Working at a Thai Orphanage

Volunteering at an orphanage in Thailand is an incredible exercise in empathy, service, and cultural immersion with children who don’t always have the benefits or advantages of others in their community.  Students volunteering abroad in Thailand with Global Leadership Adventures have the unique opportunity to engage with these kids, all the while learning more about who they are and the people they want to be in facing global challenges on a local scale.

“For the past week my group has been working at the Wildflower home… When we arrived, we were greeted by Kelly, an excited Australian who works at the orphanage. We were shown around the orphanage and led to a room where we received our formal introduction. We watched a video about Agape’s past, which highlighted the founder, Avis… The rest of the day was simply amazing. We spent about an hour doing service. When that was over the kids arrived home from school and we spent the afternoon and early evening playing with the children. We ate dinner with the kids and then returned to the home base to spend the evening playing cards and hanging out.”

– Riley Janeway

GLA students who volunteer at the orphanage have friends and staff members to help them make sense of the experience, and this sharing of stories, activities, and good times brings a level of positivity and compassion that would be difficult to achieve when volunteering alone.  These students from the July 1st Cultural Kaleidoscope program don’t only volunteer together, they spend their days immersed in the local culture and go off on excursions as a team, which only makes the bonds between them all stronger and more resilient.

“We woke up and had breakfast really early as usual, but then we went to Chiang Mai University and did ceramics! The art students taught us to make these really cool clay pieces with molds and some jewelry/key chains with paper clay. Later in the day, we went to Joy’s Farm for the first time. Joy’s Farm is a farm that doubles as an orphanage for Burmese and Thai children from ages 5-17. We met the kids that live there, they gave us a tour of the place, played ping pong and badminton, made paper flowers, and ate dinner together.”

Joy’s Farm is filled with a diversity of experiences that make the volunteer excursion unique.  These GLA teens go from helping out in the kitchen to teaching the children English (while mixing in some playtime as well), all in a day’s work!  Dinner is then eaten together on-site, to give the students a chance to become immersed in the daily experience at Joy’s Farm.

“We started teaching English at an elementary school with students from K-6 grade. Although teaching was tough and new for most of us, the students were very cute and it feels good at the end of the day to know that we’ve stepped out of our comfort zone. Our director Todd told us to always “expect the unexpected” while teaching, which was a helpful warning because our plans would change throughout the day and we would just have to “flow with the go,” as our mentor Kees always says. We are very excited to continue working with the students throughout this amazing journey.”

-Mackenzie Moorhouse and Molly Thayer

Cultural Kaleidoscope couldn’t be more aptly named.  The contrast between the incredible volunteer work and the exotic sights, sounds, and flavors of Thailand makes for a colorful experience that most teenagers couldn’t dream of – and yet, when it happens, all the contrast begins to make sense.  The time spent at the orphanage with local children, combined with exploration in a vast and awe-inspiring countryside, makes the time and place all the more real, and the service all the more meaningful.

Want to learn more about the Thailand Cultural Kaleidoscope experience?  Check out the program guide and put yourself in the shoes of our volunteers at a real Thai orphanage.

Curious about what you’d have to pack?  Rain boots or sunscreen?  Jackets or shorts?  Read The Young Leader’s take on the ultimate packing list and get ready for your future travels.

Volunteering in the Costa Rican Rainforest

Costa Rica is one of the most distinctive destinations on earth with this region named as a World Heritage Site by the UN. While living in the jungle surrounded by unique plants and animals, students experience the true meaning of giving back to a community and protecting the local wildlife. A reforestation project will keep students physically active, building nurseries and planting trees. Bonding and playing sports with local children is also a favorite of GLA students.

“After our orientation, one of the conservationists gave a presentation on the workings of a national park in Costa Rica, thoroughly explaining the contents and inner-workings of various ecosystems that exist here, from the Ocean to the Cloud Forest. This presentation also explained the conservation procedures that the staff here at Horizontes, the experimental reforestation station that we are staying at, have taken to counteract the damage done to the tropical dry forest ecosystem.” -Omar

 Bonding with the locals and the children at the service sites is an every day occurrence in Costa Rica. Each day students are able to connect and communicate with the surrounding community, and even with language barriers make deep connectinons. Many students find the use of words is not necessary when you are truly connecting with someone. Many times, locals within the community will jump in on the service work alongside the GLA students and help. Special connections and indescribable bonds continue to impact students long after they return home.

