What We Do

As our time here along the border winds down, I thought it would be good to reflect on what we have done here. For the past three months we have settled down from our fast paced traveling lifestyle while in SE Asia and actually got a job. Well I guess it is a bit different than a job. We don't actually get paid and only work about 4 hours a day so I am not exactly sure what you would call this. But we are working nonetheless. It is perhaps different and less exciting than our traveling life, but it has been interesting on many other levels and very worthwhile. Some days are slow but this slowness has been a welcome change to the hectic traveling schedule in the rest of Southeast Asia.

Many may wonder what we do in our volunteer job. Both of us teach two English classes a day. The number of students in our classes have fluctuated with time, as folks float in and out of our organizations or as others are invited unknowingly into our classes. This constant fluctuation does not always provide for the easiest teaching experience but such is life. Neither of us have that many students. Right now we are both down to about 6 students scattered in both classes. This provides for lots of individual attention but does make some activities such as games difficult especially with shy students. Certainly one thing which is nice is the undivided attention that most of the students pay us and the respect that we are shown. We basically have no problem with control in the classroom and do not have to worry about reprimanding, as is the case in most Asian nations, where the teachers are much like a God. I like being like a God. Sure it is good to question authority and maybe a bit more free thinking would be welcome in the classrooms in Asia, but I do not think I could handle teaching an out of control class in the United States.

The teaching takes up our mornings and overall it has been a very positive experience. Our students all seem eager to learn at least on the surface which is nice. They have all made progress in the past three months. Certainly some could have worked a bit harder and showed some more initiative but that is the same with most students around the world. It has been easy and enjoyable, and in fact much more so than I had originally pictured. All in all I do not know how much of an impact we have really made and how much we have accomplished as far as the overall goal of our placements here. The purpose of our teaching was intended to build the capacity of the members of the organizations to more effectively communicate in English. Supposedly with better English skills, these organizations could work to better the situation of people both inside Burma and along the border. Theoretically they should be able to get the message out to the international community more effectively about the situation in Burma as well as work with international organizations who assist them with projects in the area. Sometimes we wonder if we have really helped in that purpose much at all. Granted three months is not really a long enough time to have much of an effect but we also sometimes wonder about the effectiveness of the organizations where we work.

As with all organizations, there are the little things that always make you wonder. Laura's organization is composed of mainly young women with newborn babies and they devote much of their time to this (as is necessary) as opposed to providing services to the community. These are young women too (even younger than us) and while they do have some interesting experiences, we are not always sure if they are entirely dedicated or motivated to do NGO work. The fact that they are migrants here and have to deal with all of the Thai policy bullshit of such a status certainly does not help this situation. Casey's organization on the other hand has an old dog who has been here for a long time and who has many connections with international donors and local Thai authorities. The organization are fairly respected in the area and do some decent work but the capabilities of the staff here is also limited. This is compacted by the fact that the leader does not like to really give any power or responsibilities to his staff. He is the boss for sure and recently he kicked the most skilled person with the best ability to communicate with international donors out of his organization due to a percieved power struggle. Ah yes. Life on the border.

That being said, these people are doing the best they can in a situation that is not an easy one. These people are outsiders without a country or a home and many have decided to try to devote at least part of their lives to helping their people. It may not always be done with the vigor or in the most appropriate way but who am I to judge. One of the most poignant things that sticks out for me is something that many of the people we have met here have said, "I want to go home as I love my country, but I will not do so until it is free." Many of the people have chosen to live here in a precarious position and work towards that freedom and that is good enough for me.

Life is never perfect but we hope that we have had at least a small impact on our organizations and helped them a bit. It is hard to do too much in a short time. Once again it has been a time that we have probably gotten much more out of than we have given back. It is interesting how volunteering works out in that way. We have had a number of interesting cultural experiences, tasted some of the best food in Asia (in our estimation), heard some great stories and met some great people. All in all, a big check in our books.