Teaching for a Nonprofit - by Teacher Caitlin

The first thought that comes to my mind when I think about the children that Phuket Has Been Good to Us works with is:

Resilience.

Many of the children, particularly the residential students, have been through so much hardship in their short lives but are still able to smile. I am often in awe when I see the little community that is created among the children who live at the school. Without parents to help them, they depend on each other. Working at RPG 36 Kamala School is not always easy as there are often underlying psychosocial issues that are not addressed properly. As one would expect, working with children of diverse histories is challenging but also incredibly worth it. Nothing that is worth it is ever easy, right?

To be a teacher is to be a role model, a leader and a person to turn to. The ultimate goal for me is to make a safe space for these children; a space where they are free to be children, to play, to learn and to grow. I believe that it is crucial for children to be able to play and have time to simply be young and carefree. When we let children play they develop the skills needed to thrive in our world. That is why Coconut Club, PHBGTU's afterschool and weekend programme, is essential. Residential students can join after school and just relax and be kids. With activities including drawing, cooking, and sports- we are enabling them to have fun and explore their own interests while practicing English with us in an informal atmosphere. Coconut Club becomes a safe space to be just like any other child and to bring normalcy back into their lives. 

Coming from an International Development background with a focus on Children and Education, working for a non-profit is an integral part of who I am. I doubt I would ever teach English at an International school simply because, for me, there needs to be a greater purpose. I believe there needs to be an overarching goal we strive towards. I feel comfort in knowing that the Foundation seeks to improve the lives of children through a supplementary English programme so they can enter into well-paid jobs in the tourism industry once they graduate.

Tourism is the fastest growing industry in Thailand, and the largest industry in Phuket, generating more than 145,000 jobs with more being created each day. English is necessary to communicate, negotiate and make transactions with tourists. If a person can speak English and are able to have conversations with foreigners, then they are much more likely to obtain a higher paying job securing economic stability. 

 Is teaching English a long-term solution that will fix all the ongoing development issues in Thailand? No.

 However, the Foundation has the potential to change hundreds of children’s lives by improving their employability and opening doors where there would not be otherwise.

It may sound silly, but my favourite part of being a teacher is being able to give positive support to the students that come into my classroom each day. Being able to encourage my students to believe in themselves is something I cannot take for granted. Seeing their smiles and giving them a high five (or 10 high fives) for a job well done is often the highlight of my day. When we lift children up and teach them that they can do anything, we begin to instill a sense of hope and possibility beyond the school gates.

I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far and am learning a lot about what kind of teacher and role model I want to be moving forward. I feel grateful and blessed to be a part of such a wonderful organization. I can’t wait to see what the next year has in store!

Teacher Caitlin's Primary 1 class at RPG 36, Kamala School is made possible by a grant from XL Catlin. 

Brand New Website Launch Next Week! -by Evi Verdoodt

Working together with the Weber State University, Utah, USA, we are excited to announce that we will be launching a new user-friendly and dynamic website next week. HOORAY! Watch our FB page for the exact date and time to join us in our virtual launch party!

Phuket Has Been Good To Us’s previous website was kindly donated by the ESCAPE and we were able to provide all our news, events and sponsors information to our supporters through the website for a long time. After several years, however, it became evident that we needed to update in order to keep our content relevant. Moving into a decade where dynamic content is very important, we were enthusiastic about the suggestion of Dr Fry from Weber State University to support the Foundation by building a new good looking, user-friendly and dynamic website. And we are so happy with the result.

You are definitely going to want to check out phukethasbeengoodtous.org and discover our new look and exciting new content! 

We are confident our supporters are recognized and thanked more than ever on the new website, our future teachers and volunteers can navigate more easily through the website and find all necessary information and all visitors experience a pleasant journey, seeing new videos, pictures, upcoming events and exciting news!

Thanks to Oscar Suarez for dedicating his time and choosing to design our new website as a project in his curriculum and thanks to Dr Fry for coordinating between the Foundation and his students, and for his guidance and the support.

