Back in Boys Town!

My original plan had been to visit Vientiane prior to Luang Prabang, and to later cross into Northern Thailand and work my way down to Bangkok. However whilst in Vietnam I'd seen an email from the Joe Homan charity, saying that they were desperately in need of volunteers in both India and Thailand. I knew that the one Boys Town in Northern Thailand was close to the Laos border and only a short distance from Vientiane, and so I'd be passing very close by. Suddenly I had the urge to change my plans and go back to Boys Town for a week. I'd had such an amazing experience last time and it just felt like the right thing to do. 

So after my one day in Vientiane I took a bus across the border into North-Eastern Thailand, and the city of Khon Kaen. Here I was met by Dr Anukul, the Director of the Thai Boys Town. 

Following the success of the projects in India, Joe Homan decided to try to set up more Boys Towns internationally. He met with the Rotary Club of Bangkok who directed him to their counterparts in  Khon Kaen, the poorest region of Thailand. At the time Anukul was a professor at a local university, but following Joe's example in India, he set up a Boys Town in the small village of Nam Phong, some 40km from the city. That was 25 years ago and Anukul has been running it ever since. He is a lovely, cheerful man with boundless energy, who is constantly chuckling about something or other - I couldn't believe it when he told me he is 76 years old! He works here as a volunteer, i.e he has never been paid a penny (or baht!). Even now he occasionally does lectures at the university and spends the money on extra treats for the boys.

Welcome to Boys Town!

After lunch in the city we drove out to the Boys Town where I was greeted by 50 young boys, aged between 12 and 18. In true Boys Town style I was given a very warm welcome with a garland of Frangipani around my neck - the scent was just gorgeous! Then I had a couple of hours to rest before a celebratory meal that night. They told me that this was to honour my arrival but apparently they have a celebration on the last Sunday of every month, to announce the winners of the monthly futsal (7-a-side football) tournament. Anukul had prepared his signature chicken curry, and we even had ice cream for dessert, which was apparently a real treat! The boys then put on a performance of traditional music and dancing before I was given the honour of handing out the prizes (crisps and fizzy drinks) to the tournament winners.

The Boys Town Band

My week at Boys Town was a little different to what I'd expected. I'd call myself a visitor rather than a volunteer really, as they didn't seem to want me to help with anything (although I did write up one report for sponsors, in the end!). Pramote, the endearing Assistant Director (keen to practice his English) became my unofficial tour guide and took me around the local area, including a visit to a King Cobra village and some local temples. I also attended the weekly meeting of the Khon Kaen Rotary Club, which was an interesting experience. Thailand has a King of whom they are extremely proud, so the meeting started and ended with these 10 gentlemen solemnly singing the national anthem. 

Pramote and I about to head off for more sight-seeing!

Me with a large Buddha

Beautiful monastery near Khon Kaen

King Cobra Show - a bit scary, actually

At a temple in Khon Kaen

Just as in India, the Boys Town was a beautiful and peaceful place, surrounded by lush green vegetation.

The view from my room

In the evenings, I wandered around the premises to watch the boys carrying out their after-school jobs: feeding the chickens, tending to the fruit and vegetables grown on site, cleaning and tidying the bungalows. 

Vegetable-watering duty!

Clearing dead vegetation

As the sun set and the days became cooler they took to the playground for games of futsal and takraw (kick volleyball). Most of the boys are passionate supporters of English Premier League clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal and I've promised to send them some magazines and stickers when I get back to England!

The regular evening futsal practice

Takraw!

On a couple of evenings, Anukul asked me to come and chat to the boys during their English study sessions. I assumed that he'd have some sort of structure in mind but he just gave me a chair and asked me to start talking! There are numerous sides to my character which made this a less-than-ideal situation: for one, I don't really like speaking to large groups, and if I do it, I need to be very well-prepared and confident of my subject matter! I also don't really like talking about myself for great lengths of time. I managed it on the first night, for about 10 minutes but on the second night I really couldn't think of anything to add! I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I ended up giving them a 30-minute overview of "how Google makes money" - the only subject matter I could think of that I can talk about at length! They were 16-18 year old boys and they'd seemed fairly excited when they found out I used to work at Google so this justified my choice! At least it seemed a better option than Anukul's suggestion of "What teenagers in England are like" - something I said I could talk about for approximately 1.5 minutes.

Boys relaxing on the swing

I also had a chance to visit one of the local high schools attended by the boys. There were 3000 students enrolled and around 50 in each class. I met with the Head of English who invited me to sit in on one of her classes and... talk to the students about myself! Luckily none of the Boys Town boys were present so I was able to repeat my speech from the first night!

At the Boys Town I was staying in a guest-house on site, where I had some pretty interesting house-mates: massive geckos! I'm pretty used to having geckos in my room now - it's a common thing in Asia and they eat mosquitoes so I'm happy to have them there. However usually they're just a couple of inches long... these guys were closer to 10 inches! I tried to get used to them but it always made me jump when I'd walk into a room and suddenly see one beside me on the wall, frozen in position, as if I wouldn't notice it! Or at other times they'd scarper when they saw or heard me coming - knocking things down on their way and generally making me jump a bit more. I was secretly relieved when Pramote sent some of the boys in to remove them!

Thanks for the welcome, but can you go away now please?

Before I left Boys Town I was asked to plant a coconut tree in the grounds. I'll have to go back and see it once it starts bearing fruit in 4-5 years!  

My Coconut Tree

Just as in India, I was really touched by the complete selflessness and dedication shown by Anukul and Pramote in looking after these young boys. Education is Thailand is only compulsory until 12 years old and after this it must be paid for. The result is that very few poor families in remote villages send their children to secondary school and since they're also not permitted to work at that age, many turn to drink or drugs. Boys Town offers them a real alternative and a chance at a better life. Many of the boys here go on to do degrees and their future looks completely different to what it once did. I'm so glad I had the chance to visit.

With Pramote and the boys