Warmheart through the lens
Blog post from guest Kathy Tarantola:
Kathy enjoys a cappuccino at Phrao’s local coffee house, Baan Un-Un Coffee Green.
My adventure with Warm Heart began when I visited my friends Eileen, Greg and their daughter Joji last winter during their volunteer stint. It was a great opportunity for me to visit a country that I had never been to before as well as learning more about WH’s work.
I was awed by the tremendous dedication that the WH founders, Evelind and Michael, as well as all of the WH staff and volunteers, have for the hilltribe children of northern Thailand. I offered my services as a professional photographer to help both my friends and the rest of the WH family to illustrate the WH story. I would love to share some of my photos and observations about this journey with all of you in the volunteer blog.
I certainly hope that I can visit Warm Heart again one day and offer my services. In the meantime, I have donated money to help build new homes to house more of these amazing children to help them achieve their dreams and goals in life… whatever they may be.
When I first arrived, we spent a couple of days in Chiang Mai and a few of the girls from Warm Heart came down from Phrao to spend the day with us. This was the courtyard of our guesthouse, Subuy, which means relax in Thai.
We had fun visiting colorful street night markets.
Lovely Joji, who did her part to make friends and help at Warm Heart. The frangipani flower is a common sight at many Thai celebrations and used as a fragrant offering to Buddha.
Eileen, Joji and Greg at a temple in Chiang Mai.
Upon arriving in Phrao, we visited the Warm Heart office, where Greg and another volunteer, Andrej, work with the office employees Ann and Nok on a new database.
The girls, including Jaonoy from Mae Soon and girls from other villages, including Karen, Akha and Lisu hilltribes, all ready for school back in Phrao.
Stay tuned for Kathy’s photos from her trip up to Mae Soon village!
Programs at the Huay Sai Community Center
Post from volunteer Divya Sonti:
Since the Huay Sai Community Center finally became operational in March, we have been trying out a variety of activities. The original idea for what types of programs would be beneficial came from a volunteer from the local health clinic that operates in each sub-district. These volunteers are very well organized, with each volunteer assigned to ten houses which are visited on a monthly basis to take weight and blood pressure readings and fill out prescriptions. We spoke with one volunteer during his monthly rounds and he mentioned that obesity and high cholesterol were prevalent in Huay Sai. He suggested that an exercise program would get people to start thinking about their health and overall wellness.
Our first offerings were therefore an aerobics class followed by yoga which I led myself. Although I’ve been practising yoga with my grandmother since I was 12 years old, I had never taught a class. Nor had I ever led an aerobics class. In the beginning, I used some Thai language DVDs for the aerobic workouts. They were very helpful but I found them a bit fast so I adapted the moves at a slower pace but still kept up with the repetitions and timing set by the DVD.
The sessions start at 5:10pm allowing everybody to get off from work and when it’s a bit cooler. At first I was really nervous because I wanted it too look like I knew what I was doing. But the nervousness only lasted for about a minute because once we started, everyone was laughing and having a great time. I also found that my cache of yoga knowledge when it comes to different positions, stretches and even breathing was much greater than I previously realized.
The cardio exercises of the aerobics class last 15-20 minutes. The partipants, all women between 40 to 60 years of age, are very much into the cardio. The teenagers that sometimes join us are much more embarrassed and think they’re too cool to actually do the moves properly. The older women are very dedicated to getting the moves right and take it seriously. Afterwards some joke about having flat stomachs again!
We immediately follow up with the yoga session. I find after a weight-bearing workout such as aerobics or running, ending with yoga really helps to bring the body back to center due to its low impact nature. No one was familiar with yoga. The first day, the village headman’s assistant was there to translate for me and he introduced yoga as a form of exercise from India. They pronounce it yo-ka. The class got very positive reviews.
In fact, yoga at the center is more of a social event than a serious class. There are usually some kids around who join in to try some of the challenging postures (tree is a favorite) and the adults enjoy laughing and poking fun at the others who are not so flexible. Yoga lasts about 20 minutes. In the past two weeks as the heat has become intense, attendance has really dropped from the 18 attendees on the opening day to some 8-10 and some days even less. Women come in to say hi and chat but they are not so keen to be working out. Hopefully when the heat abates, attendance will increase again. Classes are held daily except on holidays.