Be sure to follow us and stay in touch so you don't miss the official launch date!

A year in volunteering - by Leo 'the Lion' Ferrari

When I was in my home country, Brazil, I decided that I needed some change and needed something else to fulfill my expectations as a human being. Reflecting on how I should use my time to make a positive impact, the possibility of volunteering with a cause that promoted child education seemed the perfect fit for me.

I have a good level of English, thanks to my parents who worked hard and made me attend many years of English classes. One of my least favorite activities as a teenager opened up some of the most amazing opportunities in my adult life. After deciding on a cause, a destination, and a few foundations that shared my goals, I found Phuket Has Been Good to Us (PHBGTU). PHBGTU is a foundation that works to improve the economic opportunities and life choices of children. Based in Phuket, it was created after the tsunami in 2004. The concept is simple; to generate funding and offer high quality, practical English language education to young children in government schools.

I had never worked directly in the nonprofit sector. I had zero experience with the day-to-day activities of a charity but I had the drive to learn new skills and tackle all the challenges that came with the unfamiliar work place. Tina Hall, the director of operations at the foundation decided to give me the opportunity and trained me in the basics of fundraising, event management and building relationships with donors. As a small team, multitasking became a large part of the job. From printer operator to leading meetings with hotels on new projects; this was all new to me.

One of the most exciting parts of my day was the possibility of interacting with the children we teach and experiencing firsthand the reason we do this work. After school hours the Foundation runs Coconut Club, this offers opportunities for the Thai children to practice their conversational English outside the classroom in a relaxed, fun, and social environment. This is an essential aspect of the learning process and developing the language skills they have gained from their classroom lessons. My favorite activity was Saturday swimming classes which offered the perfect setting to enjoy the beautiful beaches in Phuket at the same time as seeing the delight on the children’s faces. Many of the children we teach are orphans. They have a complicated home life and often live on the school grounds. Seeing these children happily playing at the beach and interacting with us in English made it come together in my mind why the work I was doing and the mission of the Foundation were so important.

An unforgettable, personal highlight of my time at PHBGTU has to be training to be a Muay Thai fighter. One of the big fundraising campaigns hosted by PHBGTU is a Muay Thai Gala Night. We needed two volunteers with no previous experience to be trained in four months to be able to get into the ring on the night and take part in a Muay Thai fight. I decided to be one of the guys. This opportunity enabled me to experience one of the most traditional examples of Thai culture. Training Muay Thai with the locals changed my perception of the country in so many ways. If you are curious to see how I did on the night, click here. 

Phuket is conveniently located in the South of Asia making traveling easy and affordable. During my time as a volunteer I was able to visit a few of the most amazing places, I had ever imagined. From deserted beaches in Cambodia to river parties in Laos to a surf trip in Bali. Close to Phuket, my favorite beach was Railey, a small peninsula between the city of Krabi and Ao Nang. It is only accessible by boat and surrounded by huge limestone cliffs -a hard place to forget.

Thailand will always impress me with its purity and I still remember the first time I heard the words “Sawasdee Krap” in the back of a taxi, weaving through the congested streets of Bangkok. It is hard to express my gratitude for a country that made it possible to meet my girlfriend (who now lives with me back in Brazil), experience genuine smiles and helped me find a new sense of fulfillment in life.

It may be cliché to say “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”, but the work the foundation does in Phuket is remarkable! I will always think fondly of my days as a volunteer, from the Pad Thai meals, the office cats to the amazing people I worked with. I left PHBGTU to continue on my life path but those smiles will never leave my heart.

My First Experience in Fundraising Events - by Ayia

Hi, my name is Ayia Issareeya Bhattaramark, I am 13 years old and am currently studying at Phuket International Academy in Grade 8. I’m from Bangkok but have lived in Phuket for 5 years. During these years I discovered some organizations which give opportunities to people and also animals. In the past, I donated funds and also things to these organizations, but this was my first time fundraising.  I first heard about Phuket Has Been Good To Us last year through my teacher Aj. Heidi. The reason she introduced Phuket Has Been Good To Us to me is because I wanted to do a fundraising event and donate the funds to a local organization. I chose a local organization so I can visit and see the real situation there.

