Thai Village Annual Report 2013 by Anka Stavenskaya

Thai Village 2013 Annual Report

Introduction This year was a busy one with many skills trainings, income generation projects, and outreach components! SKILLS TRAININGS This year was the year of trainings! With 10 formal skills trainings and many more oneon-one trainings, Thai Village reached out to 94 different people in 2013, empowering them with new and marketable skills in a variety of disciplines! Our design team was able to introduce 15 new products to the product mix, meaning we could train more people to make these products. INCOME GENERATION With the typical participant averaging $243 in monthly income coming into Thai Village, we were happy to boost this number with income generation projects totaling $27,850 given to artisans in 2013. OUTREACH Outreach programs have always been an integral component to all the programs of Thai Village. We partner with indigenous churches to see and meet the needs of local people. This year Thai Village contributed $12,765 to Church Leader Support Programs, $4,025 to Artisan Outreach Programs, and $970 to Village Church Outreach Programs. Some more highlights include branching out to artisans in prison ministry groups, seeing a few artisans who came to us in poor mental and physical health now well and thriving, and moving to a new and improved building! We strive to reach out to people in Northern Thailand holistically, which means taking time to attend to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of all our artisans and staff members. As we do this, we give glory and honor to the great protector, healer, and helper, without whom none of this would be possible. Thanks be to God for blessing Thai Village with another successful year!

Liz Meister Thailand Director Thai Village, Inc

Statistics

Highlights

Artisan Appreciation Party Celebrating our artisans and the Christmas story! Staff Retreat Learning about and practicing biblical health and rest with our staff! Training and Income Generation Training local artisans to support themselves and their families! Artisan Community Outreach Reaching out to the community with handmade crafts!

Church Based Community Outreach Networking with indigenous churches to impact their communities! Church Leader-in-training Support Supporting young Christian leaders in their home villages! Friday Community Bible study Dedicating ourselves to Bible study, fellowship, and prayer! Trip to Village 9 to support artisans and church leaders

Joining hands in celebrating the graduation of seminary students!

Q1 First Quarter We moved! With the help of many friends in Chiang Mai, Thai Village moved to a new facility in February. Most of the month was spent sorting, cleaning and moving out of the old building. Our new building is smaller (but cheaper!) so we had to really weed through a lot of the old stuff. The good news is, the new place still has enough space for Promise Lutheran Church to use the first floor for Bible studies, outreach events, craft trainings, and Sunday services. Good thing our 20 year old truck is still in service!

Q2 Second Quarter Ball ornament training! â&#x20AC;&#x153;I hope you have opportunities like this often, so others will have the chance to be able to gain knowledge like we haveâ&#x20AC;?, said Pim, one of the trainees. This 4-day training was held at Promise Church with eight women. They learned the patterns, designs, and techniques to stitch the very ornate, one-ofa-kind Christmas ball ornaments. Pastor Niran and Evangelist Wang helped to lead activities each morning before the training began. The women said that through this experience, they learned more about having personal responsibility, patience, and attention to detail.

Q3 Third Quarter Volunteer Jean Over my summer break from teaching, I journeyed to Thailand to help teach English to the people of Thai Village and Promise Lutheran Church. My first impression of Thailand was utter amazement at the ornate beauty of the Buddhist temples. They contrasted with the stark ugliness of the black mold that grows on the buildings because of the heat and humidity all year long. Millions of dollars must be spent on these beautiful temples, all to worship and honor the false god Buddha. Upon my arrival at Thai Village, I attended a Sunday morning worship service at Promise Lutheran Church. The singing was led by two young men on guitars, and they presented the Bible readings – all in the Thai language. Pastor Num delivered the sermon in Thai as well. I understood none of the words of the service. But when the congregation said the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer I felt our unity of faith in our risen Savior, Jesus Christ, as I quietly said them in English. I was warmly welcomed with a luncheon after the service. 10

