In the last update I mentioned the desire to create some income generating project to help support the families and over the past few weeks, a small group of determined volunteers has been forming to make sure this project comes to fruition.

Ben Viapiana draws the outline of the first sample notebook.

Among the volunteers is Ben Viapiana, who runs a company designing custom jeans in Bangkok. While jeans may be his forte, Ben has a gift for designing and making all sorts of things. Over the weekend he gave the first vocational training workshop to two of the families.

We provided all the materials and Ben taught them book binding, starting with how to make a simple notebook. Other volunteers participated learning the skill along with the families and helping make sure everyone understood and followed the instructions. The result was a few pleather notebooks and a homework task requiring everyone to craft something more difficult before the next workshop.

Book binding 101: A vocational workshop to give craft making skills to vulnerable families.

While the end goal is to eventually generate funds to support the families, there are other important benefits to this sort of project. For instance, the project would provide families with some sort of skill they could take with them once resettled in another country. There’s also the psycho-social benefit of having a sense of purpose and being rallied behind a task that will serve to improve the mental health among these families who aren’t allowed to work to support themselves.

[See more pictures on the In Search of Sanuk Facebook page]

There’s still a long way to go to make this into something that pumps funds into the project, but I’m happy to have moved a few baby steps closer and thankful to everyone working to help us create some sustainability.

-Dwight

This is the idea behind Mark Wien’s Migrationology.com which questions, “Why vacation when you you can migration?” I pondered my personal migration and came up with this equation:

Vacation + Micro-philanthropy = Migrationology

I’ve realized that Migrationology is where vacation + micro-philanthropy meet. Because of this I wanted to offer Mark, his readers, and you 7 steps whereby you can transform your vacation into a migration. These ideas are powerful because they are small and rewarding steps that all of us can take, despite our destination. Please add to these suggestions and share your experiences by commenting below.

1 Attitude Adjustment – This one is clear after traveling with Mark for a short time. Don’t think of yourself as a tourist, think of yourself as a contributor-an investor. The secret to having a more rewarding vacation is simply to visualize your excursion as not only a getaway for you, but an opportunity to make real, sustainable change occur in smaller, less affluent economies. Ask yourself: How will my money be used in this community after I leave? How can my goals to relax and have fun merge with efforts to improve this community?

2 Educate Yourself – This is the easiest way to make an impact into the communities you enter. What issues plague the places you plan to visit? What are the strengths in these communities? What local initiatives exist? Are they sustainable? This knowledge will help you decide how best to give what you can offer and will serve as an arbitrator when you’re making your travel plans.

3 STOP Conquering – Travelers and tourists as a community have to end this mindset that we can travel to a place in a few days and consider ourselves as having “done” that city/country. This is incredibly naïve and arrogant. Evaluate your trip by different standards. You’ll notice that the most rewarding trips are not those where you moved to divide and conquer, seeing and doing as much as possible. On the contrary, they are the places you dreaded leaving and long to return to. Make sure this factors into how you perceive your migration.

4 Avoid the “lonely planet” mentality – This epidemic is closely related to the above mentioned “divide and conquer” mentality. Don’t fall into this trap. Use guidebooks as you would a guide, not a religious text. Using them loosely will allow them to be the doorway, not the pathway to your migration.

5 Go loco for locals – This is often your most untapped resource. This combined with the research you’ve done and what you know you can expect from your guidebook will lead to an adventure. If you’re doing it right, they’ll be plenty of confusion, ambguity, and laughter. Don’t worry, you’re prepared to manage language barriers and suppress your own cultural norms to really experience the people where you are.

6 Be frugal, not cheap – Being frugal means looking for ways to do things more affordably. This will allow you to devote a greater amount of what you planned to spend to invigorating local economies. When you’re out and about or hanging with the locals, be prepared to recognize ways that you can invest directly into the community. This may mean buying better school supplies or a bicycle to get to school. Everyone’s migration is different.

7 Brag – Tell others and don’t hold back. You’re allowed to embellish a little, but not too much. Mention how your once in a lifetime, never to be duplicated, off the beaten path, life enriching, philanthropic thriller of a migration has changed you and your perception of the world. Post updates on your blog. Submit it to be shared here also. Lets tell the world together.

-Dwight Turner
Editor, In Search of Sanuk

If you enjoyed this aricle please see our guest blog One Thing Leads To Another by expert micro-philanthropist Marc Gold.

The Story: One woman’s strength, Mrs. Prateep (aka The Slum Angel), has inspired and transformed the community in and surrounding Bangkok’s oldest and largest slum, Klong Toey. She has been on a mission to educate the urban poor since she was sixteen and now her organization cares for them beyond the classroom too. The Duang Prateep Foundation (DPF) has over 100 employees who serve the approximately 140,000 squatters in Klong Toey. DPF prides itself in responding to the needs of the urban poor at the grassroots level and focusing on long term, sustainable solutions to poverty. Get the whole story on their website.

Goals & Projects: A wide variety of projects exist to educate, create a stronger community, address health concerns, and provide emergency/disaster relief. This includes kindergarten programs, rehabilitation of at risk teens, a mobile puppet troupe and more! Please see the website for more details.

Need: Financial support. Long term volunteers in Bangkok. Short term (at least a week) or long term volunteers at their New Life Projects in Kanchanaburi and Chumporn provinces.

Final Word: This is the largest foundation ISOS has had the privilege to collaborate with. Their dedication to serve the community has stood the test of tragedy, and political turmoil. In the coming months we hope to invite many of you to join hands with this dynamic organization.

Website: The website is available in four languages (Thai version is the most often updated) and explains the endeavors of this foundation in great detail. You may also use the site to submit an application to volunteer with the organization. http://en.dpf.or.th/