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Best Time to Go
Anytime. March and April are very hot.
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Project Details
Engineering and excavation work on the first phase of construction
began October 2007.
Volunteers will be needed for construction supervision. A commitment of
one to three months or more works better for this. Most construction is
reinforced concrete and concrete block.
Current needs
are supervision of site preparation including soil compaction, asphalt
road
building, and reinforced concrete work for small road bridges.
Short term volunteers willing to teach English will be needed later in
2008.
Visas
People from most countries can enter Thailand for 15-30 days without a visa. For stays longer than 30 days, please contact MBI
for details.
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The community of Nang Rong is small town of about 25,000 which is the second largest in a
province of two million. The largest city is about 35,000, so if you are getting
the idea that this province is a rural village/farming area you might be right. Korat, which
is 250,000, is only 110 kilometers away, however. Bangkok is a 4 ½ hour drive or 5 hour bus
ride.
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Ministry Information
Buriram is one of the poorer
provinces in Thailand,
although compared to Cambodia
or other surrounding countries, the people have the basic necessities for
life. Yet it has severe socio economic
problems, such as widespread corruption, alcohol and other substance abuse,
domestic and civil violence and abuse of women and children. Buriram (and neighboring Surin, Sisaket and UbonThani Provinces) provides many foreign workers to other
countries across Asia and the Middle East. It
is one of the primary sources of bar, restaurant and factory workers
not only in Asia, but also in Thailand, including Pattaya, Bangkok and
Koh Samui in particular. Several thousand Western men have married
local women and made their homes in the villages and towns of this province,
sometimes resulting in difficult social situations. The villages bordering Cambodia have a long history of banditry from Cambodia,
poverty and lack of local infrastructure. Human trafficking in and through this
area is also common.
The people of Buriram are
innovative, able to continue on in spite of great obstacles and suffering. They
are much more outspoken and direct than people from other parts of Thailand. They enjoy working hard and playing
hard. Humor, music and fun-loving
activities fill their leisure hours.
Many children are born outside of wedlock,
with no official marriage registration of their parents. Marital faithfulness is a growing problem,
for both men and women. Children are
often left (sometimes forgotten) with grandparents,
other relatives or neighbors while parents go to work in cities, other regions
or other countries. Marriages break up
or a parent dies of HIV or other illness or accident, new relationships are
formed and the children from previous relationships are unwanted, abandoned or
even abused. Family incest and abuse by substitute step fathers or mothers is
very common. The nearest facility for
providing short term shelter or long term care for abandoned or abused children
is more than 100 kilometers away.
Grandparents are also often
forgotten as children leave to work and live far away, or die due to illness or
accident. Destitute elderly women with
no one to care for them number in the hundreds.
One home for the elderly is operated by the government, and is meant to
serve several provinces. Often the
elderly want to remain close to their original communities so that they have at
least some social ties.
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Transportation
Fly into Bangkok International Airport (BKK). Ground transport to Nang Rong will be coordinated by your hosts.
Site Development Plan
Donations
In partnership with Advanced Relational Technology, Inc. developers of Chief Architect, a popular computer-assisted building-design software program, Mission Builders International is pleased to administrate donations on behalf of Opportunity Foundation projects in Thailand and India. To make a contribution to this specific project in Nang Rong, Thailand, click on this logo:
Contact MBI
To learn more about serving at this location as an individual or part of a team, or forming a team:
Contact MBI about serving at this location!
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