September Slipping Through My Fingertips

Dear friends,

It appears September is breezing by with October just around the corner. I’ve meant to post more but life happens in spades these days, and I find myself exhausted at the end of each day; happy and satisfied with the adventures, conversations, twists and turns of each passing moment. Life is fresh and ubiquitous in my present state. It’s all happening!

First of all, I want to say thanks for all the support for the Daycare Water Purification and Systems Improvement Project in my local community. We have almost reached the funding goals and will commence implementation soon—in about a week or so! It’s very exciting for myself and the local community is thrilled to be doing this.

I’ve been away from site more than usual in the past 6 weeks—in Bangkok for several occasions—a birthday shindig, doctor’s appointments, Project Review Committee (PRC) meetings followed by the unpredictable onset of flu viral infection (5 days for recovery. Then, we had the Project Design and Management Workshop, which took up almost 6 days and a substantial amount of energy. Subsequently, I took one more weekend getaway to collect myself and rest a while, I suppose. In total, that’s about 4 & ½ out of the last 7 weekends I’ve been away. Which is probably a personal record. Before I probably would have berated myself for all the ‘in absentia’ but the truth is, I don’t feel guilty. Thing are coming together and I believe it’s a good sign when people don’t need me here all the time to consult or work on one of our collaborative projects. They are becoming more confident and self-sufficient. This is especially the case with the Hope Group—which has improved immensely and become so much more confident and self-reliant. This week, the product development phase of the Hope Group’s business development endeavors will undergo final touches with fully packages detergent and dish soap. With the advertising banner and tables ready, next week will be the big selling debut just in time for the Khmer Festival, Wan San Dton Dta. And they did it all themselves. We just stood by to encourage and facilitate.

In the same vein, the recycling project has taken it’s own form with one of the local school leading initiatives and providing a local model. Students and local leaders have already completed trainings on pollution and global warming. Furthermore, they’ve sought guidance and financial assistance from the local ministry of environment and conservation, which, has allowed them to set up a proper and functional recycle bank. I find it exhilarating and even though I am not “doing” all the work, I feel a sense of pride given the seeds I helped plant and the groundwork laid to promote bigger things to happen. That’s what it’s all about.

The last thing on the projects front is the news that my counterpart and I were recently awarded a grant for 20,000 Baht to support the Youth Local Wisdom for Traditional Healing and Natural Products Training, which will take place in mid/late October. One of the greatest things about the society and culture here is how interconnected families are and how reverently elderly wisdom is treated. Not to mention, the interconnected, harmonious living with the natural environment. Given this, I have witnessed the onset of the Youth Local Wisdom of Herbal Remedies and Environmental Conservation Group. The group, that begun a few months ago, now flourished with 20-25 14-15 year-olds who train regularly with local elders and experts on natural remedies/ natural products. They also plant and tend to their own organic herbal garden—learning how to grow things properly. Some products and skills training have included: herbal compresses, massage oils, natural soaps, smelling herbs, incense, Thai massage, and pressure point healing. The whole concept is so refreshing and important. I feel very fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful thing and happy that I could help—in the least—to strengthen the group and increase the practice of preserving the local wisdom and ecosystem.

So, before I bid adieu to September, I’ll leave you with some highlights of the Project and Design Management Training since it was such a pinnacle point in the month for me. I believe we accomplished what we set out for. Volunteers and Counterparts alike seemed to get a lot out of the training—if only to have 2 & ½ days of uninterrupted time to plan a project. One Volunteer even said it was the best and most useful training she had experienced in Peace Corps so far—that was a highlight for me =) Enjoy!



The Project Review Committee and Peace Corps Thailand Training Team--what great people to work with!


My Program Manager and I Getting Ready to Present on Budgeting


Hard at work


Project Planning in Action!


All Smiles... Trainers & Participants