Stephk
** Joined: November 7th 2006
Logged in: November 22nd 2010
Logged in: November 22nd 2010
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In 183 Days, I will somehow manage to move the LIBRARY of donated books from Nanaimo Canada to Phru Teow in Phang Nga Thailand. Over 800 books have now been donated for the new Library! That's just one feat....while there I have the daunting task of selecting the second participant for the San Jhon Project. The initial pilot for the program was an overwhelming success. Nam and Kwang were the best guests and so very brave for taking the leap they did and journeying from their homes to Canada. My goal now, is to make the project real in its next phase. I will update as things move along here in preparation for the next "short" visit East. I will only be on the ground 14 days, but with a lot of work to do in ... read more
Welcome Nam!
In the beginning it was a happen chance idea, but the trip for Nam has become a fantastic reality.... April 30-May 9 2008 Nam's journey has been full of adventures to say the least. The sponsors who came forward after the little bit of press we had have been angels of experience and we managed to have a whole host of things going on for Nam and Kwang. The biggest English influence for them has been attending Park Avenue school three mornings a week. With Ms. Kraft, the teacher at the helm, they have contributes and participated with Marrin's class in everything from art to physical education. Nam is awesome with the kids and Kwang is loving the staff room! In the afternoons, the "girls" as they are dearly called by everyone involved, attend an hour ... read more
A man holds his son in the wake of the cyclone
There is little beyond the new pieces circulating the television and newspapers outlets at this time to cover the realities of what's happening for our neighbors in Burma....of course the restrictions placed on any external voice by the Junta in Burma makes it even more difficult to obtain accurate information. This blog entry is expressley to inform... THIS BLOG IS UPDATED REGULARLY I have compiled photographs and video links for any of you interested.....the sources are a combination of public media, forwarded information and comments and pieces I have compiled from any information that is close to the scene. url=http://www.dvb.no/english/nargis/index.html / BBC gallery A daily Journal from and aid worker inside Burma Also, I have been in contact with friends and collegues in the Ranong Border ... read more
150 lbs of rice= 12 lattes
Rice Reality In preparation for the launch of the see and sprout gallery in Los Angeles California, Stacie came up with the idea to make the need for rice more transparent. In addition to her article found here she installed a display in the corner of the gallery for the show. The reality is this: FOR EVERY 12 LATTES YOU CONSUME, 53 CHILDREN CAN EAT RICE FOR A MONTH Pretty hard to believe, but that's the difference bewtween the "have" and "have nots"... The gallery opening was attended by representatives from the Thai consulate to Los Angeles and members of the community. The rice donations alone came to $Baht 13, 702...thats enough rice for 7 and a half weeks! Amazing what a little coffee money can do isn't it! For more info and to order prints ... read more
Nam and Kwang...the send off at Phuket airport
The arrivals lounge at Vancouver International is a place where you can almost forget that you are in Canada...the blend of cultures and languages always stuns me. It was kind of neat to be reminded just at that point of the challenges that were ahead with translation and that wonderful "Thai-glish" that Kwang and I speak! The arrivals lounge was a useful buffer...I sat for a while soaking it all in... Nam and Kwang's flight landed 10 minutes late and as I chatted with a young man perched akwardly on the stairwell as I was (to avoid the mass exodus of arrivals) I realized how much of a first step this was. I was also frantically practicing any and every Thai phrase I could remember! But this really is a first step...there is so much that ... read more
...as I write this, Nam and Kwang are boarding a plane in Thailand. I realized today just how brave that little girl is....to have survived what she did and then to come through it all and now to take a leap of faith and challenge herself with this journey.... Nam is such a brave young woman. I'm adding this link to a bit of a url=http://canwest.a.mms.mavenapps.net/mms/rt/1/site/canwest-cheknews-pub01-live/current/launch.html?maven_playerId=chekmain&maven_referralObject=d485876b-2e89-4cb0-88e6-712cbf9269f8/ news story that ran today on Chek 6, it says a lot. In the meantime, if you pray...or believe in any way....send a few thoughts airborne for my travelling friends.....they are precious cargo. I will update more soon... ... read more
Marrin and An
Its just two days away now! Two days until Nam and Kwang will be in Canada for an amazing 20 days! Check out the little bit o' press we managed! http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_central/nanaimonewsbulletin/news/18066859.html Thai orphan’s visit sponsored By Toby Gorman - Nanaimo News Bulletin - April 24, 2008 · · · · After witnessing the damage and meeting dozens of orphans, above, in tsunami-ravaged Thailand in 2006, Grade 4 student Marrin Coulter was inspired to raise enough money to sponsor one orphan’s visit to Nanaimo. Her guest, Namthip Nilawong, left, arrives Saturday (April 26). Photo contributed/TOBY GORMAN A Nanaimo girl is using the ripple effect to make positive waves in Thailand. In November 2006, 10-year-old Marrin Coulter and her mother, Stephanie Konefall, visited “ground zero” of the tsunami-stricken country, t... read more
Wow...some of you may have guessed (or heard from me already) that we are going to have visitors. yep...after four months of proposal writing, court dates, embassy paperwork and well...a lot of begging, we have finally managed to organize the pilot project for the the "San Jhon" Make a Journey project. Namthip, "Nam" was selected by Rotjana and the other staff back in December to be the first participant to journey to Canada and homestay with me here for a month. So here's the update. Despite not having passports, or proper documents or any idea of how to do this at all, we managed to: ** Get legal "Orphan" status for Nam (with no parents and missing certificates of death and other paperwork, this piece was the largest hurdle). This piece was also the most important ... read more
Somethings Happening! The effort and beautiful hard work that the children in the See and Sprout project completed is finally coming to fruition! I wanted to share this with all of you......check out the video roughcut here: http://madriver.postspots.com/job.php "...we have this itty bitty feeling this photo exhibit will touch your heart and inspire you .... come take a beautiful trip to Thailand in pictures and spirit! The featured See and Sprout exhibition and reception showcases candid photography from tsunami orphans in Ban Phru Teow village near Takua Pa, Southern Thailand, an area that was hardest-hit by the December 26, 2004 disaster. Village children were guided to create visual and written images about their feelings and perceptions about themselves, their family and their community and to explore ways of translating these feelings to people who live out ... read more
I plan to keep this updated as things unfold. For now, these are some of the sites belonging to those involved in this project. There are many more and I will add those as I go along. VOLUNTEER THAILAND BAN DADA ORPHANAGE THAI DRAGONFLY DUANG PRATEEP FOUNDATION LIFE AFTER WAVE SEE AND SPROUT PROJECT HANDS ACROSS THE WATER PETER BAINES SITE OPERATION PLAYGROUND url... read more
