My last week in Chiang Rai

By Emmaline Stotter, Work-Study volunteer at IHF Chiang Rai center

My adventure here has come to an end. Time has flown by! But, I feel that surely I must have been here longer than four weeks, because all of us seem so comfortable with each other. It has become a base here.

This week was another school week. Everyone up early and back after school when we prepare snacks and jump into activities. Origami is still popular! On Thursday morning, we cleaned and prepared the place for our new volunteer, Teri. She arrived full of positive energy and has been super fun so far. I only regret that we didn’t  spend more time with her.

On Friday it was a Thai Buddhist festival, so the children did not have school. In the afternoon Teri, Adam and I finally went  for a walk to Wat Doi Phabat (the temple near the centre) with the younger kids. There wasn’t any celebration taking place – we must have come too late or too early?  It took a while to get the children out of the centre, but once they were out it was hard to bring them back! They got to run around at the old airport and during our little walking break we all sat down to enjoy icey drinks.

 

The seeds which I bought the other day are still sitting on the shelves at the centre. When we first arrived, we had weeded and prepared the herb bed with Nupon. But after all the rain that’s fallen the whole patch has overgrown with weeds again! I only bought tomato and sweet basil seeds, to see if growing them at the centre will work out. They need to be planted in small containers, not in the earth yet. So, we will leave the weeding for the future. I tried to get the kids to come and plant the seeds with me, but to get them calmed down isn’t easy, and the smallest distractions sent them wizzing off again. Hopefully, one day Teri will get the kids to enjoy a bit of gardening!

I gave up trying to get them to garden with me. I guess planting pretty little seeds just isn’t in their best interest, which seemed pretty clear when I caught the little ones smashing away at a jackfruit. The children prefer more boisterous activities.

We said our goodbyes today which were really sad, but not loud or obviously emotional as usual – but that didn’t stop me from  grabbing each and every kid to give them a big cuddle and kiss I’ll miss them so much! I’m so grateful to be given the chance to learn from these amazing, talented children and I hope to hear from them again.

Another wonderful week at Nakuru

By Gordon Andersen, Work-Study volunteer at IHF Kenya center

Yet another busy but lovely week here in IHF Kenya, children went on with their daily activities of the week as usual like waking up very early to make it to school by 7.00 am, doing their laundry after school in preparation for the following day, completing their school work before the next return to school e.t.c.

One of the amazing experiences this week is the sponsorship offered by Gordon one of the work study volunteer in Kenya who decided to join the IHF family sponsorship through sponsoring Sharon one of the children in IHF Kenya. Gordon realized Sharon was talented in football hence he decided to take her to Wiyeta girl’s school, one of the best football schools in the country side. Gordon has also promised to pay for her school fees and other school requirements for the next four years till she completes her secondary education. Sharon is very happy and she promised to work very hard both in academics and football as a way of appreciating Gordon’s sponsorship. We are grateful to Gordon for both volunteering at IHF and his sponsorship for Sharon.

Another wonderful experience this week is that every child is in school. At least every child has been paid for full amount of this term’s school fees and provided for the required school items. As compared to last term when we had so many children not in school due to lack of school fees and other school requirements, this term is a different case. Although we have few cases who want to stay at home because of faked reasons like sickness, we are trying our best by talking to them politely, to ensure that they don’t miss school even for a single day.

At the end of this week we had a wonderful time with visitors from the Red Cross society who came to our home to share with our children and put smiles on their face as they also donated some foodstuffs like rice and beans. It was a wonderful visit which lasted for 5-6 hours.  Our children shared various activities at the center with them; for instance, they assisted children to prepare lunch which was shared afterwards, gave pieces of advice to the children and even shared a football match together. Upon their departure, the children sang them goodbye songs and urged them to make another visit soon.

Yeah……….., it is another Sunday evening; children are beginning to switch off from the weekend swings to serious business of the week like going to school. Those who did not prepare themselves earlier for school are running helter skelter to ensure everything is fixed for Monday. It is wonderful volunteering at IHF and more especially at IHF Nakuru, Kenya.

The Art Attack: Watercolors & Friendships

By Calista, Voluntourist at IHF Bali center

Today was an exciting day for the Bali IHF team. We had our scheduled classes with the SD4 and SD5 students and ran two special projects in the afternoon! The younger students were designing friendship bracelets and the older students were learning color theory with watercolor paints. The students were thrilled about the chance to create something beautiful with their hands. I was equally delighted at the chance to teach the students some art!! The results of the day blew me away.

