During the June holidays, 4 senior Peer Support Leaders/Interactors namely
Jerald, Georgia, Leticia and Siravit
braved the dangers of the Influenza A (H1N1) Virus and attended a Overseas Community Involvement Programme called Project L.I.F.E. 6 which aims to
promote Livelihood through International Friendship and Education in Khao Lak, Thailand.
Now that they have return they will share with you their reflection on the trip.
Here are some photos from our trip:
Jerald's Reflection:
Having seen all this destruction and drama of this disaster before on the news, I really did not know what to expect when I reach Khao Lak, Thailand. However when I reached there on the first day and when I was given a tour on the sites where the tsunami hit, I could not believe my eyes, everything was rebuilt so quickly. If you had not read the news you would not have known that a tsunami hitted the place. When I reached the Ban Lam Pi Village I saw that the survivors were able to get their lives back and were able to make the houses Rotary Club gave to them into homes, I was very pleased and I salute, applaud and admire their perseverance and determination in overcoming the losses the disaster caused and rebuilding their lives from scratch.
In Chao Tai Mai School I will always wake up to the tired looks of all the Singapore Volunteers which have become great friends of mine now and the smiles and greeting of the teachers and students there. But now back in Singapore, when I wake up I felt like a part of me was missing and I realised I have left my heart with the villagers of Ban Lam Pi. Project L.I.F.E. 6 has taught me many valuable life lessons and allowed me to make many valuable friends during the project.
Project L.I.F.E. also gave me many first times such as eating pig's blood noodle, unclogging toilets, drinking from a well and the most exciting of all, setting off fireworks which I have attached a video of it to my reflection. I will definitely want to participate in Project L.I.F.E. 7 or be a facilitator for the project and return to Ban Lam Pi Village and implement a few project ideas with the help of rotary club in the village to help better improve the village.
Here I strongly urge all of you to participate in Project L.I.F.E. in the future as it will help you to grow up as a person and it will help you to better appreciate life and the things and people around you daily. Remember, a smallest kind act is greater than the biggest good intention.
Georgia's Reflection:
Being part of the LIFE 6 project has opened our eyes to part to a part of the world that we've never seen before. Our trip to the village (Khao Lak, Bam Lam Pi) showed us how the Villages lived, and going to the various Tsunami sites gave us a clearer picture of the destruction it has caused. It is impossible for us to imagine the pain and the trauma the people there went through and i am glad that they managed to overcome this difficulty and move on in life.
Rotary has shown us how our donations has helped the survivors of the Tsunami. The houses and amenities the village has showed us how much our donations and how much Rotary played a part in rebuilding their lives. With these little simple things in life, the children are happy. This shows us that we should be contented with what we have and appreciate our love ones. I am happy that i am able to play a part in rebuilding their life by going there as a volunteer. Waking up to the sounds of the children's laughter, seeing smiles on their faces, hearing them call me name and playing with them is something i would never forget. Being able to go on this trip allowed me to try things that I've never tried before ( Eg. playing with fireworks, setting up our own mosquito nets. ).
This is a trip that we learnt to expect the unexpected and accept the differences. Through L.I.F.E. 6 i manage to meet new people and learn different things from them. Our shared experience has created a bond between us and thus a new network of friends is created.
Lastly i would like to add that, this trip is something i would remember and i urge our PSLs/Intereactors to participate in the next trip.
Leticia's Reflection:
This trip to Khao Lak was a great experience for me and I am sure for everyone else as well. My task there was to survey the whole village about their income and other family information. There were about 50 houses in ban lam pi itself. But despite only having 6 people in the group to accomplish this task which was meant for 15 people, we did it. Walking around the village and talking to villages there made me feel how lucky and fortunate I was to have a nice home with all that I want provided for me. Some of them there don’t even have clean water or food to eat. Some parents even have to starve to ensure that their children have food to eat. I could see the sadness in those eyes. Putting aside all the insufficient things, everyone there is so happy to see us. And the children who don’t even know you will just come and hold your hand as u walk or do what ever you are doing.
Other than that, I also learnt how to accept those around me. Working as a team, even though we are all different in every way, or coming from a different school. Frankly speaking before I went for this trip, I din’t expect much as I knew we were going to a village, away from civilization. And I also din’t think that I will have any feelings after the trip. But after the trip I learnt to appreciate the things I have and not be greedy, be happy with what I have. Lastly, I want to say that I will definitely go there again.
Siravit's Reflection:
By going on this trip it has exposed me to different parts of my country and I realized how fortunate I am to stay in Singapore with a mall not more than 20 minutes away, a roof over my head, a comfy bed to snuggle in at night, and hot water to bathe in on cold days. The villagers staying in the Ban Lam Pee village live a life totally unlike mine. They don’t have hot water, they shower from a well. They don’t have a bed, they sleep on the floor. And the mall? Its 2 hours away. The majority of the villagers have also experienced the tsunami, they have lost parents, sibling, relatives and friends. Being on the tsunami sites with the kids is overwhelming. I cant imagine the pain that the kids went through, but upon seeing Chao Tai Mai school I know that as a community, they have move on and made a new life for themselves. Yes they may be lacking in many things like proper electricity or a clean water supply but waking up to the smiling faces of kids every morning and seeing that look of contentment on their faces when walking through the village makes me feel fortunate to have all the comfort of modern living and a family. Life 6 has exposed so many new things to me and given the opportunity I would go back and help the village further and I would also love to see the village progress into a thriving community.
More photos and videos can be found at:
Finally, we would like to urge all PSLs/Interactors to participate in the next Project L.I.F.E. and render your help, support and care to others and come and experience this life changing experience for yourself.
What really matters is not our own winning, but helping others to win too.
- Fred Rogers
