Mundo Exchange decided to send Director Dalyn Simmons to the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Laos. To be accepted to this important international meeting Mundo first had to contact and submit information confirming our civil society or NGO status with the United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland. After our international cross cultural organization was checked and rechecked we were accepted as one of the few small civil societies to come and learn at this conference. Those leaders working in Laos sent a free entry visa confirming Mundo’s support of the elimination of cluster bombs making it both easy and free to enter their country.

Listen to song by The Temptations, War?

At the Cluster Bomb Convention in Vientiane, Laos Mundo Exchange was registered as a global civil society or NGO international organization and had the opportunity to sit in on the debates, voting and discussions of nations from around the world who were and have been working so hard to eliminate these destructive weapons. The seminars run by organizations and individuals who have been working for sometimes decades on this global social problem were mostly outstanding and informative. At night we would meet informally and formally, listen to people such as the Leader of Laos and other countries discuss their ideas, problems and solutions. We also had the opportunity to listen and learn from innocent children and adults who were the unfortunate casualties of bombings of their fields and lands.

Legacies of War Join the Fight

The meeting and experience allowed Mundo to be able to join with many people, NGOs and other civil society groups that are like minded and supportive to working hard to make the world more peaceful and just.  We recommend that other civil groups and individuals begin or continue to write letters to their nations, particularly if they are from one of the countries that has not signed and ratified the agreement and have not destroyed their arsenals.

To learn more about what is being done, and what you can do to eliminate the use of cluster bombs and also the manufacturing of these bombs Mundo Exchange has provided a list of resources found below:

• for General Information

• by Handicap International
• United Nation support
• Award from CNN for film on Cluster Bomb Use

Countries and the global citizens from Belgium, New Zealand, Ireland and Luxembourg were the pioneers passing legislation to ban investing in these weapons. Switzerland has also now outlawed investments in the production of cluster munitions.

According to clusterbomb.org  there are over 160 financial institutions who are continuing to invest in cluster munition manufacturers. Over 120 of these financial institutions come from countries that have not joined the Convention. The countries mentioned were China, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, the United States and Taiwan. Perhaps even more amazing is that over 30 of these financial institutions that still invest and support the producers of cluster bombs come from countries that are members of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The countries named are: Australia, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Great Britian.

"Bombies" found in Laos

During 2011 and 2010 both Bularia, Costa Rica and other nations ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions. However, around the same time Libya forces, as well as US and allies may have used cluster bombs in Misrata and throughout Libya too. The country of Yeman may have had US cluster bombs dropped. And although some countries such as Britain have signed the ban of cluster bombs they lease the island of Diego Garcia to the US to store their cluster bombs. Go figure?  Unfortunately, Thailand has used cluster bombs during their ongoing conflict with Cambodia. The good news is that Thailand had representatives at the conference who are learning and working to educate their people on the necessity of legally joining the Convention and refraining from the use of these weapons.  The Government of the United States was not represented at the conference. However,  American civil societies were on board.

Religious leaders agree to the elimination of the use of cluster bombs

One of the most trying times during the Laos conference, was when two young Lao sisters were walking home and found a cluster bomb that killed one girl and maimed the other. These bombs called bombies by many Laos were left by the Americans during their war on Laos years ago.  The U.S. and their allies dropped more than 250,000,000 submunitions on just Laos. Out of that total, about one third did not explode and are still killing innocents such as this young girl and have killed or injured approximately 50,000 more children, farmers, fathers, mothers and other family members.  Over 60% of the casualties were young boys.

Learning from the past is often difficult but it is possible that humans can further evolve past our opposable thumb.

Let us know your feelings on the use and destruction of cluster bombs and other military weapons being used today, what countries are still using them and what your ideas are of helping to eliminate these bombs while educating the world.  There is much to do by individuals, nations, civil organizations, associations and others to make this world safer and more humane. Its time to get on board and help ratify the Convention. Its time to stop putting such great amounts of money into wars and “conflicts” (http://costofwar.com/en/ instead of helping those in need of medicine, food, shelter and clean water. It is time.

VOLUNTEER STORY

This Thai student is 10 years old. Everyday after volunteering at school we would drive him out to the rice fields, where he works to help support his Thai family. Because of the amount of hard physical work my young Thai friend must do on a daily basis, he is very thin and his clothes reflect his living conditions. His good hearted parents cannot afford to spend money to buy him a new school uniform or even essential school equipment, like a schoolbag.

