Thursday, January 15, 2009

Help a volunteer: give a book, buy some waffels

As you know I'm off to do volunteer work in the middle of nowhere in Thailand so I'm gathering up funds to support my year there. However I am genuinely trying to help those kids and the Baan Unrak school/orphanage. While checking out their new website I noticed their wish list. The wish list includes things like:
  • "A Dump truck- 310,000 B (USD $890) To transport food supplies, construction materials and even take the children to school when bad weather makes the road to the house very difficult to travel on with normal vehicles."
  • "Housing for the boys aged 12 years and older- 4,000,000 B (USD $114,000) ...Their current housing (constructed from bamboo) is in very poor condition; leaking badly and very unstable. We require funding to build a new living area for them."
  • "Electricity Supply Line- 900,000 B (USD $25,700) ...Due to the location of the house (far from the main road) the electricity company will not provide a supply line; we have to pay for this ourselves. The current connection is very poor and results in frequent power cuts. With the funding above, we could install a safe, reliable electricity supply to Baan Unrak."
  • "Library- 50,000 B (USD $1,400)
    We are short of reading resources for education and pleasure. We would love to have a library so that the children could broaden their horizons and foster a love of reading that will stay with them throughout their lives."
As a former literature student the idea of kids without reading material is appalling, as such I am committed to help them out. I myself am donating a box full of books but I need your second-hands books, your "I didn't like it all that much" books, your "I bought for uni" manuals etc

Baan Unrak not only has orphans but also refugees from Burma, that means young adults as well as mothers who can't get jobs and are trying to get vocational training and English lessons. So all books are most welcomed, not just children's books.

If you have any books or reading material IN ENGLISH that you can donate, please contact me as I am working out a cheaper way to transport things to Thailand. So far the cheapest I could find thanks to a friend is around 500e for 7 boxes of books. So after clearing your library and telling me where to pick it up how about buying a box of waffels to help pay for the transport? It's 10e a box with 20 waffels per box. Surely you can eat that! Or you display it at a children's party...
Looks good, doesn't it? You know you want it... :) 20 waffels for 10e. If you're outside of the Benelux area I can ship it as well, don't use your country as an excuse. :)

IMPORTANT UPDATE: I am now working with Children of the forest, another ngo in the same village as Baan unrak. The books will go to Children of the forest.

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