The view alone is worth the visit
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If you’ve ever been to the gorgeous mountain village of Doi Mae Salong in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province, you probably share the same affinity for the town we do.
While living in Thailand for the last three years, developing and running Smiling Albino adventures, we’ve always felt that Doi Mae Salong was like a second home for us. Located just six kilometers from the Myanmar border in Thailand’s most northern province, Chiang Rai, Doi Mae Salong is home to about 10,000 people, comprised mainly of Chinese from Yunan, China and Ahka (a Thai hilltribe group). Most famous for its tea, the area is perfect for growing Oolong teas, which are exported mostly to Taiwan and provide the economic backbone of the town.
How much wood would a woodchuck...
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On one recent adventure through Doi Mae Salong, we visited Santikiri School, which has 450 students ranging from grades 7-12. Many of the students at Santikiri School come from local rice and tea farming families - the school itself operates on extremely limited resources. It was then that we decided it was time to do something more for the school and the town instead of only passing through, enjoying khao tom (rice soup) and Oolong teas.
‘English Fun Days’ is a brand new Smiling Albino program that enables teachers from Canada or other English-speaking nations to come and teach English to the students at Santikiri School, free of charge to the community, for a two-week period.
The first installment of ‘English Fun Days’ successfully kicked off in July 2002 with Smiling Albino partners Todd and Susanna Kuipers conducting the entire two-week session. “Being the first volunteers for a fun, grass-roots project like this was a fun adventure all in itself and a great opportunity to really get involved in the local community”, said Susanna. From July 1 – 12, 2002, Todd and Susanna engaged students with classes in English on such topics as "Other Countries", "Environmental Issues", "Internet and Web", "Painting" and a "5 Senses Interactive Workshop"
After school painting with Sa-ngiam
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The project was a resounding success with the students who participated in the first ‘English Fun Days’ session. Virtually none of the school’s students have really had any meaningful interaction with native English speakers before. The ‘English Fun Days’ teaching program is a harmonious meeting between a Canadian-run adventure travel company and a small, rural Thai community. “This is a excellent example of a mutually beneficial volunteer program - everyone wins,” says Todd. “It’s debatable who actually had more fun or learned more, the students, or us.”
Smiling Albino’s ‘English Fun Days’ program is aided with the financial backing of The Rotary Club of South Bangkok. Their donation was used to purchase supplies for the two week program and get a variety of worksheets duplicated for specific activities.
A second program is already slated for early November with a pair of volunteers from Calgary. Smiling Albino is looking for a few good men and women to volunteer their time and skills to keep the project rolling in 2003. Ultimately, we would like to run ‘English Fun Days’ three to four times per year. Students get to hone their English skills with a foreigner and the volunteer teachers go home with an extremely rewarding, deep cultural experience. Participants become active members of a rural Thai community and gain a window into Thai and regional Chinese culture that simply can’t be duplicated. Thanks to the South Bangkok Rotary Club, the staff and students at Santikiri School, and Todd and Sue for successfully launching this great program!
Students on Scouts day
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If you are interested in becoming involved in the English Fun Days’ program, contact us at: info@smilingalbino.com.
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