My days at Thai Village were spent mostly in teaching English to the people who work making crafts for the program. At our first session, Jade, the church secretary, brought in an article on Japan with vocabulary words. After diligently working for over an hour, we had just completed the 20 or so vocabulary words, but this group wanted to continue. Our first class lasted 2 hours! They were such troopers, and they all came back for the next class! My beginning English class, at first, was a challenge. How could I teach this group of three young adults, who spoke virtually no English, without having an interpreter present? After muddling through our first class, I began making PowerPoint presentations in which I could present new vocabulary with pictures. This worked very well. Pim, Pring, and Pong all made wonderful progress in learning English, and I was able to leave the PowerPoint with the Thai Village staff so the students can continue practicing what they have learned.

When I wasn’t teaching English, Liz, the director of the handicraft program, had many little tasks to keep me busy. I repriced items to be sold in America, helped cut out material on craft day, and helped out in a variety of different ways, all of which were very enjoyable. The staff and artisans of Thai Village and the members of Promise Lutheran Church welcomed me with open arms. I was touched by their generosity and kindness. My last day at Thai Village will live long in my memory. We began with a hymn sing before Bible Study. Most of the songs they sang were unfamiliar to me, but they gave me a song book with the Thai words written out phonetically. As the artisans began to sing “Shout to

the Lord” in Thai, I sang along in English, excited to join in a familiar song. One by one, each of the singers switched to singing with me in English. Our voices rose and gained strength as we united in this beautiful song of praise to our Heavenly Father. By the end of the song, tears were streaming down my face, and I was speechless. I would love to go back to Thailand again to work with the people of Thai Village. I may never again see these fellow Christians as we walk this Earth, but I am confident that one day we will once again unite to sing “Shout to the Lord” in heaven, where there will be no language or cultural barriers!! I pray that God would bless the work of Thai Village and Promise Lutheran Church. 11

Q4 Fourth Quarter Bung Kleung tin-smithing training During the fourth quarter, we traveled a day and a half and spent a week in a Karen village facilitating a tin smithing skills training in Bung Klueng, a Karen village on the Thai-Burma border. We met with the leaders in advance, brainstormed income generation opportunities for the teenagers in the village, and made a plan to return and facilitate a skills training in the village during the school break. Although it was a long, rainy, and muddy trip to get there, it was very

Matched Savings Program

encouraging to hear of the desire of the people in this village to learn new skills and envision practical ways that Thai Village could be a blessing to them.Our training team had a great time with these talented teenagers, learning together, eating together, having fun together! Through this new skill, this community is planning on earning much needed extra income by creating â&#x20AC;&#x153;run for relief â&#x20AC;? awards for the annual run for relief competitions world wide.

Eet

Artisan Highlights In March 2013, Thai Village was invited to a meeting for former prisoners with the Thai Department of Justice and CPMF. Here we made several contacts and met many men and women who were interested in handmade work with Thai Village. We invited these new contacts to an upcoming vocational tin-smithing training at our Thai Village facility. Three men joined the week-long training, and gave positive feedback about their experience. One man, Eet, decided to continue tin-smithing work. He

took a small order home to work on and we set an appointment for two weeks later to followup. Although his handiwork was not yet excellent, we sent Eet home with a second order, and the next time he returned his work had greatly improved. It was evident that Eet was trying hard and his effort was paying off. Since then, Eet has been consistently bringing his tin work orders in to Thai Village. All of us at Thai Village have enjoyed spending time with Eet, and have spent more time

with him outside of work as well. During one visit in September, he brought his work in while we were having weekly Bible study downstairs in the building. Surprisingly, Eet sat down at the Bible study and stayed through the entire lesson to listen.

Recently, Eet brought in another tin order to Thai Village and he mentioned that a Christian group had come to pass out tracts in his village. We began talking about what was in the tract, and if he understood it. Eet said he didn’t really understand, but he wanted to.