For those over 65 years of age, we are running other sessions of qigong and yoga for the elderly. Most participants are again women. The programs were started because we felt that the elderly needed specially designed slower moving exercises but the women soon proved to be more flexible than us young folks. They could hold yoga postures that I myself could not complete! They also really enjoy qigong with its emphasis on correct breathing and slow movements.
So far the best program for the over 65 age group has been the free massages. We enlisted the help of two masseuses to work from 10 am to 1pm daily. Each massage lasts for 30 minutes. At 10am, a WH truck picks up those who are scheduled to receive massages that day and brings them to the center. Two massages are performed at the same time with each person indicating the specific areas where they are experiencing pain or discomfort. The older participants – their ages range up to 88 years old – are stooped with age and really need help with their backs and legs.
Although massages are easily available everywhere in Thailand, for the rural poor they are still luxuries. Most of our villagers work on farms where the daily wage is 250 to 400 baht and would not be able to afford the 100 to 200 baht cost for an hour-long massage. Those receiving massages at the center are pensioners or disabled who live on a monthly pension of 500 baht and whatever their working children can manage to send them. While waiting for their turn, the villagers can watch a traditional Lanna Thai movie inside the center.
Other programs open to the entire community include a talk given by a monk which are very popular and English classes for children and adults. The English classes were not originally included in our program plans. But after our opening, the village headman’s assistant not only requested the classes but actually got people to sign up. I walked into the Warm Heart office one morning and was amazed to see that 40 people from Huay Sai had expressed interest in learning English.
After consultation with fellow volunteers Tim and Dana, we decided we didn’t want to do a structured class with a syllabus and curriculum because it would be too difficult to maintain with the regular turnover in WH volunteers. We opted instead to focus on conversation and game-based lessons. Dana teaches the little ones who make up the majority of the students. Tim took the middle to high school kids while I teach the two adult women who come in.
Tim and Dana have been amazing with the kids and their English classes have proven very popular. They play lots of games and have figured out how to communicate despite not knowing much Thai. I discovered that my students apparently knew how to read in English but had very little vocabulary. Then I had to work out how they had learned the English that they knew. When we learn our ABCs, we are taught phonetics and the sound of each letter. My students had either never been taught English phonetics or had forgotten. Everything they were reading was based on a visual memory of the word and its sound. In addition to going back to the basics, I also focus on practical daily conversations like ordering from an English menu or talking about their children.
The challenges we currently face are trying to organize programs that will interest the men. We also need to create an overall daily program for the disabled and elderly. After five weeks in operation, we realize that even those over 65 years still work to some extent with daily chores such as vegetable preparation and cooking. They therefore have schedules and habits which we must consider if we are to design a program that they will be able to attend on a regular basis.
I hope to ensure continuity by hiring a local staff person to keep the aerobics and yoga going as well as any new programs. I think it will always be possible to maintain the activities since they don’t require much funding, but the energy levels and overall participation will depend greatly on whoever takes over. Some days are great and we have barely enough room to accommodate everyone but others are pretty bad and I find myself hoping that at least someone will come in.
But most days are great. My last week at Huay Sai will be spent compiling notes and outlining procedures to help whomever replaces me. I have doubts about certain programs but I am sure that Warm Heart will make the necessary adjustments to continue serving the community. Given how much effort has been made by so many people to make the center a reality and judging by the positive response so far, I know WH will ensure that the center stays open.
A Scarf Story
Post by Eileen Eisele:
Part of my volunteer assignment during my stay at Warm Heart earlier
this year was helping to compile marketing materials for the weaving
micro enterprise program. My background as a photostylist on
commercial photo shoots has taught me one thing: a picture is worth a
thousand words. Having no prior knowledge of silk processing or
weaving, it was with utter fascination that I started documenting the
incredibly labor-intensive steps required to go from a creepy-crawly
eri silkworm to a sensational handspun, handwoven and natural dyed
silk scarf.
