The experience that we have learned from working here.

By Volunteers Khun Da and Khun Mint

Have you ever considered volunteering full-time? Volunteerism is an important part of civil society. It brings to life the deepest goals of humanity: the quest of peace, opportunity, safety, and justice for everyone. In our world, there are a lot of volunteers. First and foremost, I had never considered myself capable of serving as a volunteer. I am an introvert who was always preoccupied with my studies and my family's business. Volunteering has had a significant impact on me and my outlook on life.

 

First things first, I would like to introduce myself. I am Mint. I am a fresh graduate. I come to volunteering with another generous person named Da. We're mainly volunteering with Phuket Has Been Good To Us teaching English and helping to run activities at Coconut Club. Equally important, I would like to discuss about my experience of being the volunteer. There are three main things change in my behavior and my attitude after volunteering for a few months.

First, I'm a shy person that has a hard time meeting new people. Through my job teaching English to my students. I have become more confident though the time I spent with the students. They are selfless and adorable. They are always excited to do an activity with me every day. They love to talk and learn a short new vocabulary by asking me and my coworker to explain it. Moreover, working with Phuket Has Been Good To Us, it leads me to do many projects with people in the community along with working with both Thai and foreigners. It assists me in making new acquaintances, expanding my network, and improving my social abilities. Therefore, volunteering allows me to put my social skills to the test and improve them.

Secondly, volunteering make me a more organized person. We have a set amount of time to work with the students at the school, such as one hour per day. We must prepare material before beginning the activity, plan for the time spent on each activity session, and consider additional activities for the future. In addition, I always devote my full attention to my students. In a word, it allows me to keep track of my own tasks and be more organized.

After all, after only a few months as a volunteer, my life and outlook have changed dramatically. It provides me with a lot of positive experiences and allows me to do good in the world and make a difference. To summarize, I have committed to two key goals: developing meaningful relationships with students and the community, and being more organized.

If talking about doing activities or volunteering, I'm the one who loves to participate in those events. My name is Da. I adore doing various activities and doing new things that I haven't done yet or challenging things. Every time I do something new, it makes me feel energized, happy, and positive. I became fascinated with activities since I was in high school. Until now, I just graduated 2 years ago. Now I'm a volunteer in Phuket Has Been Good to Us Foundation. I have gained a lot of experience from here.

The first thing is an adjustment. At the beginning of working, everything is new for me especially working in an environment with 100% foreigners and other organizations. My weakness is language communication. Sometimes I misunderstand when communicating. At first, I was embarrassed to communicate because of some words I didn't know and I was afraid that other people didn't understand what I was saying. But after a while, I began to dare to communicate, no matter how wrong it was. I'm not ashamed. I have opened up a wide world of working such as project meetings. It made me learn new ideas and hear great opinions from others. Including working with colleagues in the foundation, they are very kind and friendly. I feel warm and happy to work with them.

Moreover, I learned about coordination between the foundation and other organizations. It made me know more about new Thai and foreign organizations in Phuket.

In addition, I have been doing environmental conservation activities, especially making people in the community and children aware of loving nature. Let them know how to recycle their waste.

The important thing is teaching English through activities to children in the Coconut Club. When they do activities together, we always teach them the language and manners. Teaching these things is the basis for their responsibility as they grow up. For example, when they have finished playing an activity, they need to clean up. The kids in the Coconut Club are so cute. Each person has different skills. They enjoy the activities that they love. Some people like handicrafts & art, some like sport, some like to cook. I was very impressed and enjoyed every activity with them.