Volunteer and Students at Thai School

When my friend was very young his parents divorced and he was left behind to live with his mother. His mother at that time was not able to make a living on her own so she remarried. Her new husband did not treat his new step son very well, and eventually the mother had to leave her second husband and send her son to live with his grandmother on a rural Thai farm. Due to their financial situation, his family has a limited amount of time and money they can spend on him and his growing needs.

Good Thai Friends

When I first met my new Thai student he came across as the tough guy at school. The teachers would refer to him as being naughty and often use draconian methods of coercion if his behaviour was “out of line”- which happened often. During school lunchtimes he would run over pebbles, through mud, and climb up trees, all without wearing shoes. To further impress his classmates he would ride a bicycle without the aid of his hands or feet. He could also ride the bicycle while sitting the wrong way around, or even standing the wrong way around!

Students and volunteers in Thailand

One day my young friend spent the entire lunch break in the tree tops. As he was climbing down, to return to class, I comically called him “Ling” (Roughly meaning in Isaan – “Monkey boy”). It turns out he was rather fond of this new nickname and insisted that everyone start calling him by the English name “Monkey boy.” He also became rather fond of me. He started competing with the girls over who could hold my hand, and when school would finish he would always be the last to leave the school. After which he would say, “See you tomorrow!” in perfect English with a massive grin on his face.

Volunteers come to help with Lokgatat and Mundo Exchange’s community aid projects. This particular volunteer, Mara, returned home to raise needed funds for Thai children, such as this young boy. With volunteer assistance in Thai schools and continued contact throughout the years these children realize that they are loved and respected by a large group of people, from both their own country and others. A big and sincere “Thank you!” to all global volunteers where ever you help in this world.

Mara’s Volunteer Story

One of the first friends I made in Isaan was a lovely child, she was very shy, eleven years old, and was in grade 6 in a very poor Thai school. She was very affectionate towards me when I first arrived as a volunteer at the small rural Thai school. Almost everyday she had gifts like flower necklaces, self drawn Hello Kitty’s or Barbie stickers to shower me with. Although not speaking much, she enjoyed being around me and simply holding my hand. I later asked a teacher about the girl’s background and was quite shocked of the brief overview I got.

Volunteer Experience in Thai rural school.

I was told that this young girl’s mother had been sexually assaulted almost a year prior to her birth. Nong’s mother neither had the money to bring up a child nor the will after what she had been through. Her first thoughts were to abort the unborn child as it seemed the easiest solution. To achieve this end, she swallowed several types of medication and washed them down with alcohol. Although the fetus was not harmed, the mother is said to have gone a bit crazy after this occasion. She abandoned her child after she was born and left her to live with her 60 year old Thai grandmother.

During an English class the children were taught to introduce their relatives in English. When it was my young friends’s turn to describe her father, she broke into tears and was not able to speak a word. Everyone apparently knows of her situation but no one seems to know how to talk with her and help her deal with her past. That’s why she is left fatherless, confused and alone. There is a beautiful close-knit community throughout Isaan, it’s just that talking about someone else’s issues is seen as rude – as is bringing up personal issues. Whilst I respect that difference of culture I do stand by my resolve that my young friend should be able to get proper guidance on this matter before she reaches adulthood – Mara

Many children around the world have similar backgrounds as Mara’s friend. As educational and community development volunteers we can show empathy towards these young people and help them see that we care about them greatly through utilising informal and progressive teaching techniques, being open to cultures and problems that we do not understand and listening to the young person try to find the means to reach out to us. Whilst these are great skills to already posses before venturing out into the big wide world of international volunteering we do have short courses where we can supply some useful techniques for success in helping people understand how questioning,  active listening and tolerance as part of our culture induction if need be. An exchange of cultures is just that – an exchange. We keep bias out of our process but equality in our mandate. Everyone learns, if only a little sometimes.

Mundo Exchange director, Joan Williams, has assisted children and adults throughout the world who are experiencing feeling of neglect, abandonment, and post traumatic stress disorders. If you would like to correspond with her and exchange ideas as a mental health specialist or volunteer feel free to contact her at info@mundoexchange.org. We thank our intern and volunteer for writing this story regarding perceived social problems in Thailand.

The child’s name has been changed or omitted to secure their privacy.

