Audrey Wong 11B – Phang Nga, Thailand (Working with Children)

My experience to Phang Nga, Thailand for CAS project week was a very memorable and unforgettable adventure. My group and I went to Yaowawit School, which is a home for orphaned or underprivileged children around the ages 4-18. Our social objective was to provide aid and support to these children and understand the situation in Phang Nga so we can spread awareness to improve the lives of these underprivileged children around the world. During the trip, we interacted with children every day, from having lessons with them in the morning to preparing fun games for them at night. We exchanged cultures and enjoyed our time with them a lot. The children and teachers taught us to make traditional Thai food such as papaya salad, lemongrass tea and desserts and I personally had an exciting time while interacting with the kids! 

One of the most unique experiences I had was the hunger banquet, where my groupmates were split up into different “social classes” and we were assigned different amounts of food for dinner. I was placed in the upper class and sat at the table while the other middle class and lower-class people suffered with their lack of food. The whole dinner felt heavy to me. I was looking at others talking and laughing despite having little food and water, and I also felt helpless and guilty. This made me reflect on when I wasted my food or was not grateful for what I already have when they are very satisfied with everything they have there. I wanted to learn from them and bring their living attitudes back to Hong Kong. 

On the other hand, I also physically challenged myself with farm work and water activities and tested my endurance when running around with the children, which made me very exhausted every day. But it was definitely worth it. Overall, in this CAS experience, not only did I get to help these unprivileged children and contribute to the organization, I also got to learn a lot of things from the children and their lifestyle.