For nearly a year, I have been driving 100 km every Wednesday to volunteer as an English teacher in Bangkhonthiinai, a tiny town in the province of Samut Songkhram.  At the end of August, the volunteer English program will come to an end.

This volunteer work started when I was on a bicycle tour of the Damnoen Saduak floating market last July.  At the end of the tour we rode through a small country school.  The children ran out to see the farang who were riding through, and I ended up chatting with the Ajarn Yai – head teacher.

When she found out that I was living in Thailand, she asked if I wanted to come volunteer.  As they say, ask and you shall receive.  About a month later I started the first of what I thought might just be a few weeks of volunteering.  A year later, I’ve had one class of ten sixth graders graduate, and have watched these young people grow.  Also, I’ve had the opportunity to see the generosity and friendliness of “real” Thais – those who are not living in the big city or in touristy areas.

Along the way, Kobfa has been my regular partner in crime.  Ken and Markus have attended helped out regularly.  And we’ve had plenty of visitors, too: Pat was here from Kansas City, Aaron made the early morning trip to the school, and my entire family plus a few other friends made the trip one day in December.  Below, some of the guests the school has had:

The main reason for the volunteer program ending is that Ajarn Yai has done such a successful job at Bangkhonthiinai that she is being promoted, and as of September will be an official evaluator, overseeing performance of schools throughout the country.

As she moves on, it is unclear who will replace her or when that replacement will be named.  The school’s resources have been very limited and the five teachers stretched thin.  This was a unique situation in that Ajarn Yai speaks English fairly well and is very sold on the importance of her students learning English.  That is not the case for most country school directors.

Additionally, there have been many questions from higher up in the office of education, asking about work permits and background checks for these farang teaching at her school.  She has shielded us from these questions, insisting that we are her friends who are just stopping by and “helping” at the school, not teaching.

To avoid the possibility of the program turning sour after she leaves, bad feelings arising through misunderstandings or bureaucratic requirements, she feels it is best to bring the program to a happy conclusion.  We will stop teaching on August 22nd, and if I understand correctly, there will be a formal farewell party on September 15th.

If you haven’t had a chance to be a part of this experience, you have seven more weeks.  Take the opportunity soon!