The atrocities brought by cluster bombs must start by cleaning them up

Dalyn Simmons, a current Mundo’s board director and founder, who also  helps local Thais with volunteer cross cultural orientations and is an overall cultural liaison attended the First Meeting Of State Parties To The Convention On Cluster Munitions held in Vientiane, Laos.

Dalyn stated that as well as being an informative event there already have been great steps forward regarding a 65 point concrete plan over the next five years to reduce the estimated 80 million unexploded bomblets from cluster bombs still in Laos from previous wars. Whilst this is great news, there are over 30 other countries still affected by the great threat that cluster bombs pose. Appropriately one quarter of  Laos living on farms and in villages had bombs dropped on or near them between 1964 and 1973.  Around three hundred people are either injured or killed every year in Laos as a result of the extensive use of cluster munitions and heavy bombardment during the last 5 decades – above and beyond the estimated 50,000 killed during the original bombing raids.

The action taken by representatives from the 110 governments and over 200 civil societies attending will help to make a large difference. With many countries already destroying their stockpiles of these weapon and a few others claiming to be clean from them in their lands it shows there is hope to remove those still existing – however long it may take.

The use of cluster bombs in Iraq in recent years shows that while these weapons are now deemed illegal, they are still a very close reminder of what has been done recently to normal people living in areas that are viewed as the enemy.

Being Mundo Exchange, we will not be posting links to disturbing images or any other material which shows the disfigurement of human life from these munitions – but they do exist and the problem with them is all to real. Instead we will give you 2 very informative links, 1 to the official monitoring of how countries are dealing with the issue and 1 to a campaign who has helped create this a reality. And then a fun video showing the wonders of creative input to raise awareness of such an important topic.

Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor

Cluster Munitions Coalition

Mundo Exchange volunteer Annie with host sister

When I volunteered in Thailand I was able to experience the wonderful life with my home stay family.  Every day I would wake up and get ready for school, and the mother of the house would say, “Good morning!” – one of the few English phrases she learned during my stay.  I would respond, “Sawatdee don chao!” in terrible yet enthusiastic Thai.  We would laugh, and then I would sit down to have breakfast and coffee.  After that I would go off to school, returning at some point in the afternoon.  Our afternoons were never dull.  The mother of my Thai family not only cares for the son of her own son, who works in Bangkok and cannot care for his child during the work week, but she also takes care of some of the other children in the neighborhood in the afternoon while their parents are at work.  This is not an atypical family situation in Thai villages.

Tha Bo Director Khamdee, host mom and teacher and Annie

What made things forever entertaining in my home stay family life was that the members of the family have varying English speaking abilities.  The older sister in my family, Jan, speaks English pretty well and was very willing to help me communicate with everyone else in the family, who did not speak any English at all.  Even though Jan and I did not always understand each other easily, we had so much fun talking and joking together.  I now think of her as a close friend.  However, Jan was only home in the mornings and the evenings.  I would come home from school in the afternoon, and for several hours I would spend time with my home stay family just listening and smiling, unable to really communicate.  But this was a blessing.  Feeling mute in the afternoon spurred me to work hard and study Thai with Mae, the mother of my home stay family.  While I never became very good at the language, these lessons in the afternoon certainly made me closer with Mae.  Sometimes other people from the neighborhood would come to learn English too!  When we all felt we could not learn any more, we would play with Nick, Mae’s grandson, and his friends from the neighborhood.  We would play games, draw, hula hoop, watch cartoons, and eat, eat, eat!

Volunteer Annie and host family

Once Jan and her brother came home from work, we would all sit on the floor and eat a delicious Thai meal together.  The family was incredibly tolerant of my vegetarian diet, and went out of their way to make sure I had plenty of great food to eat.  My love of Mae’s food even drove me to promise to fly her to America if I become rich and help her start a Thai restaurant, so I am crossing my fingers that this promise is realized.  During dinner we would watch Thai soap operas and the news, and just enjoy each other’s company.  My family shared their lives with me so completely, and showed me kindness beyond anything I could have imagined.  Compared to my life in America they did not have much, but they were always so generous to me.  I have never met such good hearted people in my entire life.

