The day started early in the village, as we were woken up by the early morning calls of the chickens and roosters. For breakfast we had pineapple, boiled eggs and toast as well as our first milos since we left home. After breakfast, we quickly got back on task in our work clothes that were still damp from yesterday. Yesterday’s heavy rains continued through to the morning. The villagers said that this was the worst rains they have ever had!!
Despite the poor weather, we kept high spirits and persisted with our building. It was difficult to begin with but we were all spurred on knowing that our hard-work meant so much for a underprivileged family. A couple of students were assigned the “unique” job of clearing the street leading into the village, as the heavy rain had washed large quantities of mud and broken trees onto it. It was a amusing to see how they all came back with “fake tans” (muddy from top to bottom.) The family was watching us build, which kept our efforts up, as we all had heard their tragic story which made life especially difficult for this family. A couple of years ago the father died while collecting honeycomb and the mother was left raising both of the children on her own.
When it was time for lunch, the weather had cleared and it began to gradually warm up. For lunch the villagers had prepared a delicious, authentic Thai noodle dish. After lunch we were given an opportunity to further explore the village which allowed us connect and play with the many young children. It was really inspirational to see how happy and playful all the children were despite the poor conditions which they are forced to endure on a daily basis. This experience taught us a valuable lesson as we at home often complain about insignificant issues whereas the kids here have basically nothing but always a smile on their face and a nice word for each other.
Our highlight of the day was a little boy with a future career as a Thai kick boxer, which he was enthusiastically practising for, picking “fights” with all the boys in the group. As we got back into the building, the house was truly beginning to take shape and we were starting to be able to visualise the finished product. As the day continued and the walls ascended, we faced some minor struggles including placing the bricks to keep the wall straight. In the end everyone was extremely proud of what was achieved. We felt very tired and a bit grotty and gross; however, the mood across the group remained positive. The house is almost finished and we have put lots of blood, sweat and tears into it.
The work done required lots of effort but we were rewarded with yet another delicious dinner. After dinner, we were given a talk about the many customs and traditions followed by the people of the village including the medicine man who uses a herbal serum to cure illness, or the village elder who is like a judge to the village, and decides about punishment and reward over the struggles. We also learned what the different parts of the traditional dress the girls wear symbolise, like a black belt to signify that they are married. Then we were shown four traditional dances and songs around a fire. It was a beautiful moment when we were all invited to join in with their festivities and dance around the fireplace.
– Luise and Sam
