What am I doing in Thailand?

One of the groups with which I will be working is called Warm Heart, and I am incredibly excited to work with and learn from them this summer.  Their mission and methods are courageous and holistic, and aim for nothing short of fully empowering this community to create a better future for its children. I am inspired by the concept, so I can only imagine how great the experience will be.  Feel free to check out their Web site to learn more about the clinic that was built, the school houses, and microfinance project.  If you read just a few entries in the Warm Heart blog, you will have a sense for some of the challenges they face every day: http://blog.warmheartworldwide.org/

Here is a great summary of what they are doing and why they are doing it:

In our village, third of the population lives on less than 75 cents a day. Four dentists serve 54,000 residents. Many of the Hill Tribe villages see a doctor once a year and are cut off from medical care during the rainy season. During the dry season there are no jobs for thousands of agricultural workers. Kids see no opportunities at home and leave for the cities in their teens. But with just a sixth grade education, they do not have a chance. Still, the little they earn is a boon for the families they have left behind. Without them, Phrao stagnates; when they return, it is too often because they are unable to work any longer because of HIV/AIDS or occupational injury. It’s a vicious cycle – no hope for the future and no investment in the future create the self-fulfilling prophecy that Phrao offers no possibilities to those who want to get ahead. 


What would you do? Where would you start? Who would you talk to? 

Warm Heart exists to stop such vicious cycles. How? Warm Heart gives individuals and communities the tools to launch a productive, self-sustaining virtuous spiral that promotes individual development, community and cultural regeneration, and economic growth through entrepreneurship.

I will know more about exactly what I'll be doing when I arrive in-country, and will post more as my adventure begins!