, she feels most excited to think of the service she can give now, and the skills she can build in preparation for future volunteer opportunities. Jenessa is especially thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as the Alum Leader for the Thailand 2012 trip. She believes it will be a wonderful year and she cannot wait to meet the team members!
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