In October, Eet joined in another Thai Village vocational training, but this time as a co-trainer. The training was for teenagers living in a hostel in a Karen village near the Burma border. The kids loved Eet as a teacher and asked specifically to take pictures with him on the last day. Throughout the week he was an important part of the leadership team, planning, preparing, helping, teaching, and debriefing. In the evenings the team spent time eating together, sharing, worshipping, and praying, and Eet joined in as well. On the way home from the training, we stopped by Eet’s village to meet and have dinner with his family. As we left, he said, “God bless you.”

A Thai Village staff member began to share more about the Bible, who Jesus is, and what he did for us on the cross. Eet expressed interest in studying the Bible more, so we gave him a Bible to begin reading the gospel of John on his own. Eet has been a reliable worker, humble and responsible. We at Thai Village have enjoyed working with him, the chance to share the love of Jesus with him as we work together, and seeing God work in and through him to bring Eet to know Him for himself. 15

Phong

held a vocational training to teach men how to make tin ornaments. Phong was the youngest person in the training, but one of the fastest to learn the skill. He caught on quickly and after the training, Phong took his first order of his own. Prior to living in Chiang Mai, Phong had been treated like a sick patient unable to do much which has affected the way he carries himself. Now his demeanor has brightened since we met him, and his self-

Phong grew up in a Hmong village like lots of other kids, attending boarding school in a Buddhist temple as a child like many kids in families without money to pay for school, but he was different from his friends - he was diagnosed with lupus from an early age. This made it difficult for him to finish school or help his family work in the fields because he was sick or had reactions to medication often. His family attends church off and on in their village, but they face a lot of pressure to support themselves since their father is in jail, which means Sunday is often a work day. 16

When Phongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doctor suggested he move to live with family in Chiang Mai to get better health care, he came to live with his older brother Wang at Thai Village. Wang was recently called as an evangelist at the church, and was hoping his younger brother would be able to learn more about God and also learn a skill so that he could have something to do instead of sit at home. Phong was shy and stuck close to his brother when he arrived. Phong began attending regular Bible study connected with Thai Village activities and Sunday worship services at Promise Church. After a few weeks, TVI

over and Wang was showing Phong a map of Israel in the Bible and explaining some Old Testament history. Phong can often be found asking spiritual questions trying to understand the Bible more. It is our hope that with training and encouragement, Phong can develop his skills further to support himself and use his gifts to live as a child of God in his village.

confidence has grown tremendously. He is getting regular checkups and able to start supporting himself. Now he eagerly runs up and down the three flights of stairs at TVI to get his tin equipment each day and can be found working hard on his tin orders throughout the day. Beyond that, Phong is growing in faith in Christ as he lives with his brother Wang and Christian community at Thai Village. One day, we looked 17

new products

christmas toys Nativity Boxed Set Jewelry Double Take Earrings Mulberry necklace Braided Stone Necklace Leather Criss Cross Wristband Leather Braided Wristband Rock Candy Bracelet

bags iPhone bag Triangle Coin Purse Mini Purse Keychain cards Painted Mulberry Cards Painted Elephant Cards miscellaneous Leather Verse Keychain Elephant Gift Tags Mulberry Gift Tags

Sales venues

about us Hands working together

Thai Village Inc is a non-profit organization that was started in 2007 with assistance from WELS Kingdom Workers in Thailand.

to support Christian education

We exist to empower the people of Thailand, working alongside WELS churches in Thailand to support Christian education, outreach, and community-based programs.

and economic self-sufficiency

We provide vocational trainings and opportunities for income generation as a means of economic stability and approach each of these interactions as an opportunity to share the Good News.

in Thailand

Crafts are designed and produced by local people from areas where our mission is active. They are then sent on to stores, churches, and individuals for display and sale. We produce a variety of handmade jewelty, personal accessories, stationery, and home decor, available for sale in Thailand, Australia, and the USA.