I was also lucky enough to actually meet Allison and Ellen, our newest
overseas buyers from Canada, who were in town to pick up an order of
our gorgeous organic silk scarves. Their operation is known as
Tammachat Natural Textiles (www.tammachat.com if you want to know more
about them) and we are proud to be included amongst the beautiful
handcrafted products that they are selling.
I present to you the story of a Warm Heart silk scarf:
Warm Heart weavers are located at the Warm Heart Children’s Home and at the Pa Dang Temple. At the Children’s Home, the looms sit under a converted rice barn; upstairs is the children’s library.
Eri silkworms munching away on lahoun leaves. Their only job in life is to eat, grow and poop. (The latter, I’m told, makes a tasty tea).
Soft eri cocoons in their” cocoon condo”, ready to be cut open. After the cocoon is spun, it is cut open and the pupae released (to become a moth, lay eggs and die or be eaten as a tasty fried snack).
Soaking the cocoons.
Bundle of fluffy eri silk fibers which are manually separated.
Rattana, a nun at the Pa Dang temple, spinning on a wheel made from a recycled bicycle rim.
Mae Joom’s experienced hands spinning the silk fibers into thread. Eri silk is very special in that it has the rough texture of a cotton wool mix but the softness of silk.
Mae Joom, Warm Heart’s head weaver and trainer, preparing the “deer’s ears” leaves for the dye bath.
Newly dyed strands of eri silk drying in the sun. The dyeing takes several steps to reach the desired color. In the next step the pink will become a dark, espresso brown.
Cotton and silk threads ready to be set up on the handloom.
Loom detail. I was obsessed by the beauty of the these hand-built looms, wonders of wood and metal recycling. Just gorgeous.
Ann weaving a Tammachat “green agate” scarf.
Coming to a neck near you!
Sripan and me. They are happy to turn the camera on me for a change!
Posting from Dana Madkhul:
The Huay Sai Community Centre has been a long time coming. Fundraising efforts began many months ago in the U.S. and were followed last year by many weeks of deliberations with village elders and community leaders here in Phrao to explain the purpose of the centre and to obtain the necessary permissions. We finally began the big job of cleaning and clearing the site last fall and then, bit by bit, carried out the renovation itself. Countless hands (and hearts!) contributed to this project and we are proud to finally present the centre as an educational and developmental hub for everyone in the village.
As the centre is located in a Buddhist community, it was imperative that it be blessed by a monk before formal use. At the auspicious time of 11am on Monday, March 5th, we were joined by district leaders, local onlookers and guests from Chiang Mai for the ceremonial proceedings. Speeches from Warm Heart’s director Michael Schafer and some of our board members were made and the ceremony ended with an extravagant lunch prepared by P’Tai, our resident chef.
We look forward to sharing with you the stories that emerge from the centre and its community! In the meantime, take a look at the video as it showcases the making of HSCC - from its humble beginnings to its bright future.
You can find more Warm Heart videos via our YouTube channel:
Posting from Tim Dunlea:
I want to raise awareness in this piece about the dark underbelly hiding beneath the beautiful scenery and friendly smiles of the locals here in Thailand.
Bumping around the well-worn leather seats of the rickety bus that’s taking me home from Chiang Mai to Phrao, I watch the sun disappear behind the mountain range. Another spectacular sunset. At the same moment, I’m listening to a song called “War Rages On” by a talented Australian singer-songwriter called Jordie Lane who’s from my hometown of Melbourne (to hear the song, click the ‘play’ button above). The song is a haunting tale of loss, despair and depression that the singer experienced when he was travelling in Vietnam.
Vietnam and Thailand share much in common. Both are relatively inexpensive to travel in, are dotted with exotic locations, and offer great street food and friendly locals. They also share other qualities that aren’t so easy to stomach: widespread poverty, crime and civil unrest, drug abuse, prostitution and diseases such as AIDS. From my months here in northern Thailand, I can also bear witness to the daily struggles faced by those with little income and high levels of debt which often lead to health-related issues and chronic depression.
