(Well, that's not the only thing we learned in Thailand this year!)
Every year, with the cooperation of the Student Services Association of KGU and International Soroptomists, our KGU Sigma Society sets out on a service-learning trip to Thailand. We stay in Bangkok for a few days, learn about some of the shapes of poverty in this complex city and volunteer in a day care center in one of the eastern slum areas.
Then we head up to Chiang Rai province in the northernmost part of Thailand to learn about the challenges faced by ethnic minorities living there (these folks are sometimes referred to as "hilltribes" peoples though many of them don't live in the hills anymore). For the past number of years, every year we've built a multi-use church/community center/shelter building in a different village. This year, we helped put up a wood/brick building in the small village of Lu-an.
Next, we headed down to Chiang Mai for a week of visiting a number of Christian institutions serving at-risk ethnic minority children and youth. Some of the "kids" we met were AIDS orphans, others were rescued from abusive situations, and others at high risk for falling into prostitution. It's always an eye-opening experience for all of us, reminding us of our responsibilities to work together to solve the human and political problems so many of our "brothers and sisters" around the world face.
For more pictures of the trip, check out this link!