“We immediately drove to a school in El Triunfo, where we played soccer with the community. Both teams consisted of GLA forest people, Horizontes staff, and the locals. Other community members watched our battle, until the non-jerseys came out on top with a close score of 4-1 (it was closer than you might think). We then connected and snacked with the community members and met some local kids, our age and below, who were incredibly kind and friendly. Once we got back to home base, we ate dinner and chilled together, opening up even more, and learning many interesting things about our peers. We may have only been here for three days, but it really feels like we have known each other for months.” -Leah

The range of distinct ecosystems allows students to compare and contrast their environment. While in the cloud forest issues related to water, public health, and conservation and how these relate to developing communities is focused on. See the challenges locals face with regard to access to natural resources. Along the way students also learn about and discover a new world of animals and plants.

“We embarked on a night hike. We got to hear the rhythm of the forest, as the noises of the animals coalesced into a collective exhalation of wilderness, instincts such as touch and hearing became dominant, because the brightness of the stars could only poke small holes of light into the darkness which permeated through the forest. For the most part, the creatures of the forest remained hidden, scared by our invasion of their land, but we did manage to spot some toads, tadpoles, and beautiful birds.” -Omar

Of course time in Costa Rica would not be complete without adventure! The huge range of ecosystems in a small geographic area provides a vast array of exciting outdoor activities!  Students hike along the base of a volcano, camp overnight on a remote beach, kayak, zipline, tube down a roaring river, ride horses thought the jungle, and bathe underneath a waterfall!

“Thick forest surrounded the beach in a large cove. We swam for hours. There were kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and snorkeling gear that supplied endless fun. As the purple, pink and orange sky turned into a deep blue, the stars came out of hiding and presented themselves to us. With no lights around there was nothing to disturb the vast majority of twinkling stars. The 14 of us lied on the beach and star-gazed. There were times where we had enlightening conversations about life. Or we just talked about our favorite movies. Then there were the times where we stared into space in silence. It’s been 5 days and we have all connected so well with each other. It’s truly amazing how fast we were all able to get used to each other and make strong friendships.” -Edison

Experiencing the rainforest’s thrilling bounty inspires students to give back to the community and land. Our hope is that the connections and friendships they create together will have a positive impact and be carried with them throughout life. A seed in Costa Rica is planted (literally) with GLA that they can continue nurture, learn to be leaders within their own community, and creatively solve problems together.

Volunteering in Costa Rica is a rare experience for high school students, but one that’s worth the travel.  Learn more about GLA’s Costa Rica programs.

Interested in learning more about the environment and conservation and how it benefits us all? Check out our 5 Positive’s of Environmental Restoration to see how much of a difference your efforts actually make!

Become Immersed in a Wild African Safari

GLA student Maddie from the June 14th session is seen here with a python that was one component of a traditional dancing performance by the Kill Wizard dance troupe. Troupe is comprised primarily of street children and orphans.

Students from the June 23rd program rode in all-terrain vehicles through a raw landscape, traversing over bodies of water and unpaved land as they worked to spot wild, native animals.

During an incredible weekend excursion, these GLA adventurers made their way over to Tarangire National Park, a 2-hour drive from the Arusha base camp.

They also spent Sunday in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a little farther away, at the boundary of the immense Serengeti.  The raised arms in the photo say it all!

“It’s one thing to see zebras in books and National Geographic films, but it’s completely different when you see the animals so close. It was so real and each moment was more breathtaking than the next! There were also more than twenty different species of unique colorful birds that rested on the branches of these gigantic hollow trees! Then we saw tons of wildebeests trotting in huge numbers across the spacious plains!”

– Ariana Finkelstein

The students appreciate the opportunity to get so close to animals in their native habitat – a real asset in wilderness education and awareness that is impossible to duplicate at a zoo.

“At the beginning, we saw mostly zebras and wildebeests, but then we saw a few elephants! They were humongous, and moved much faster than we thought they would move given their heavy weight! We also saw a little baby elephant with its mama and baba (Swahili for mother and father)!”