Yoga, a smiley young boy (pictured), helped me cut string and organize paint colors all morning. We were practicing numbers and pronunciation of colors the entire time. It was great! We set up supplies for 25 students in total and almost 40 showed up! I guess good news travels fast. Yoga helped me squeeze in the extra students. I could have never organized the day without his help. I have to say I was a little envious when he gave his beautiful friendship bracelet to the co-director, Emelie. Although, who could blame him? She is a wonderful teacher, mentor, and friend.

The ‘art attack’ we had today was the perfect way to wrap up my time at the Bali center. The students and I had so much fun experimenting with watercolors and creating beautiful bracelets. I leave for Canada tomorrow morning and already miss everyone from the center. My time here has been unforgettable. Teaching the students at IHF has been a rewarding experience, one that I know will impact the way I develop as a teacher and mentor for years to come. Thank you to the wonderful volunteers, and most of all, the amazing and talented students. I will miss you all!
Salam sayang, Calista. 

Hello from Banda Aceh!

By Caroline Lukaszyk, Co-Director of IHF Aceh center

My name is Caroline and I am a new co-director for the IHF Aceh centre. Since arriving in Banda Aceh exactly one week ago, I have already had a lot of new and very unique experiences and have gotten a good introduction to the Acehnese culture and the work that IHF are doing in this community.

As one of my many firsts of the week, I had the opportunity to teach a class of 30 students between the ages of 5 and 10 years English in Blang Krueng, a small village on the outskirts of Banda Aceh. As this was my first experience with teaching children of this age group who did not speak the same language as I do, it really was (as Made warned me) a ‘baptism by fire’ to teaching. Although challenging, I grea

tly enjoyed taking the class and found it to be one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. The children appeared to really enjoy themselves and I left the village in high spirits while children stood on the street, waving me goodbye with the promise of returning to class again next week.

I am very happy to be based in the Aceh centre and am looking forward to many more new experiences.

Getting ready for program outbursts!

By Tess Legge, Director of IHF Jakarta

This week Jakarta center is busy with preparations for an upcoming registration day and talent competition, which will be doubling as the launch of our Aflatoun program. We are really excited about opening Aflatoun classes, which is Social and Financial Education for children. The classes are fun and interactive, and are all about building self-confidence, creativity and team work, as well as financial skills like saving and entrepreneurship. All the volunteers had a great time in the training a couple of weeks ago, and we’re looking forward to replicating that for the children.

We will also be looking for some new students. Lately the kids have been facing exams, in particular, those in their final year of primary school, junior or senior high school had exams to graduate and move on to the next level. This busy time for students means that our classes have grown smaller over the past few weeks. Now most students are either on holidays or not busy at school, so we will be recruiting in the nearby slum areas to get the word out about our programs.

We’re looking forward to the arrival of our summer volunteers to help us with all these projects, we’ll certainly need all the help we can get!

A busy week!

By Adam Gloser, Work-Study Volunteer at IHF Chiang Rai

This week was more hectic. As school was round the corner, the children began to get nervous and anxious to be active. On Tuesday we visited a waterfall an hours drive from the centre. The trip took us into the hills, through villages and finally through lush forests. At the entrance to the waterfall all of the children ran off, some eager for a swim, others to buy some Nam Deng (red fanta). As we climbed the hillside stairs that led us to the waterfall, we found ourselves surrounded by tall trees with vines similar to those in the George of the Jungle film.

We walked around a boulder and before our eyes, a 7 meter tall waterfall hummed into a small pool. We all jumped into the cool jungle stream and had a great time, climbing up the waterfall, jumping off the surrounding cliffs or splashing around with the toy water pistol. Everybody fell asleep in the drive back home, pleasantly exhausted.

In the evening I forced the older boys to watch Czech Republic play against Norway at the Ice Hockey Championships (which we won! 7-0) but i think they were baffled why this Farang Dong was shouting at the television when Czechs scored!

On Wednesday, a day before school began, some last minute shopping took place and I went to our neighbors with three of our youngest children on the last two functional bikes that we had. I had no idea the children knew the neighbors and so was a little baffled why are we entering some stranger’s property unannounced  But they quickly greeted us and welcomed us to pick fresh lychees, mangoes and lilies from their garden.

