I started my week by finishing my finals, packing, and heading straight for a 33-hour trip! I flew from D.C. to Atlanta, then to Doha, and finally to Bangkok, Thailand! I spent my first week getting settled at the Duang Prateep Foundation (DPF), meeting the team (including the founder, Mrs. Prateep, herself!), and finding my footing in Bangkok! The foundation started working on educating children in Khlong Toei—notoriously known as Bangkok’s largest “slum.” Now, DPF provides a range of social services to the area, including a credit union, building homes, disaster relief, firefighting, activities for the elderly, and much more. This video provides an introduction to some of their activities.

At DPF, I jumped into the international relations and sponsorship sections and taught English at the kindergarten. In the office, I primarily edited English documents to be sent to international sponsors. First, there was a series of many letters written by students across Thailand who were sponsored by international donors, allowing them to attend school. These students shared various stories in their letters, from childhood difficulties to recent meals to difficult subjects they were learning about in school. Some students had been in regular contact with their sponsors and asked about ski trips and other fun events. Next, there were sponsorship updates on a Pattanamai housing project. There was a recent fire in the Pattanamai community, burning down 33 homes and leaving many without a place to live. DPF has been helping rebuild these homes, and these emails were sent to a sponsor to update them on the progress (so far, the area has been cleared, and workers are beginning to start building).

At the kindergarten, the lessons for the week surrounded introducing yourself and greetings. The children were so sweet—they greeted me excitedly with high-fives and hugs the first time I met them. Other expat volunteers also rotate in to teach, and they were all very sweet and welcoming. Students learned to express their mood (many were “happy!” as they pointed to their cheeks, “hungry” as they rubbed their stomachs, or “wonderful!” as they jumped and pumped their fists up and down). I’m excited to get to know the students more over the weeks.

As I move forward, I hope to learn some Thai, particularly to aid with teaching. Simple phrases like “repeat after me” would be helpful for teaching, and I wish I had learned a little more before I landed. I also plan to be more proactive with my work. DPF doesn’t tend to have many international volunteers, and they are eager to chat and have me get to know everyone. It feels weird to be praised for coming to volunteer when the staff has been doing incredible work for years — their leadership is truly what deserves to be celebrated and praised. I want to try to strike a balance where I’m can get to know people on the team, have interesting conversations, and make lasting relationships while also making the most of my 6 weeks and doing all the work I can.

Seeing the work of Mrs. Prateep (who, on top of all her work for the foundation, is currently running for senate!), Monwarin (the head of the IR section), and the other volunteers have been deeply inspiring. The amount of work they do is staggering — I feel so lucky to witness and contribute to the tremendous impact they make. Excited would be an understatement for how I’m feeling about the next 5 weeks :)