– Ariana Finkelstein

True Tanzanian immersion isn’t possible for many high school students in the U.S. – but more importantly – it isn’t an opportunity taken advantage of by the many people who can.  Summer days are plentiful.  True summer adventures aren’t.  For the students who had the chance to dance with the Maasai people, perform critical service work in a developing country, and see a pack of wildebeests sprinting through the tall grass, the stories they tell from this summer won’t be of just pool parties and sleeping in till 1pm every day.  The stories will be of things dreamed about but rarely experienced, except for these students, it won’t have been a dream at all.

Lead a Youth Soccer Clinic in Costa Rica

GLA students on the premiere session of the Costa Rica Sports Service Adventure program in 2014 enjoy a game in the middle of the day.  Getting to know one another on the program is just as important as becoming immersed with locals, as cooperation and collaboration make for the best service projects.

Engaging Costa Rican children in play is a way to forge bonds and build trust – a powerful tool for guiding kids during sports and other high-energy activities.

Costa Rica is renowned around the world for its commitment to incredible environmental preservation measures, unprecedented in much of Central and South America.  GLA students from the June 26th session clearly got to experience this magnificent tree cover first-hand, and learn to appreciate what the care of these resources means to the people living here.  The extra shade also makes for more pleasant afternoon soccer games with the kids!

Running around with the kids and leading them on soccer exercises can be exhausting, even if it is rewarding!  Fortunately, proximity to pristine beaches means cooling off in the water is always a great backup plan.  Still, GLA students on Sports Service Adventure love sports enough that even a dip in the ocean won’t stop them from playing a game or two.

“While the school kids were out at break we talked to them, and then as we got to know them we played soccer [or football, as the World Cup fans would chime in]! … The kids were touched that we spent time with them, and after our time together we didn’t want to say good-bye.”

– Maimouna Diallo, Helen Craig, Savannah Carson, Elizabeth Porter, and Kayla O’Brien

2 GLA students from the June 14th Sports Service Adventure session are learning a powerful life lesson:  hard work pays off, especially when it’s done with a good cause in mind.

“One mentor group paired up with another team and drove to La Cruz to work on a mural. Once we got there,a group sifted through dirt to smooth the wall, another group painted, and a final group took down cement blocks with sledgehammers. We got to interact with the locals and actively see that we were making a difference by covering up graffiti and preserving the town history of La Cruz by painting a mural showing historical events in the town.”

– Maimouna Diallo, Helen Craig, Savannah Carson, Elizabeth Porter, and Kayla O’Brien

The road to doing good in the world is often rough, but those who wake the long and winding road often end up at the best places.

Arrival!

“We awoke early this morning and headed off to the service sights where the schools are located. Some of us sat in on classes, while others played schoolyard games with the students. Visiting the schools was very eye opening for most, and it really helped remind us why we are here.“

First Day of Service

“Today was the first official day of community service at our schools. After playing games and having fun with the kids, we began our day of teaching. The students were extremely excited to see our GLA members in their rooms, and the teachers were very welcoming and insightful. We are looking forward to the experiences these students will bring us!”

An Extraordinary Day

“Teaching the children can be difficult at times because they are very hyper and there are many distractions, however they are so happy and eager to learn, it makes the hard work worth it! We feel like we have adjusted to the basic layout of the classrooms and the lack of materials that it seems strange to think of normal classrooms back at home. Additionally, we feel as if the students are much more comfortable around us, for instance they all know our names as we do theirs. We are so excited to come back to our service sites tomorrow!”

Time for Adventure

“This Friday was our first day in Ho! We went to the monkey sanctuary, where the monkeys would climb onto us as we fed them a banana. Then we hiked for 45 minutes to the waterfall in Hohoe. We swam in the waterfall and took in the breathtaking view.

This was an amazing weekend, but absence really makes the heart grow fonder, and coming back to Anloga after two days made us realize how much the home base has become our home away from home! We’ve really missed both the kids and the environment in this wonderful little town.“

Another Beautiful Day

“It saddened me to realize that I might never see these children again. These children, who I’ve grown to love and admire, would disappear from my life. To fall in love with these children and then lose everything you loved in a heartbeat is torture. You can’t do that to me. Or anybody. Goodbyes are the hardest.”

Want to learn more about the Ghana: Children of Africa experience?  Check out the program guide and put yourself in the shoes of our volunteers in this amazing African nation.

Curious about what you’d have to pack?  Rain boots or sunscreen?  Jackets or shorts?  Read The Young Leader’s take on the ultimate packing list and get ready for your future travels.