Last day

This morning the village and worksite were humming with excitement and activity. Today is our last day working in Bann Fai and we began by finishing a few jobs and cleaning all three homesites. The large task for today was to paint the new house (thanks to Gary for donating the paint!) By mid morning we all joined together and scraped, cleaned and painted two coats on the exterior and most of the inside. Wow what a difference.

After lunch we were shoo-ed away by Pug and Malai for 'top secret'. The team (and most of the children) strolled over to the community centre for some reflection and sharing. The bus came to take us the short distance back to the home site, all the kids running and laughing behind. As we rounded the corner we were delighted to see plants out front, a ribbon across the front porch and a gathering of locals and Habitat staff. We were all very moved by the words from each family as they expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the team. Once the speeches were over we were invited into the home (first removing shoes of course!) How lovely it was with mats on the floor, a temporary tarp overhead and children leaning in every window. It felt like a home already full of love and joy. Next, our team was invited to participate in a traditional Thai ceremony of welcome and blessing to guests. The oldest member of the village blessed Emma, the youngest on our team, by rubbing a string over her hand and then tying it on her wrist while whispering a blessing. This continued with most of the locals blessing each member of the team. Needless to say this was a special moment of our time in Thailand.

Together with the family representatives, and Habitat staff we have worked hard to change the lives of three families. We have been treated royally by everyone we have encountered during our time in Thailand and we know they will be in our hearts always.

Back to Work

We get on the big bus each morning (fighting over who gets to stand on the back) for the half hour drive to Bann Fai (cotton village) which gives the team a chance to chat about the evening before and the day ahead. Each day work progresses so quickly. We divided into three teams; add a room at two houses and the building of one new house. One team went back to the Railway Project to load 900 bricks onto our bus, and the ride back was very adventurous as they had to keep the bricks from tipping over!


The homeowners we are working with are so generous, and so moved by all of our efforts. The local building supervisor, Tiger, is always smiling and encouraging. He really is part of the team. Pug and Malai from the Korat affiliate have been so warm and welcoming, and have looked after us very well. The entire village has come by to see what we are doing, and some children even stayed home from school as we are apparently more interesting to them. Lana took on the role of teacher and all day we hear them shouting "Lana! Lana!" inviting her to come and play.
There is lots of joking and laughing amidst the heat and hard work, making the days pass by quickly. Today we ended by laying the last row of bricks amongst great ceremony and many photos taken.

Railway Project

We were very taken by the children and families living along the railway lands. Habitat Khorat has organized a training program, and helped this group buy the tooks necessary to build their own houses, one brick at a time. Each home needs approximately 9 000 bricks that they mix and press by hand. Many of the children here are orphans that are HIV positive, and are being raised by the mission also on the site. We bought bricks from them for one of the projects in Banfai that we are working on.

R and R

R and R
We started out with a quiet morning while some went to church. At noon we boarded the vans for a trip to the Pimai Palace. From there we went to a local village that is famous for its pottery. Curtis tried his hand at spinning a pot, and it looked great, but it did not meet the approval of the expert behind the wheel. Dinner was at a great restaurant near the night market. Special talents were revealed all around the table, and it was unanimously decided that Kevin won the prize, as well as the chili pepper eating contest, even though Emma and Curtis were a close second. Another highlight was the tuk-tuk ride back to the hotel.




On the 31st we got back in the vans for the ride to Khoa Yai National Park, we stopped for some shopping deals and snacks along the highway. The park was beyond crowded as New Years is a busy time all around. After a brief hike, we visited a waterfall (with about two thousand others!) then headed to lunch. After lunch, we lined up to go for elephant rides. The amazing creatures ranged in age from 14 to 54, and two at a time we climbed up. The riders took turns moving up onto the necks of the animals to become mahouts. It should just be mentioned that while David and Jennifer were the last to leave, they were the first ones back! At the Tonnam hotel for New Years, we had a table for 24 with the Habitat staff that have been working so hard to entertain us. Karaoke was mostly Carrie and David, but there were many requests and lots of fun. We even had fireworks at midnight.



The New Year began with a visit to the Khorat Railway Project where 165 families live in a shanty town along the railway tracks. There is a group that has gotten together and is working to build affordable houses for them all. Habitat has been instrumental in having training and equipment purchased so that the group can build their own houses on land leased from the railway, We took turns pressing bricks and playing with the children, many of whom are orphans being raised by the mission. Then we were off for Thai cooking lessons, and even a chance to learn to give a proper Thai massage, so be sure to ask your family member to practice on you when they get back to Canada.

We have been very lucky to have been so well looked after, and have had lots of R and R before we head into four more long days of work.
David