Thai Bo Family preparing for Thai cultural ceremony

Everyone I met in Somhoung embraced my desire to learn about Thai culture.  Students came into the English classroom, armed with dictionaries and Thai-English textbooks, to ask about my family and share stories about theirs.  Faculty and staff talked with me at the lunch table and everyone readily explained things when I asked, which was often.  Every night, the older sister of my Thai family would teach me about Thai customs, translate the news for me, teach me about Thai history and the monarchy, and answer any questions I had from the day about Thai ways.  And everyone tolerated my feeble attempts to speak, and subsequent butchering of, the Thai language.  Everyone was always warm, patient, compassionate, and understanding.

In my regrettably brief study of the Thai language so far, I learned that to say “I understand” in Thai, directly translates as something along the lines of “It entered my heart.”  And while I am not sure I truly do understand the people of Somhoung as well as I would like, I understand some, and they all have certainly entered my heart in one way or another.  I now happily reminisce about all the memorable things I have done.  Over the course of a month I have seen three different local Thai schools and have been to four large assemblies, where I was expected to take part but could not understand what was being said or asked of me.  I would imagine I have met around thirty directors of local schools, many of whom, despite their education and professionalism, were giddy and eager to have their picture taken with a farang.  I have received an award that I cannot read and subsequently have no idea what it is for.

I have been to a Thai baby shower, a retirement party, and a funeral.  I have taken many showers from a bucket.  I have killed countless number of bugs, which will most definitely contribute to my being reborn as one – my home stay family is certain.  I have been to five local wats and prayed with my family, as well as helping them prepare for Isaan ceremonies.  I have been asked about my American family life in some unusual ways: whether my mother is fat, whether my brother is married and/or likes Thai women, and many somewhat offensive but certainly hilarious questions about the farang diet.  I have ridden to school on the back of a motorcycle several times, incredibly awkwardly – to the great amusement of the on looking students.  I have publicly spoken in a language I do not know to over three hundred and fifty students and teachers – three times.  I have sang alone to classes so many times that I no longer possess the ability to feel ashamed of my singing voice.  I have been left alone in the English classroom a few times, helpless to say anything but “Ow eeg mai?” – meaning “Again?” – and causing the poor children to have to sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” five times in a row.

I cannot begin to touch on all of the wonderful, lovely, and hilarious memories I have from my experiences over the past month.  The culmination of it all was a beautiful Isaan traditional ceremony called a “bai sii su kwun” during which the entire school gathered to honor my departure.  Everyone from my school, as well as some other members from the local community, came together and tied strings around my wrists as they wished me good luck on my journey.  The palpable energy I could feel during that time is ineffable, but almost brought me to tears.  These caring, generous, and kind hearted people showed me so much love, and I struggle to articulate my feelings for them.  I treasure all of the time I have spent at Ruammitwitthaya School and living with my Thai family, and will never forget it.  I am now overcome with a painful feeling of homesickness, this time not for America, but for life with my Thai family and the wonderful people of Somhoung.

In honor of Jennifer Talbot, Mundo’s initial supporter and advisor and to those survivors and victims of the Guatemalan Massacres

On Mundo Exchange’s recent service learning trip to Guatemala our six international volunteers were constantly made aware of one of the many challenges many rural Guatemalans are currently experiencing – that of obtaining an education that will eventually lead to a paid employment position.  This is so true in the small, primarily indigenous village of Chajul, located in the mountains of northwest Guatemala. Many of the Mayans who are now adults were unable to attend school during the 36 plus years of violence that wreaked extreme havoc in this area. Mundo Exchange along with many friends are making it possible for Cecelia to attend nursing school in Guatemala.

Student Nurse Cecelia and child

Many Chajulenses, or the local indigenous inhabitants, survived large massacres, murders, and disappearances and were literally on the run from the late 1970’s through the early 90’s. (See Voices and Images: Mayan Ixil Women of Chajul, Asociacion de la Mujer Maya Ixil and M. Brinton Lykes, July, 2000; Mayan Women: Survival, Transformation and Hope, Joan Williams, 2000 for more information.)  Now they are raising families and trying to identify ways to financially support the family, as well as have an opportunity to pursue their own passions. Mundo has been supporting health and education projects in Chajul for over ten years.

