Short-term (2 to 4 weeks) "social work" project in Thailand

Klong Dan stands for “A Borderline Canal”. It is a small, compact Buddhist community situated on the boundary of Nakorn Sritamarat and Songkhla provinces and separated by an ancient waterway which is called Klong Dan. In the past, Klong Dan used to be a significant port and people used this canal as a gateway to travel from place to place. Gold and jewelry shops sprang up when Chinese traders and settlers moved in. Lifestyle of ancient people was flourishingly lively at that time, but after the development of road construction in the community, this famous waterway transportation lost its importance and by the time, most of the people left the place.
Nowadays, the group of people still living in Khlong Dan is forming a strong community and they aim to revitalize this place and attract more people to live there. There’s a temple where an abbot does not only play a role as an ordinary monk. He is the most important and respectful person in the community who can center the motivation of villagers in order to keep up with good and right morals that Buddhist people follow according to the teachings of Buddha. All Klong Dan monks and villagers have the same attention and goal to set up their community into a Paths-to-Buddhism Community by the concept for which people can help each other, lead lives with self-sufficiency and bear no racial and religious prejudices. Klong Dan community is expecting that DaLaa volunteers can help to make their place more attractive, develop more links with young people around the area, and invite them to be a part of the community. This project will be the first cooperation between DaLaa and Klong Dan. We hope we can develop stronger links in the future by sending long term volunteers there.

Volunteers will give non-formal English classes to the local public primary schools in the community. Ages of students are from 3-12 years old. The knowledge of English is quite poor comparing with schools in the city. For Thai children, English language is really difficult: the alphabet and pronounciation are completely different. You will experience it yourself during your project. With our teaching project, school provides some hours extra of the Thai teachers teaching English as to get students motivated and interested in learning it. First we stimulate them to enjoy the class, show them it can be fun and useful to learn English by giving creative lessons (with games and songs) in a relaxing way.

- learning Buddhist paths (meditation, for example).
- joining in community groups. The villagers have other ways to make a living apart from being farmers and temporary workers. They form their own groups of craftsmen and skilled people making clay work/cement sculpture, cooking typically native food, teaching Nora, a traditional southern dance to interested people, processing seafood, manipulating decorative bushes/trees, providing homestay and making sweetened deserts, etc.

To improve and enhance children’s English language ability.
To support the local schools.
To build a good relationship between volunteers and local people.
To be part of Klong Dan community.
To let children be familiar with volunteers and learn in an international/multi-cultural atmosphere.

Volunteers will stay in a provided resident house in the community.

Klong Dan village, Nakorn Sritammarat province (south of Thailand).

7,000 Baht (about 150 Euro), to be paid on arrival.