Thai ’09 Journal 3

Today my focus was on Rotary. As chair of the International Service Committee of Rotary of Walla for the past few years my emphasis has been on applying for Matching Grants for various projects in Thailand, Nigeria, and Mexico. The projects are usually water or academic related. This latest one that we are pursuing is for a school in the mountains, an hour’s drive from Chiang Mai. It is a project that totals over $80,000.00 (US) and involves many clubs from places as far afield as Germany, Australia, Japan, and Walla Walla. It is a multifaceted project that involves sanitation facilities, library, and teaching equipments. Our Walla Walla club will focus on the library and teaching equipment.

Today I visited the campus along with the Chiang Mai club (with whom we have partnered in the past), and the women’s Rotary Club of Chiang Mai (which will be focusing on the sanitation system). The school being the center of life in the village will be the catalyst for significant changes in lifestyle (both in terms of sanitation and literacy) for the community. We are excited at the prospects; and my thoughts are that one year when Walla Walla University is at Chiang Mai Academy, we would take out a day and make a field trip to this rural area and conduct an English Day Camp.

If you are following the photos (click here to see them), you would have seen that yesterday was shopping day for some of the students that my wife, Violet, and I, as well as Lorraine Jacobs are sponsoring to attend Chiang Mai Adventist Academy. This endeavor was part of the 2005 Mission trip. They had a blast, as they experienced Christmas in July. If you feel impressed to assist a needy student at CAA and would like to get tax deduction for your contribution, please contact me.