FOLLOW US
Religious Youth Service Builds a Playground in Thailand
Written by Delia Javanasundara, Project Director
Thursday, December 28, 2006
UPF-Thailand together with the Foundation for Development and Peace and the International Cultural Educational Foundation were the main organizers of the Thailand-Cambodia Religious Youth Service Project December 14-28, 2006 under the theme “Building a Culture of Heart and Character through Service.”
One of the objectives of the project was to encourage interreligious youth to develop a deeper understanding about their own religions and to encourage, promote and contribute to meaningful dialogue between young people who represent the religions of the world. A December 16 Roundtable Discussion on “The Meaning of Volunteerism in my Own Faith,” featured five speakers from different faiths: Baha'i Community, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.
The project was co-hosted by the Office of the Governor of Samut Prakarn. There were 17 government and private agencies involved in preparing for the project and welcoming our participants. Another component was the Clean-up Campaign co-hosted by the Regional Office of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Asia and the Pacific which was held on the morning of December 17. It was attended by 300 youth including RYS participants and local officials of Samut Prakarn. The Deputy Governor, Hon. Wannida Bonprakong, came to welcome the participants and the volunteers and express his appreciation for cleaning up the Bangphu Seashore and also treating the polluted water.
Constructing the children’s playground and painting the old school building of Krong Bang Phu School were the centerpiece for everyone to come together. The local people, 15 students from Samut Prakarn Technical School, more than 20 high school students and 5 students from Suan Kulab who came as interpreters, joined in to work together with the participants. Some local persons came with bread and juice to feed the participants and the local volunteers. The Department of Health and the Police Patrol came every day to the worksite to look after the safety of the volunteers and RYS participants. There were no concerns about the safety of the participants in the evening since they stayed at the army barracks.
It was very effective to ask the local government and the community to be involved in the project. Free medical treatment was provided for two Australian participants: one experienced food poisoning in Malaysia before coming to Thailand and the other had a cold. Every time the group left the barracks, the police patrol were there to escort the bus. Accommodations were provided at half price, and free admission was offered to the tour to the Crocodile farm and the Ancient City.
At the Closing Ceremony for the Thailand project in Samut Prakarn, the Mayor came to give his congratulatory speech to thank the participants for giving their time, effort and money for the small school of Bangphu. The head teacher and head of the village were very grateful that because of the RYS, the local government built a bus stop in front of the school, which they never had before. Dr. Suthin Nophaket, Commissioner of Human Rights in Thailand and UPF Ambassador for Peace, gave the Closing Remarks on behalf of UPF-Thailand. On that evening, it was like a festival for the entire village. Everyone sang and danced together. Even an 80-year-old grandmother came up on the stage and danced together with the participants. Grandmothers and mothers shed tears when our participants said goodbye to them.
If you find this page helpful and informative please consider making donation. Your donation will help Universal Peace Federation (UPF) provide new and improved reports, analysis and publications to you and everyone around the world.
UPF is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization and all donations are tax deductible in the United States. Receipts are automatically provided for donations of or above $250.00.
|
Donate to the Universal Peace Federation: Your donation to support the general programs of UPF. |
Donate to the Religious Youth Service (RYS): Your donation will be used for service projects around the world. |
Donate to UPF's Africa Projects: Your donation will be used for projects in Africa. |