Volunteer Teacher Without Borders

If a group of people works together and manages to help just one child out of 1000 leave this small village to pursue further studies, that’s enough!

In the summer of 2024, filled with both excitement and nervousness, I arrived at a peaceful rural primary school in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to begin my volunteer teaching journey. The experience was deeply enriching, offering countless insights and reflections. Here are a few key takeaways:

From these days of spending time with the kids and living in the village, I truly felt a sense of peace and drew strength from everyone. It’s just like what I said when I first arrived: win to win!

After several days of very limited interaction, the children went from only one person speaking on the first day to everyone eagerly answering today. Although five days can’t change much, it’s enough to let them know that learning can happen in a different way, and I think that’s sufficient!

I may not be able to change everyone, or even a single person. But if a group of people works together and manages to help just one child out of 1000 leave this small village to pursue further studies, that’s enough!

While having dinner tonight, I chatted a lot with Nond about her story, and it was very inspiring. As a girl from a small Thai village, she managed to step out, achieve some success, and still insists on giving back to society. From her small frame, I felt something powerful!

The kids still remember the teacher who taught them last year (my daughter’s classmate). When I was about to leave, one said, “I miss Selinna.” I had wanted to video call the kids, but due to time zone issues (Teacher Selinna is currently suffering at NYU), it didn’t work out. When Teacher Selinna saw the video later, she said she cried!