Time at the Phang Nga Coastal Fisheries with Gemma, Apple and Amanda.

Last week GVI visited 'Phang Nga Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Centre' in Thai Muang. The focus of the day's work was on the centres turtle population, which includes Green, Hawksbill, Olive Ridley and three endandgered baby Leatherback turtles. Volunteers assisted with the daily cleaning of the turtles tanks, which consists of draining, scrubbing and refilling the pits.

Volunteers then assisted with the physical cleaning and disinfecting of each individual turtle.

They were also fortunate enough to see the centres three baby leatherback turtles, a very rare and endangered species in Thailand.

GVI is hoping to get back to the centre over the next couple of weeks to work in some of the other areas of the centre.

Until next time....go team conservation!

Amanda and Gemm.

Time at the Phang Nga Coastal Fisheries with Gemma, Apple and Amanda.

Goodbye sweet voles

Parting Shots

I have enjoyed the unique and diverse programs we have been a part of in Thailand. Teaching and playing with; the mentally and physically challenged youth at Camillian Social Center, the children at the Baan Than Namchai Orphanage and the Burmese refugee women and children has been such a privilege. I never imagined that people faced with such adversity could be so open and welcoming to a bunch of strangers. I hope I was able to make a difference in their lives, I know they have all made a huge difference in mine. Mollie O'Brien Oregon, USA

Did you ever search for a bigger reason for being on this planet? I found mine now, it is love. Alexander Hecher, Austria

I can truly say that the past 6 weeks have been incredible. I have met so many people from all around the world and I have enjoyed every second teaching at the Baan than nam chai orphanage, Baan nam khem school, Kindergarten and the Burmese refugee camp. I am proud to have been a volunteer here in Thailand and will most definitely consider returning. Leaving the project and the children will be emotional, but I have learnt so much about myself that I can take back with me.

Thank you GVI! You''re awesome!

Jasmyn Rama, England

GVI Thailand has truly been a memorable and enriching experience. The diverse people you interact with, the rich cultural experience it provides in conjunction with the community outreach projects makes it a wholesome venture that is not only character building but gratifying as well. Working at Camillian Social Centre has been heartwarming and emotional while participating in the Baan Nam summer camps, interacting with the children, has been thoroughly exhilirating. The highlight of my trip was the visit to the Burmese refugee centre – seeing their plight puts life in perspective and seeing a smile on their face even momentarily makes this entire experience meaningful and worthwhile. Leaving Baan Than Namchai foundation will be bittersweet while the memories and relationships formed here will truly last a lifetime.

Divya Pratap, Australia.

When I first came here to Thailand, I didn't know what to expect and how much I should get out of it. With that fact in my hands, I am so grateful that I did this trip. I can't explain it with words to you, because it is something you have to discover for yourself.

Fredrik Rigner, Sweden

Being a part of this project has been such a rewarding experience for me. I had the opportunity to work and spend time with children from the local community in summer camp, the Camillian Social Center and the Burmese refugee detention center. The volunteers were a great bunch too! These past 2 weeks have taught me so much I'm glad I decided to volunteer with GVI.

Rachel Raju, Malaysia

Goodbye sweet voles

Time spent at Camillian

One of the best experiences for me as a GVI Volunteer in Thailand has been having the opportunity to interact with the children and young adults at Camillian Social Center. Camiilian offers a physical, mental and social enrichment program for physically and developmentally challenged 3 to 18 year old. These kids are so special, they are quick to welcome new visitors and volunteers and they really enjoy learning new games and trying their hands at some crazy craft projects. Take a look at the paper plate masks we made..so fun!!

Mollie (health volunteer)

Bend, Oregon USA

Time spent at Camillian

First day of English camp.

Last week we started with an English camp in a village called Baan Put Teaw near Takua Pa. The subject for the whole week was Healthcare, which included topics such as Thai wildlife, first aid, dengue and recycling. We had three different age groups, the youngest being five years old. Aswell teaching we also did crafts and sports. I had the chance to teach the recycling lesson and it was awesome. We started drilling the words can, plastic bottle, yoke, rubber bands and other similer items. We then played a game named "Slap It" basically you have two teams, one member of each team tries to slap the right flashcard with a fly swat, the player to slap it first earns their team a point. They had a lot of fun and remembered the words very quickly. After that we went through the word cards and let them match the pictures with the words. When they succeeded we prepared another practice activity. We stuck pictures of the litter onto little frisbees and scattered them all over the classroom. We shouted out a specific litter and the students had to run to the right one in the color of their team and throw it from about 1 meter into the bin. They were very enthusiastic and managed it very well.  The next stage was teaching them the two sentences "Where do you throw your trash?" and "I throw my trash into the bin." And finally we played the "over and under" game. The students built two lines and each line got a specific litter on it. They had to hand it backwards over and under their bodies until the last person in the line got it saying the sentence "I throw my trash into the bin. The first line who manage it got a point and the students went louder after every frisbee. It was definitely a first for them to have so much fun throwing litter into the right place.

Alex (Teaching children project)

First day of English camp.

