Work Camp – code: DaLaa6712
Dates: 9-18 December 2024 (Max. number of volunteers: 15)
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Immerse yourself in the fresh winter environment of a Northern Hill tribe at Kong Por Neua, a remote Karen community from Chiang Mai province. After a preparation day, volunteers will organize two full days of activities with students at the local School to support values of international peace, culture exchange, solidarity, team building, leadership…depending of the skills of each one and using English language as a tool. The next 3 days, we will focus on a Universal Moral & Ethics Camp at the local Buddhist monastery (our living place) organized by the foundation Watcharaparamita. Volunteers may help with vegan cooking, organization of activities, such as games for adults and children, take parts in the discussions and share their own culture. The last two days will be dedicated to local culture and forest discovery/preservation awareness together with our hosts.
HISTORY and REASONS OF THE PROJECT
This project is born from the gathering between the foundation Watcharaparamita and DaLaa, International volunteers for Social Development association. DaLaa organizes international workcamps often in the education field with children and youth in Thailand. The foundation Watcharaparamita based in Chiang Mai organizes Universal Moral & Ethics Camps for adults and it will be the second time they will do such an event in the Ban Kong Por Neua monastery. Too Neuk, the active monk there, is the one who invited the foundation and the first edition was a success. He is keeping the local people active in the village and organizes often events with them.
This time with DaLaa we wish to expand our love to children there and embrace the foundation’s camp (13-15 December) by creating meaningful activities for the children in both the school and the monastery toward international culture exchange, having fun while respecting each other’s, learning about ourselves and peace. Volunteers will help to prepare and join some parts of the foundation’s camp.
|
Too Neuk giving a speech in his monastery, our local host |
The team of the Watcharaparamita foundation |
|
|
AIMS of the PROJECT
1. Allow children to broaden their horizons and learn English speaking skills.
2. Create fun activities on the basis of love and kindness.
3. Strengthen love and unity without discrimination of social classes, ethnicity and religion
4. Bring love and kindness to create great power. Join hands to develop ourselves, develop the society, and develop the nation.
SCHEDULE and ACTIVITIES
|
Mon Dec 9 |
Traveling from Chiang Mai airport (10 AM) to Om Koi district (4 hours for 200 km) & from Om Koi to Kong Por Neua monastery (1-2 hours for 40 km on dirt roads)
|
|
Tue 10 |
Getting to know each other’s- Visit of the village and preparation of the activities for children. ( Dec 10th is a holiday in Thailand.)
|
|
Wed 11 & |
Activities with children at Ban Utum School (the main School of Na Kian-sub district, 5 km from the monastery) – From 8 AM to 4 PM. The school welcomes 292 students from Kindergarten to Junior high School. We may focus only on primary students (140) or junior high School students (125) depending on the number of volunteers. Volunteers should have in mind some ideas of games/activities they would like to organize.
|
|
Fri 13 to |
Universal Moral & Ethics Camp: we expect about 30 -50 local participants from age 12 to adults. They will stay with us for 3 days sleeping at the monastery. Speakers from Watcharaparamita foundation (about 10-15 people) will have prepared some presentation on important issues such as Dharma (Nature)understanding, our life’s mission, Tests of life, family ethics, why eating vegan… All presentations will be in Thai but we will have summaries in English for foreign volunteers. These would be the morning program. In afternoon, we will have more exchange and discussions including some games to get together. In the night will be time for camp fire and possibly theater, music or extra activities. Depending of their interests, volunteers can join the cooking team, the normal program (hopefully with the help of translators) and organizing games or activities for the afternoon or evening. We would also like to have a group of volunteers to organize activities for other children (under 12) in the compound of the monastery.
|
|
Mon 16 |
Relax and free time |
|
Mon 16 |
We will spend the last 2 days together with some of the local people who have join the camp. We wish to create more connections by visiting their home, and their environment. We especially would like to bring the volunteers to the local watershed forest that are so important part of the ecosystem. Too Neuk will be the main coordinator for this part We will take time for the evaluation of the workcamp |
|
Wed 18 |
Traveling back to Chiang Mai (Arrival expected around 4 pm in Chiang Mai)
|
It’s recommended for participants to bring in some ideas for group activities to the work camp as you will spend most of your stay with your volunteer friends. Activities can be card games, songs, shows, craft skill sharing or anything that bring you guys together!
|
|
|
|
Ban Utum School students line up in the morning |
Presentation of Dharma in the monastery main room |
REQUIREMENTS
The volunteers should be ready to stay in a remote area, to adapt to the local conditions with only basic facilities. Very few local people are able to speak in English and even most of the elders do not understand Thai language. Volunteers should be able to handle spontaneous working environment. The mentality and way of thinking is very different from the western world. There will have activities with the children. To have responsibility for you, the kids and full involvement in community matters is a must. For the 10 days, you will be led by a DaLaa member/staff who will help to coordinate the project.
FOOD and ACCOMODATION
We will have a cooking team (that you can join). They will provide volunteers with 3 meals a day. The food will be vegan for the whole stay – No meat is allowed in the monastery.
We will provide volunteers with drinking water tanks/closed bottles. Local people are actually drinking rain water mostly.
We will all stay in the compound of Kong Por Neua monastery. There is a communal building and you will be provided with simple sleeping equipment like thin mats, pillows and blankets. We will sleep in communal rooms (1 for females and 1 for males). These rooms will be used in the day time for the camp so we will need to pack up our sleeping stuff every morning. If you need more privacy, we advise you to bring your own tent that you can pitch in the yard.
In December, it will be winter: the temperature is around 10 degrees in the morning so volunteers are encouraged to prepare additional winter equipment such as warm clothes, hats, socks, gloves, and scarves. The day time should be warmer.
There are many toilets and shower rooms. You actually shower by throwing water on you with a bucket from a tank. The water is collected from the rain but there should be enough for daily use. – No hot water.
There is no electricity in the village but there are solar panels at the monastery so this should be fine to recharge your phone.
**Please do not expect intensive comfort during your time at the project
OTHER PRACTICAL INFORMATION
· Laundry: hand wash only
· Internet/phone access: get a SIM card from ‘ONE-TO-CALL’ (AIS) or ‘TRUE MOVE’ company.
· There are small shops in the village for basic needs drink/snacks…
· Health center: 5 km away from the monastery, next to Ban Utum School
· Hospital- ATM: 40 km away at Om Koi district – we will have pick up car available in case of emergency
· Clothes worn in the village: You will be living in a monastery with elderly people and children around so it is appropriate that you dress modestly, for example no short skirts or shorts too far above the knees. Also, women should wear tops that cover your shoulders. Bring some warm cloth as mentioned above.
· Language: Only few people in the village can speak good English. We will teach you some basic Thai language during the start of your project. Non-verbal communication will be as well essential.
