On Saturday the 10th of December six students embarked on a journey to Napo village, that mysterious place that most people reading this will have heard of but never seen. Not surprising, considering that it is six hours away from Bangkok in the heart of Isarn, a place so cut off from the rest of the world that no English language newspapers or cable TV reaches there. It is a place of beautiful scenery, deliciously cool weather, and devastating poverty.

We went with a vanload of goods such as clothes, toiletries, toys and other such things so desperately needed by the people of Napo. The goods were collected over the past term through generous donations by the people of Bangkok Patana. Upon arrival, we were met by Khun Pira Sudham, the Thai author who founded the Napo Village Project.

Khun Pira Sudham is a very interesting man indeed. Somewhat disorganised and extremely kind hearted, he is a prime example of how someone of impoverished origins can raise himself through hard work to a position of rank and privilege. Born in the rice fields of Isarn, he was given at the age of fourteen to become a luke-sith, or ‘assistant’ to a Buddhist monk, something which is considered very meritorious in Thailand. He lived at the monastery, where he learnt to read and write. He sold souvenirs to tourists to put himself through high school and the first year of college at Chulalongkorn University, after which he won a scholarship to New Zealand, where he studied English literature. After this, he lived for three years in Australia where he wrote his first novel, Monsoon Country, which is available in bookstores all over Thailand. As an author he is widely acclaimed, and his books are used in prominent Universities in Thailand. He has built a school in Napo, where he teaches the poor children of the village.

It is here that he received our small party of seven. We unloaded the goods from the van and sorted them out. Although we meant to give out all of the goods the next day, a few people who had heard of our arrival in the village began coming to the school to receive some of the donations. Small children were given soft toys. Old people were given much needed woollen blankets, for in Isarn it gets cold at night, and although we younger people may have found it pleasant, old people really do feel the cold.

We were housed overnight in a small hotel in Puthaisong, a small town near Napo. Although it was nowhere near being a five star hotel, by Napo’s standard it must have been quite a luxurious place, for it did have many of the modern conveniences that most of us take utterly for granted. We departed from there at 7.30 the following morning, and we drove to a small village near Napo, called Ban Lao Kok Wua (‘the place where we house cattle’) which was little more than a small hamlet and much more impoverished than Napo itself. The people sat in two rows on the side of the main street, where they were given the much needed donations. We gave out the huge amount of clothes to the people, this writer personally having a rather embarrassing experience trying to distribute brassieres to the ladies (I just handed them the whole bag, from which they chose the ones they needed themselves). Although I speak light-heartedly of this experience, it struck me then how much they lack such basic things. It certainly feels good to be able to give them these things, especially to see the children so happy with their ‘new’ toys.

After giving out all the donations, the village headman invited us to see his collection of antique farming implements, which included such items as a storage cage for fish, a gourd, a wooden pillow and other such things now out of use. We left from here to give gifts to the sponsored students who had received one from the person sponsoring them. For this we had to drive to various small outlying hamlets near Napo. During the course of this visit, Khun Pira was approached by a local lady, who asked him to take in a young orphaned boy from her, for his parents had died and she could not afford to keep him herself.

To us this was but one glimpse of what the people of Napo have to go through on a daily basis. Many have so little money they can barely support themselves, let alone others. Living on extremely low incomes, they much appreciate the support that they receive from the Napo Village Project. Today, Bangkok Patana School sponsors more than eighty students from this desperate and impoverished region, many going on to study at University level, later to get well paid jobs in Bangkok. Without our support, they would not be able to accomplish this.

This trip was certainly a reality check for us all. Although we may complain endlessly about what we do not have, it made us realise how very fortunate we are compared to so many others. This was my first such experience, and it was very worthwhile and certainly unforgettable.

Ambrish Bandalkul
Year 12