The idea of doing fundraising events came to my mind when I went to a GIN conference, where international school students meet and share what they are doing or what they are planning to do at their own school. The first time I went there I saw ISB students doing a run which raised lots of funds to help cleft pallet children through Operation for Smile. This inspired me to do fundraising events for a local organization. Phuket Has Been Good To Us to me is a great foundation because the staff there give the children opportunities to do new things.

The first thing I did as a fundraising event is a traffic run. It included grades 6 - 8 at my school. It was a relay with each station having a task for that runner in the team to do. The winner gets an award which is the dessert I made with my sister. The second thing I did was baking which raised money because people liked the dessert I baked. The most recent event was me baking brownies and also cupcakes for Valentine’s Day. I have plans to do another bake sale in the future and keep in touch with Phuket Has Been Good To Us. 

Why do I like donating things to local organization?

The reason why I like to donate things to local people is because my parents have taught me the saying ‘give and take’. My parents like giving to people without expecting anything from that person. What I realize is when we give to people, even though they don’t give back, one day they will realize that we’re good people. For me I think when we do good things we don’t have to tell the world that we did something good but we just have to remind ourselves to keep doing good and don’t expect anything back from people.

Reflections of Teacher Hossain

Coming up to the end of my year teaching with Phuket Has Been Good To Us, there are many things that I would like to share with you. Teaching has always been challenging and exciting to me, and this challenge keeps on driving me forward. People often say teachers never reach the end of the learning continuum as there is no end to learning. I believe anyone will certainly experience this if they happen to teach in Asian countries, especially in Thailand, where every student brings a new world into the classroom. Every day I experience new things, learn to adapt, experiment and improvise, and ultimately I improved as a teacher throughout my time here. I am glad that I was given this golden opportunity to work for a charity teaching organization, Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation in Thailand. Teaching is always exciting, but working with underprivileged children makes it all the more unpredictable.  

It’s really a mammoth task to put a years teaching and learning experience into a handful of words. But let me try.

Teaching in a Thai government school is both challenging and exciting at the same time. We, my fellow Foundation teachers and myself, teach with very limited resources, our students come to class from different backgrounds and with different English proficiency. This makes teaching itself quite challenging, but this also brings us together as a team. We plan our lessons together, talk through the lessons, and try to come up with best possible ways to adapt the plan to cater for different learners and learning styles. This has helped us to work together as a team, collaborate with other teachers, and plan lessons to meet the needs of all different types of learners.

While working with Phuket Has Been Good To Us I taught students between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. Before I began teaching at the school I reviewed the Thai exams that the students are required to take. The Thai exam system demands a higher reading proficiency from the students. Therefore, I started to focus on improving the reading skills of all my students.

I began with reading simple texts and doing basic reading exercises to improve reading skills. Gradually my students moved on to working with long reading passages and complex linguistic structures. They have also worked on reading sub-skills like scanning and skimming. They have begun to master these skills and I am sure that they will continue to improve in the future.

I would love to have had more teaching hours with my students and more time to see them grow.

Coconut Club has been an exciting part of my job at the school. This gave me the opportunity to build a good relationship with the students outside of the classroom, experiment with different engaging and communicative activities, and work outside of the box. I truly enjoyed all the games we played with the children at Coconut Club, but my favorite was the running Olympics, students run to the end of the line, change their costumes and run back to teammates like a relay.  Moreover, I have learned new skills at Coconut Club, especially arts and crafts, which will help me with teaching in the future.

Every Saturday morning we take students swimming which has been quite fun for me. My weekend could not have a better start than this. The naïve smiles on your students’ faces make you forget it is hard work. I will treasure these memories for the rest of my life.

Once every two months we celebrate a birthday party for students, and this is the best part of the job! Nothing can be as enjoyable as celebrating such an important event with students, their smiles, laughter, and happy faces are the things worth treasuring. We pack gifts for students depending on their ages and try to think of what each individual student would like to receive. I do not have the language to express how I feel when I see the happy faces of my students on this day. I was lucky to have attended 3 birthday parties during my time here and I am going to cherish the happy memories of those days for the rest of my life. 