One of Mundo’s strong supporters was Jennifer Talbot, a pediatric nurse practitioner who worked most of her professional life in Alaska.  Jennifer traveled to Guatemala to visit her sister, Joan. Joan, the current president of Mundo Exchange Board of Directors, was working with a group of women in Chajul who were defining the affects of the violence on their lives. They were deciding what they could do as a group to enhance the lives of their growing families.  It was clear from the work the women were accomplishing was important to many people in Guatemala. It was also clear that health care in general, and in particular, health care for woman and children, was severely lacking.  Jennifer’s hope was to eventually spend time in Chajul helping to develop their health care services. Unfortunately, she passed away from cancer before she was able to pursue her dream, but Mundo continues to work towards that goal.

Jennifer Talbot Mundo Exchange Supporter

In October of 2009, Volunteer Andy conducted medical clinics and worked to bring down vital medical supplies to Chajul.  On our recent trip, Volunteers Bruce and Silas brought down another 100 pounds of well-needed medical supplies.  Now Mundo has an opportunity to support health care development in Guatemala in a different way – by helping a local Guatemalan pursue her dream of becoming a nurse.  Cecelia is in her early 30′s.  She hopes to attend nursing school in the nearby town of Nebaj and eventually work at the health clinic in Chajul.  Chajul’s Centro de Salud has finally become a functioning, exciting and expanding clinic that people can access free of charge.  This year they have focused on maternal health care and survival of mother and infant with great success.

Cecilia wants to join the health care team.  Upon successful completion of her training, she hopes to have a consistent job at the clinic.  She has two children for whom she is working very hard to put through school.  She is bright and optimistic about the future despite the fact that her husband is jobless in the US. Cecilia’s mother raised 13 kids by herself because her husband was killed during the civil war violence.

Cecelia's Mother and Mundo President Joan

One of the things we have realized in our last few trips to Chajul is that very few careers are available to people in this region.  Three reasons come to mind.  A: Chajul was and still is primarily an agronomy society and has historically not had social services, including health or education; B: There are very few people literate enough to attain a professional position, and C: Very few institutions can offer quality educational/training opportunities. Mundo sees this as an opportunity to help with an education that will actually culminate into a sustainable job and will benefit the local community’s desire to increase their quality and quantity of health care by having local Maya Ixil nurses working on site, understanding the local Maya traditions of health care and speaking the local indigenous language.  Cecelia’s training will be at a hospital in Nebaj (the nearby larger city) which has been running for several years and has a good number of well-trained nurses and doctors.

To help Cecelia achieve her goal, Mundo has successfully raised the funds for her educational fees, uniforms, and other nursing supplies.  We are partnering with Limitless Horizons Ixil, a wonderful NGO that is focused on supporting middle and high school students in their pursuit of a quality education.  As an on sight organization, they know Cecelia well and had this to say about her: “she is a luchadora (a fighter), a single mom who really takes advantages of opportunities”.  While the nursing class in Nebaj is expensive and not the best program, Veronica (LHI Administrative Director) believes that with her children its really her only option of studies, and that she deserves the opportunity and has the potential to excel. LHI will manage the scholarship.  This means that she will be asked to sign a contract for Mundo, pick up monthly scholarships checks  and turn in copies of her registration and grades so that everybody can be sure she is in fact, taking the class.  This seems like good practice to us, and insures she has the needed resources for her education.

As Mundo Exchange volunteers continue to help Guatemala, Thailand, the Dominican Republic and other projects we sometimes take note that the life, work and family stresses we thought were so large in respect to those we help are mostly so very small; like communication with friends, family and work cohorts, disagreements and misreads, time when we were helping others when we felt they didn’t understand the best picture, the big picture often connected to our own needs and perspective are inconsequential in the real scheme of the world.

As visitors to other countries and projects we are humbled by the many many people we meet and volunteer and work with. It gives us a way to help the world and people and projects in need but also makes us look within and examine what may at times humor us, anger us, frustrate us, make us smile and make us cry. In some ways we are fortunate to have had some food, good water and other basic needs throughout life. In other ways these simple take for granted luxuries make us unable to sometimes understand global society as a whole. We keep trying and we somehow know we are on the right track in terms of Mundo’s projects, vision and mission. Volunteers, interns, local staff, directors, donors, web designers and all those that have helped or are helping with various global projects keep us guided. We thank you all for working together to help others and for your continued support.  Sometimes acting in terms of the global community instead of going with our own needs and desires is what is needed. You have all helped so much to make this world a much safer and better place for people like Cecilia.