On Thursday we woke up after just 4 hours of sleep at 5:30 in the morning, cooked breakfast and sent the children off for their first day of school. We then went to the gym and relaxed by the pool before returning home and working on our online tasks. Finally, on Sunday for dinner we bought everybody Pizza as a reward for greeting us so kindly to the IHF family and as a reward for starting school so well. We later celebrated with a break-dance off.

 

Water and Fire are the elements of Chiang Rai…

By Emmaline Stotter, Work-Study volunteer at IHF Chiang Rai

Although this week has been a lot more active than the last, it started off very calmly on Monday. Everyone was in a very relaxed mood. By the evening, we had prepared a bonfire to get rid of all the fallen branches and bamboo from the storms. When the fire got going we sat around roasting marshmallows; a very farang activity I had thought, but no, Darid was the pro!

On Tuesday, we finally managed to get everyone out of the centre! We all went to a beautiful waterfall. There were smaller collections of pools around the waterfall where the kids could splash around in too. However, knowing how adventurous the kids are, it didn’t surprise me at all that even the youngest ones (who are still beginners in swimming) jumped into the deepest parts around the waterfall. Darid even climb up and through part of the waterfall, with Jirapon, Nupon and I following. We went for a walk too, following the waterfall up hill where other smaller waterfalls were to be found. Before setting off back home, some of the kids went off to collect some leaves, that were naturally growing there, to cook with later. It had been a perfect day out and we all had loads of fun.

It appears that little Titiporn has really gotten into photography. During the evenings she politely asks to borrow my camera and takes very good care of it. Half an hour later, she always returns with amazing pictures! It looks like we have come across another talent of hers!

The picture below was taken by Titiporn:

It was the kids first day back at school on Thursday and Titiporn’s first day of Thai school. We picked up the little ones at four and I walked with them back home. As soon as we got back, Titiporn changed right away and started hand-washing her uniform all by herself! It was so sweet how excited she was about school. She seems to really be loving it. The next day, I walked the kids home again. This time, we all bought delicious ice-cream from the school grounds. On the way home, we passed a neighbour who had a lychee tree growing in her garden. The children got busy chatting away with her in Thai and on Saturday I found out that our neighbour had prepared handfuls of lychees and flowers for the children. Little Waneetda also returned to the centre on Saturday. She will be starting school for the first time this Monday!

Sunday arrived and I realised it was my last whole free day with the kids here. So, I decided I’d take them out to ‘The Beach’ again, their absolute favourite place. Until it began to rain. So I tried to think of another activity – Kate and I sat down making masks, hoping that the other kids would sit down and join in! Kate and I were loving it! I don’t know if I’ve ever been so enthusiastic with arts and crafts. It didn’t take too long until Little Waneetda sat down to join in. However, decorating her mask didn’t enthuse her as much as trying to glue it to her face. Every time she did this she would giggle and giggle and giggle and then we would all start giggling. I wanted to treat the kids to a nice big meal as there probably wouldn’t be more time during the week with school. It didn’t quite work out as I had hoped for….. I promised the children I’d buy them all big chicken pieces and we would make a feast! I had only told Darid, the oldest boy so far, but within minutes the word had spread like wild fire among the younger children at the centre – A mob of hungry, chicken-lovers had gathered outside my room chanting ‘EMMA – CHICKEN – EMMA -CHICKEN’ I walked out to find all of them hanging out there, an unusual place for them. So Kate and I set off on the scooter. As it was a Sunday, places packed up most of their food quite early. We really did drive around for about an hour looking for some chicken or even duck or even Moo-Ping (pork on stick) …. but everyone just sent me on my way. I returned to hungry, disappointed faces at the centre. They had been so excited for the big feast that they were all sitting in a big group waiting! Yep…they hit my soft spot.. so out we set again to Barry’s American restaurant close by and I bought them all pizza! It wasn’t chicken, but hey, they were loving the pizza. After the food settled down in our stomachs a dance battled started to kick off! Jiraporn put on her beat-boy music and hit the dance floor, whilst Nupon filmed it all. The little ones jumped in and out of the dance ring showing off their moves. I tried doing the ‘worm’ for them (which included falling gently onto the floor from standing height), but I’m afraid it’s been a while and SPLAT was how I landed, flat on the floor with kids starring at me and music seeming to fade into the distance. Frightfully embarrassing, but at least they all had a good laugh and I went on as if my SPLAT was on purpose!

Darid looking very stylish for our waterfall-day-out!