To conclude, I would say, I have lived the most memorable year of my life here in Phuket. I am definitely going to miss my wise colleagues, my passionate students, my welcoming Thai friends, and this beautiful Kamala beach.

Teacher Hamant’s experiences in Thailand

Before coming to Thailand, I was honestly never really one for charity work. I think we all give to charities of our choice from time to time but to fully involve ourselves in charity work is something else altogether. I’ve been teaching overseas for over four years now and have had quite a few interesting encounters here in Southeast Asia. The cultural diversity, warmth of the locals and incredible food are just a few reasons why the region draws the attention of many all over the world. However, being with the Phuket Has Been Good To Us Foundation has given me a whole new outlook on life.

I teach in Baan Kalim School and being the only English teacher there has helped me to improve my Thai language skills to no end. The English programme at Kalim is kindly sponsored by Baan Rim Pa, without their sponsorship we would not be able to teach the number of students that we do.

Signing the contract and applying for my first visa nine months ago, I imagined that teaching in Thailand would just be the same as teaching in any other Southeast Asian country. That naiveté was quickly washed away by the tide of reality. Teaching here has been the most challenging aspect of my career thus far. I have become deeply involved with my students and I have certainly grown as a teacher in so many ways. I’ve always believed that the best teachers never stop learning and it seems like the longer that I stay here, the more I learn. 

 Jay, one of my students from P1

Every Saturday we bring the children swimming    

Yin, Cha Cha and Mint goofing around with baby powder! 

The most difficult part of the job is probably hearing the backgrounds that these children come from. Many students prefer not to talk about their pasts and when we learn their histories, it’s quite plain to see why. As teachers, we’re expected to have the answers to the questions thrown at us; we’re expected to be there for the students and wipe every tear off their faces; we’re expected to be that rock that they can depend on when things get difficult. Then again, what does one say when a 6 year old is standing there crying by herself because she misses her mother? What does one say when a child says that their mother is away working in Bangla Road? What does one do when a child tells you that they feel lonely? How does one help a child understand parental love when they live in school and only have the teachers to care for them?

Got from Primary 2 pretending to be a speed racer 

Teaching the children how to play the guitar during Coconut Club

I don’t have answers to any of these questions despite the time I have spent here. I am part of a group of teachers that have reconciled with the fact that it is impossible to answer these questions. All we can really do, over and above just teaching, is to attempt to fill the voids that exist in each and every one of these children. We try our best to do this every single day that we are on the job. 

The teachers at Baan Kalim School on Children’s Day, proving that there’s a child in all of us!   

Having fun with the children during Christmas

In April 2016, I have decided to ride 5000km all along the border of Thailand in order to raise money for the foundation so that we are able to continue doing the good work that we do here in Phuket. The ride is called ‘Going the Extra Mile’ because I want to go above and beyond my job as an English teacher for these children. Read about the ride here: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/a13qe7/ab/05Fwh9

             I firmly believe that Thailand is best seen on the back of a motorbike 

Safely driving around the country! 

Training session before the real 5,000km ride

I believe in our cause and the people that work for the foundation. I believe that the children deserve a better tomorrow, far away from the hardship of today. I also believe that I will stay here for a long time trying to make this happen.

Teacher Meghan's experiences in Thailand

I believe the core of teaching is the desire for constant learning. In the nine months I have spent in Thailand, I have learned more than I could ever conceive. I have traveled and met new people who have taught me about their lives and cultures. I have learned how to ride a motorbike, and how to get back on after getting in two accidents. I have learned about teaching Thai children, and about teaching in general. I have learned about Thailand with its wonderful people, rich history, amazing food, and stunning natural beauty. And I have learned about myself. Not once have I regretted my decision to leave my home and move across the world to teach English. 