A dream of the future for Mundo is to continue to help local communities build their capacity to educate, train, and ultimately offer high quality social services that the community identifies as critical to their well-being.  Thanks to everyone who is helping us pursue these efforts!

Joan Walton Williams Author

Mundo Exchange volunteer, Sandra , from Australia returned to help us once again with our Thai Buddhist projects in Isan, Thailand. Sandra brought with her the joy of helping Thai people. She went to a forest wat and helped the monks learn a bit more English. Sandra finds this particular Buddhist temple a wonderful place to be. Like many Thai wats it is located along the Mekong River separating Lao from Thailand. Unlike many Buddhist wats throughout the world this one is composed of both nuns and monks that teach their vegetarian and eco friendly ways to anyone that wants to learn, including people and monks from India, Nepal, Lao, and Tibet. This is a place where one can find tranquility, learn to accept the challenges of life, learn tolerance and forgiveness, learn more about Buddhism too, laugh a lot and share cultural ways with one another.

Volunteer Thailand, Amy, having a great time with Thai kids.

Amy Fry has twice volunteered with Mundo Exchange and now has assisted her Thai hosts as an orphanage manager; helping new volunteers learn how to work more effectively with the boys. While home in England she is a nurse and helps people there too. Amy is perhaps one of the most altruistic and positive people we have had the good fortune to meet and maintain a growing and important friendship with throughout the years. Although Mundo and Lokgatat do not accept many volunteers at one time, all of our Thailand volunteers who assist in Thailand orphanages, small rural schools and with other community development projects do so with extreme vigour and heart. We are honoured to know them.

 

We sincerely thank you, Amy, for who you are and what you do for this world. We also would like to again thank Sophie, Sid, Mum, Erica and all of your other wonderful friends and volunteers that helped make the lives of children living in the Thai orphanages a much, much better place.  Chock Dee!

 

The following article reflects the volunteer experiences of Amy Fry during her third time helping orphans in Thailand.

Amy using her specialist medical skills with the children

Amy helping Thai orphans

Volunteering in Thailand

In April I returned to Isaan for the third time to volunteer at an orphanage in Thailand. I had volunteered before with my friend Sid and we spent time with the orphan boys during their school break. I returned again and spent more time with these special boys and also explored the Isaan area too. I was then asked to help as the Orphanage Manager with Prayoon, one of my Thai hosts. Prayoon has helped the NGO Mundo Exchange and also helped to found, Laekplian Lokgatat, a Thai community development association.

It was an amazing week with the boys at a local Isaan orphange. This time I brought my sister, Sophie, with me to volunteer and meet the boys. I was very excited for her to see and experience everything I had been ranting about since my last visit. We had done some fundraising before we left England. With the help of my friend Erica and lovely Mum, not to mention all the other friends and family who helped us raise over a £1000 for the boys. The funds bought school uniforms, casual clothing, much needed flip flops, games, toys, treats such as ice-cream, supplies for activities and more needed items for these Thai children.

Each time I return to the volunteer house and the welcoming arms of Nalin, Bobby and Prayoon I feel like I have gone home. They are amazing people and I admire everything they do and are doing for Thailand.

Our visit coincided with Songkran – Thai New Year. I knew what to expect but Sophie had no idea. She was blown away by the wild celebrations. We were lucky enough to be invited to join the neighbours and their family for a blessing ceremony. We were driven for what seemed like miles out into the remote villages, throwing water all the way! By this time it was 5pm and we were soaking wet and freezing cold! Hard to believe one can be cold in April in Thailand, but we had ice water thrown on us, then sat in the back of the truck shivering and throwing water too!

Songkran: A Time of fun, family and friends

We finally arrived to be welcomed by a loving family. They invited us into their home and included us in their celebrations. This was so overwhelming, as we were first complete strangers to them but this didn’t seem to matter. The whole family lined up, including us and blessed the elders, wished them good luck and good health. We had just dried off and warmed up by the fire they had lit when we got soaked again!

Going back to the Orphanage was amazing. It was lovely to see lots of familiar faces and some new ones. The boys seemed very pleased to see us and immediately came running over, many of them remembering my name! I never quite get over seeing so many children in one place that seem to be unwanted or can’t be cared for by family. Some of the boys looked like they had grown which was nice to see. They still had their grubby clothes on, many ripped and far too big for them. Personal hygiene education continues to be a challenge when Mundo Exchange volunteers try to teach the boys how to stay clean and brush their teeth. Having said all of that, their big smiles, enthusiastic, enquiring and positive nature paints a very different picture.

