Project Report
| Sep 10, 2013
Ban Nam Khem
By Sophie Birkett | Charitable Trust manager
![]()
Dear supporter,
In early 2013 our GVI Thailand hub reopened in the Ban Nam Khem village of Phang Nga. Staff and volunteers have been working with a whole new range of schools and partners to provide support in TEFL and teaching as well as new initiatives of health and conservation. The project hub is located in a low income fishing community. The local schools are weak in education and students particularly test low in English. Teachers here heavily rely on foreign assistance to teach English at their schools of often no English is taught as the Thai teachers don’t have the English language or confidence to pass spoken English on to their students.
Through future trainings for teachers and our local partners in the region GVI staff and volunteers will be able to provide much needed support and professional development in a fun and supportive environment. We hope that these opportunities will inspire Thai teacher to experiment with more student centered teaching methods and bring more English into their classrooms to provide their students with skills that will greatly benefit their education and career in the future.
Please stay tuned for news of more training and charitable projects at our new home in Phang Nga!
Many thanks
Jill Walker
Assistant Director of programs
Links:
![Share on Twitter]()
![Share on Facebook]()
Jun 14, 2013
Out and about in Phang Nga province
By Sophie Birkett | Charitable Trust manager
![]()
Our volunteers work alongside other communities outside of Baan Nam Khem.........
About a month ago whilst the volunteers and staff of GVI were planning for another action packed day either at the local school, the orphanage ,the social centre or national park, we were approached by a Thai lady called Kanya who had heard that we were volunteer teachers working currently with Baan Than Nam Chai. She introduced herself as one of the managers of a primary school in Kapong (about 40 km away) called Yaowawit school. The school is a boarding school that was primarily set up after the Tsunami and has continued to run up to now. The students of the school are usually from dysfunctional families that would struggle otherwise to ensure their children receive an education.
The school is currently in financial difficulty as their main sponsor can no longer support them after June this year. The school are looking for long- term volunteers to live and work at the school.....in particular English speaking volunteers to help teach and look after the students. GVI Phang Nga will continue to help where we can by supporting English camps and teacher training camps in the future and to keep up a relationship with the school and its founders.
The training began at 9am after a coffee when we arrived and was kicked off with a series of warmers to get the teachers in the mood. Teachers in Thailand are now required to attend English camps as part of the 2015 ASEAN (association of south East Asian nations) initiative of which English is the common language. The training was aimed not only at improving the teachers English but also at giving the teachers ideas for activities and teaching methods within their own classrooms. Each volunteer had taken the lead role for a section of the day and this seemed to work really well after we established that perhaps splitting the groups up would be a far more effective way of doing the training. The teachers were all very enthusiastic and didn’t need much encouragement when it came down to competitive games. Over the next 2 days volunteers were able to enjoy vegetables from the garden as part of their lunch and wonderful views from the school looking out over dense forest and mountains. The training was lead by teaching volunteers on a rotational basis and upon request a ‘songs and chants’ theme was the focus during the last session on the final day. The teachers that completed the 3 day training were awarded a certificate of completion and this of course was the initiator of ample photo taking. Unfortunately during all the excitement we did not get a group photo of everyone together but I’m sure and I hope that there will be another opportunity to work alongside these people again in the not too distant future.
Links:
![Share on Twitter]()
![Share on Facebook]()
Mar 27, 2013
New English classes begin in Pang Nga
By Sophie Birkett | Charitable Trust manager
![]()
After some complications and a slight delay, the brand new term is now underway! This term we decided that the lessons are going to be available for the current students of the Non Formal Education centre in Takuapa.
And so begins a four week term for the local people that are keen to learn. The staff at the centre have helped a lot, finding us a room that’s not too hot. We’ve been having a class of about 15 and they’re a joy to teach, really keen. They truly are as good as gold from bus drivers to farmers, young and old. As the term goes on more will become clear, but it’s looking good to continue next year.
So we’re happy to say that the term’s begun and most of all we’re all having fun. Thank you for your support and we look forward to giving you more information in our next report!
Links:
![Share on Twitter]()
![Share on Facebook]()