While I haven’t had any misgivings about my decision to come to this Land of Smiles, I have had several experiences that have challenged me along the way. My first few months of teaching, specifically, were not as straightforward and uncomplicated as I would have liked. Learning how to teach English to students who do not speak English is no easy task. But teaching English when you do not speak the native language of the students makes things a bit more complicated. I have had to learn how to think of creative ways to communicate with my students, and likewise, they have had to work together to communicate with me. At times, this has been frustrating for everyone. Yet as time goes on, I have started to see that this process does have its benefits.

One of my favorite aspects of teaching is how it transforms the way you think. In order to teach children, you have to in many ways, remember what it was like to be one. In our Coconut Club, the teachers and the generous people who support the foundation spend an extra hour after school with the residential students. With the interest of exposing the students to more English learning opportunities, we plan activities that will be both educational and fun. This school year I have volunteered to be one of the Coconut Club Coordinators, along with my fellow teacher Hamant.  Each week we try to plan activities that will appeal to the children.

We have days with arts and crafts, cooking, and bingo. So far this year, however, I have noticed that the simplest activities tend to be the ones the children love most of all. It took me a few months to notice this. Perhaps I often take for granted the things I had when I was growing up. Or maybe it took me so long to realize because I have grown up, and the things that amaze children have long since lost their engaging magic for me.

The first day I noticed this was the day we played with chalk. Such a simple thing, I thought, to draw and play games. But the students were mesmerized. They continued playing long after the hour was over. Not too long after this was the jump rope day. Again, I was not prepared for just how much the children would love this activity. At first some were shy to try, but by the end everyone was red faced and beaming with accomplished fun.

Thursday is our Lego day, which all of the students enjoy. This last Thursday we brought down some dress up clothes that have been donated to our Coconut Club. Many of the clothes happened to be Disney princess dresses. I thought that if they were dressing up like princesses, they may as well have crowns. That day I watched as the little girls and some of the boys dressed up and intensely designed their paper crowns. Like with the jump rope, some of the students were shy to dress up at first. One of my younger students, for example, had been extremely cautious about dressing up. She spent the better part of the activity decorating her crown but by the end, I watched her spinning in circles with her Ariel dress on, her paper crown on her head, and a beautiful smile on her face.

To watch these children, who have dealt with so many hardships in their young lives, be completely submerged in pure childish innocence has been one of my favorite parts of teaching here. With the eight months left of this school year, I realize I may not be able to make the lives of each of these children much better. While I may want to, I can’t protect them from life’s challenges. I won’t be able to teach all of my students perfect English and ensure they continue their education. Within eight months, I can’t guarantee that each of these children will have a better quality of life. However, my only hope for this year is to try to build their English learning confidence. These students are limited to what they think they can do. Because of this, I want each of my students to feel successful in English class and know that they have someone who believes in them. And perhaps they will be more prone to become intrinsically motivated when they feel like they can succeed.

Teacher Agie's final impressions at PHBGTU

It has been an exciting journey and a rewarding experience working for Phuket Has Been Good to Us Foundation. I remembered the time when I got the job, I was all so excited. It was like one of my dreams come true.  Helping underprivileged children and growing up as one, it was one of the things I really wanted to do—to give back.

I am leaving proud of what I’ve done for the children’s lives. It may not be financially but being there to listen to them and love them and be part of their lives, I made them happy even for just a short time.  The awards that they received from English competitions, the knowledge and skills that they’ve learnt are something that they can keep and use it to find good opportunities in the future.

I will miss all the students I’ve taught this past four years. The smiles, laughter and children’s life stories always make up my win of the day. I will miss my students greatly.

I feel sad that I have to leave but I am sure that they will continue to progress with their English. It was fun teaching at Kalim School and I am glad that they had fun learning the English language with me. I am privileged to be part of Kalim’s award of being the school with the “Best Practice in English” and will always be proud.

I am grateful to Phuket Has Been Good To Us for giving me the opportunity to do what I love doing and I wish the foundation all the best and may it continue to provide a bright future for the children.

“The joy of teaching is when children find joy in learning.”