Chilling with the boys

We also went back to the boy’s home for emotionally disturbed children.  It is very different. Fewer boys, better facilities but still these Thai children are crying out for love and attention.  Most of these boys have been either neglected, had brain injuries or need more help learning to deal in a world that is a very big challenge to them.  They loved having the volunteers with them as many of them were allowed to throw water on passing cars and people.  We danced, played, laughed and ate some sweets together too.

We had the most unforgettable week with the boys in both homes. The most memorable day for me was when we took the four paddling pools along with balls and filled them with water. We laid them out on the lawn and the boys went crazy! They splashed around in the water, whilst we had a production line going to give them all a wash! We took soap with us and by the end of the day they were all sparkling clean! They also had an ice lolly each whilst playing in the pools. I can’t put into words how wonderful it was to see them playing and having so much fun like children that age should be.

Throughout the week we visited a young sick orphan at a local hospital that I had met during my first volunteering time in Thailand. He is the type of boy that one loves immediately. He was really poorly this time. We took him some games and activities to pass the long days in hospital and tried to get him food he liked to eat. He hardly spoke but we could usually get a smile from him. Seeing this young boy in hospital alone whilst all the other children in the ward had at least one member of the family with them was heartbreaking. We felt completely helpless. Often we were there at meal times but our young boy usually refused the hospital food but would often eat the sausage we got him from Seven Eleven! It was so distressing to see him like this as my last memory of him was when he was tap-dancing and chasing after his toy car. We told him that we loved him, would miss him and hoped that he felt wanted and cared for in the short time we were there.

Time flew by; we literally had something to do every minute of every day. It was a complete rollercoaster of emotions as always. One minute we would be playing with the boys, laughing and joking, the next we would be fighting back tears as we visited daily our young friend in hospital and felt absolute despair for him.

We were so sad to leave everyone, but we knew it wasn’t goodbye. So thank you Nalin, Bobby and Prayoon once again for another amazing experience. I can’t recommend volunteering with you guys enough! It has been life changing for me. I’ve learnt so much about the world, Thailand, its people and culture. I have gained a second family and one hundred plus gorgeous boys that I love so much I think my heart will burst!

The people of Thailand hold a very strong bond with the King and consider him with utmost regard which extends to all of the royal family. He is a highly educated man with an abundance of skills ranging across ecology, photography, philosophy and music as well as many more.

All throughout Thailand from the South to the North Thai people hold May 5th to be a national holiday and can be seen celebrating the day with happiness and thanks in their heart.

It is incredibly hard to put into words the absolute love that is so abundant across Thailand for the King. Here is a short song in English that someone has written which gives a brief overview of his hard works and shows citizens praise him for all his efforts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52reTs2n8uk

The ancient Celtic practise of celebrating New Year Photo by Calum Hutchinson (CC-BY-SA-2.5)

Beltane (and Beltaine or Bealltainn) is an ancient festival which celebrates the end of the cold and the beginning of the warm. It comes from the ancient peoples of the Celtic Nations and is generally seen as a New Year celebration. Bealtane is a cross-quarter day, marking the midpoint in the Sun’s progress between the spring equinox and summer solstice and is considered special in many other cultures.

While it is unknown if it was celebrated in Mid-May or on the earliest possible full moon prior,  it is has now taken up residence these days on April 30th/May 1st and has a huge following in Scotland as well as other places.

On Carlton Hill in Edinburgh a huge party of revellers parade up to the top of the hill and are bemused at the variety of performers who re-enact ceremonies of the green man, blue men, red men and May queen and her maidens. These displays show the elements of wind, fire, water and earth, the rebirth of the year and the upcoming harvests ahead. This is made possible by the local authorities and the School of Scottish Studies from the University of Edinburgh.

There is a huge bonfire burned which is to give luck to the cattle and the crops as well as many smaller fires and fire dancers placed throughout the partying area which provide entertainment for those lucky enough to have a ticket.

To get a feel for the festival please watch this excellent video which shows it from start to end in an well edited fashion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLfTKrJYu-8

To read more about Beltane and the fire festival please read this article.

If you know of a festival from somewhere in the world and would like to see it included on Mundo Exchange please feel free to contact us with the details of it and we will happily look into including it and sharing it with the world.