I learned a lot when we interviewed the local residents for what they wanted from the community center. The most popular answer was simply the possibility to socialise as many elderly and disabled are housebound and feel isolated. One elderly man’s story really hit me hard. His simple frown as he lowered his head and picked at his fingernails was devastating. He said he was afraid that his son would not only disagree with him leaving the house but would try to hurt him, again. When he said “again”, we asked what he meant. The conversation turned dark as our translator explained that the son had twice tried to kill the father with a knife. Here was a hunchbacked and defenceless 87-year-old man who was unable to meet with his friends because of the opposition of his very own son.
My initial thought was that the man needed some kind of therapy to first face his problems and then to show him that he could find support outside his home. But then I realized how culturally unacceptable this would be in a society where people keep personal problems under wraps. Loss of face is an embarrassment in Thai culture, whether it is getting angry in public or revealing one’s problems. If the man shared his problems with others and asked for help to deal with them, he would bring extreme shame to himself and his family. Maybe the son was afraid of what his father would say.
The same dilemma about dealing with personal problems faces Thais at the other end of the age spectrum. Some of the Warm Heart kids who’ve been entrusted to the care of Michael and Evelind for most of the year come from hilltribe villages affected by drugs and the sex trade. The kids range in age from seven to 17; some of them are related but they all treat each other like brothers and sisters. I’ve taken a particular shine to one of the young girls. She’s cute and when she opens up, she’s a bundle of joy, but unfortunately, this doesn’t happen that often. Usually she closes up and it’s hard to reach her. She’s only eight years old and already she’s developed a defence mechanism to distance herself from problems which in turn protects her from acknowledging distressful situations and seeking help. Some of the other kids are also difficult to reach but luckily, most of them are pretty well adjusted, requiring only the caring, loving attention from a parental figure. The housemothers do an absolutely amazing job, but they have only so much time to share themselves amongst all the children and any problems that might be developing.
Walking through town or riding around the villages on my bike, I see many smiling faces and frequently hear calls of “Hello!” But it occurs to me that behind the apparent happiness lies a more troubling reality. How is it possible that here in sleepy Phrao I regularly hear ambulances screaming down the road, their lights and sirens on full blast. The ambulances are called out to deal with the many road accidents caused by people under the influence of alcohol, speed and other drugs, and otherwise driving recklessly. Hannah Reynolds, a previous Warm Heart Volunteer, was involved in anti-drug and alcohol programs in and around the Chiang Mai district and acquired some fascinating insights into the problems.
Personally I am struck by the emotional fragility of the residents of northern Thailand. The highest rates of suicide in Thailand occur in its five most northern regions: Lamphun (20.02 persons per 100,000), Chiang Rai (15.63), Mae Hong Son (14.45), Nan (13.03) and Chiang Mai (12.47). The most popular suicide methods include hanging, poisoning and shooting. What the official statistics don’t include as a cause of suicide is reckless driving. I have driven a pick-up truck on a foggy night, focusing my attention intently on the road ahead while continually darting quick looks at all the mirrors, only to be overtaken by two males on a motorbike, travelling at breakneck speed on the other side of the road with no lights on whatsoever. Further down the road there was an ambulance at an accident involving a motorbike and a car. In my opinion, the “whatever happens, happens” attitude towards life exhibited by reckless drivers is simply another form of suicide. If their recklessness ends up killing or maiming innocent victims, it becomes homicidal.
I then remind myself that depression and suicide aren’t just found in developing countries as I have personally experienced incidents of both amongst my close friends and family members. I believe that the ability to speak about one’s problems through professional counselling coupled with programs such as mentoring or structured community activities, both grassroot or publicly operated, are the best ways to combat these twin evils. I am anxious for the programs at the Hoi Sai Community Center to begin so that I can observe the interaction of the participants, find out what works, what doesn’t and why. It will be interesting to see whether the common need of all humans to attain and maintain well-being isn’t in fact greater than our so-called cultural differences.