My last week

My time in Thailand is coming to an end and I'm really glad I came here, I think I've grown a lot as a person. I've become more confident, more organised and more motivated. I spent my last weekend at the orphanage, a huge group of motorcycle guys came to visit on Saturday and on Sunday we witnessed a man named Game who used to be at the orphanage when back when the tsunami hit become a monk. The ceremonies were beautiful and his monk-hood brought honor to the whole Baan Than Nam Chai family. Everyone was so kind and grateful for my teaching there for the last few weekends, the woman who runs the orphanage told me I was part of their family and to come back any time. I will come back one day, I'm sure of it and I won't forget their hospitality. I said goodbye to one of the kids at the orphanage who had grown quite close to me, I explained that I was going home and that I was sad about it. I expected her to be a bit upset but she just smiled and told me to be happy, it really surprised me how mature the 10 year old girl was; those kids must have seen so many foreigners come and go, they're better than me at moving along with things and not being upset by a goodbye. I was inspired to be more resilient myself but I still had a few moments where I felt very said about my leaving.

Teaching has been going great, every day feels like a privilege; I will miss all my students. At the prison, the guy who teaches regularly there told me I was a natural teacher which was a very happy moment for me. At the Saori charity, the students gave me a pair of awesome looking fisherman's pants and took lot's of pictures. My last classes with my NFE class were very rewarding, teaching has become natural, I'm not saying I never make any mistakes but when I do I know how to improvise or how to correct them and every lesson, I learn a little more about my students, my teaching or both. I tested them on Wednesday and felt that it went well, most of them did surprisingly well especially my best student who hadn't turned up to all of the lessons, I guess I did a good job with my review lesson the day before to help her catch up. After handing out the certificates to students, I was given two Takua Pa T-shirts which made me really proud and rewarded for my efforts, the students were thankful and I was too.

My last two days approach and I'm coming to terms with arriving home, I think it will be good and I'm not sad about it anymore. I feel like I've done enough here and seen enough progress to allow myself to head home but I will never forget this beautiful place in all its reality, not the silly touristy Thailand but the real towns and villages like Baan Nam Khem that actually need our help in the communities. For that reason I'm glad GVI moved to Phang Nga. I hope to take my new skills, disciplines and insight back home with me. These last few days have given me a real sense of accomplishment.

Jack Sanctuary (TEFL teacher)

My last week

My first week teaching children

At first i was very anxious and nervous about starting the 'Teaching children' project, meeting my fellow volunteers and travelling on my own. However, I was immediately put at ease once I had arrived in Phuket and was kindly welcomed by Jax (GVI project manager). We traveled to the Baan tham nam chai foundation which is where i would be living for the next six weeks and met with the other GVI volunteers. Everyone is so friendly and we all get along very well!

The Teaching children project has been great fun and I have already learnt so much about myself and my capabilities. The children in Baan nam khem are energetic, enthusiastic  and are always up for fun, games and a lot laughter! All the GVI staff are very supportive and are happy to help whenever there is a problem. 

I have only been in Thailand for a week and have seen and experienced so many amazing things already! I am looking forward to the new adventures in my next 5 weeks here! 

Jasmyn Rama (Teaching children volunteer)

My first week teaching children

Newly qualified TEFL teacher

I've been so enthusiastic about teaching since receiving my TEFL, I realised I only had 4 more weeks here to make the most of and I wanted to make as big an impact as possible in phang nga's community that I'm so welcome in! I find it satisfying when a class really understands a new concept and that they're really enjoying my lessons. The second term at the non formal education centre began as I took the top students from last terms class for a special level 3 class and because its a smaller group and my own class full of students who I know well I can really tailor to their strengths and test their weaknesses. It feels hugely gratifying to see a student progress this far all the way from day 1, six weeks ago. I'm very impressed by my class and feel obliged to create fun and interactive challenges during lessons to best utilise their linguistic potential. I'm motivated to take plenty of time planning and preparing for these lessons because I want to keep them interested in learning the language, I also want to prove my own potential as a teacher so that at the end of the term, my students may move up to level 4!

It's a shame that I am leaving after this TEFL term because I wanted to see my students' progression, I hope to stay in contact and maybe come back and see them one day. I hope the enjoyment of my teaching inspires them to go out and learn bits of English for themselves. Yesterday I saw that one student had been doing some research on the topic of the previous lesson, she had an extensive sheet of vocabulary which I responded to and explained to the rest of the class. I'm impressed that my students are interested in picking more English outside of the lesson and it's great when they have questions or inputs of their own. It helps me gauge what sort of content I should include in my lessons that will allow them to speak English confidently in a real life situation.

Additionally we've been set up with teaching at the Japanese Saori tsunami charity where the students are very eager to learn better English for visitors to the charity who come to support their cause. There's a clear difference between people I've only taught a couple of times and the people who I've taught many times on a regular basis, I do my best with the Saori teaching and they are doing well but it can't compare to really having my own class. If anyone was going to teach English over here I would tell them that I'd stay for longer because all your work early on, you can begin to see it really pay off and that you're really making a difference for people!

On my weekends I've decided to go and teach at the orphanage which I organised by talking to some of the staff from hands across the water, they're really hospitable and glad to accept my help not just for teaching the kids at the orphanage but also entertaining and playing with them which is a great way to let off steam right after a lesson! I'd rather be more involved here while I can be and do trips and travelling later on this year, I feel like it's an opportunity of a life time and I've never felt so morally convicted with what I'm doing.

Jack Sanctuary (TEFL volunteer)

Newly qualified TEFL teacher