Thailand team in-country: build a kitchen, ride an elephant, party with Rotarians

Last Tuesday was a long work-day for all of Team Thailand. One of the vans (of which there are 4) went down to Wat Bang Sai school and continued work on the fish hatchery/composting facilities. When we got back to the hotel in the evening, we had a pool party which was way fun! 

On Wednesday, we took a boat tour of some nearby islands and beaches! We went snorkeling and visited Phi Phi Island for a little bit of market shopping. We went to 3 beaches and saw monkeys on one of them! The water was so beautiful and the experience was unreal. We all felt so lucky that we had the chance to see such awesome sights on our service trip!

On Thursday, we worked on the mural at the Banthamthonglang school, were fed chicken wings for lunch (some of us were reeeallly excited for American food!), and watched some locals play soccer. It was another hard day of construction and renovation at the schools!

Friday, we worked hard again and also got to play with the kids a lot! A monk came to the Banthamthonglang School to give a prayer with the children. We visited a Buddhist temple that depicted heaven and hell. It was a bit frightening but also a super-cool experience! We also visited a monkey park on Friday, and observed a TON of monkeys out in the open! 

On Saturday, we got to ride elephants! We went river rafting too, which everyone enjoyed :) Back at the school, that afternoon, we held a health fair for the children and families of the Banthamthonglang school. We taught about the importance of brushing teeth, not smoking, and being hygenic. 

On Sunday, we worked all day and then dressed nicely for the Rotary Dinner. It was a great way to connect with humanitarians in another part of the world! 

Today, Monday, we got finished up with most projects at the schools! The kitchen is built and finished, along with all the other projects we had started! What a productive few days! 

Sorry to be late with this blog post; it's been busy, and the internet was down for a couple nights! All is well here, and we miss you back at home! 

10 Quotes to Inspire You to Do More Good

Thank you Youthlincers for all your volunteer service, locally and internationally. Here are some great quotes from great authors, public servants, and activists about making a difference. Their words speak to the impact you have on your neighborhood, this state, and this world.

10. "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." - Mother Teresa

9. "Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart." - Elizabeth Andrew

8. "A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog." - Jack London

7. "The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention." - Oscar Wilde

6. "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." - Mark Twain

5. "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss

4. "Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve... You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

3. "I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back." - Maya Angelou

2. "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." - Winston Churchill

1. "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." - Anne Frank

Team Mexico's Marvelous Benefit Dinner!

On May 14th, our team had an amazing night full of dancing,auctioning, delicious food, and fun! We all came together and pitched in what we could to make this night a great time for anyone who came! We also had many people in our families and communities that were so kind to help our team out! We are so grateful for the wonderful people who put so much time and effort into our fundraising. The entertainment for the night was a hoot, we all enjoyed watching the beautiful dances put on by a local Mexican dancing group.

Thank you to everyone who came that night and gave so much so that we can help the people of Chiapas. We are very appreciative, and so excited to go Mexico and give just as you have given to us!

Cambodia Youthlinc - The Memories That We Will Cherish

They say that a photo is worth a thousand words. The following photos and captions hopefully give you a glimpse of what we have been able to accomplish and what we have learned.

Group Shot at Dinner with Rotary

Final Dinner Party

Ta Prohm Temple

Statues at the Bayon Temple

Our Team Leader, Britnie, passing off a pig - Microenterprise

There is so much that cannot be captured in these blog posts. Be sure to ask a 2011 Cambodia Youthlinc student about their experience as they will be able to give you a better summary. These past 2 weeks have been amazing and again, thank you for making this trip a possibility. See you soon!

After a week of working hard, Cambodia team reports on activities & is ready to come home!

Our projects are starting to wrap up and it's really cool to watch all of our hard work materialize. Building the fence turned out to be a much bigger project than we had anticipated and the entire team has been working hard every day to get it finished. Today we set a new personal record by putting up 27 fence posts!! The bathrooms are coming along great and should be finished tomorrow. Our brilliant cultural committee has plans to recruit the kids to paint a mural on one of the walls to spruce things up and personalize things and the medical committee is now teaching at the junior high school which has been going well.

After a week of working hard we took a day off to see more of the country and learn a little more about Cambodia’s history. Early Sunday morning we headed out for a boat tour of Tonle Sap floating village. The floating village is mostly occupied by Vietnamese refugees who settled there during the Vietnam war.

Most of us had never seen anything like it, it was amazing how they were able to create an entire city on a river. Their resourcefulness was astounding. Everything from the tin bowls the kids were floating around in to the recycled boat propellers were pure creative genius.

After the floating village we were back on the bus and on our way to the Cambodian land mine museum. The museum is run by a former Khmer rouge child soldier. He started an organization disabling land mines and all of the mines and bombs he collects are now in the museum. We also stopped by a Khmer Rouge genocide memorial. There was glass case full of the bones of those who were murdered. It was humbling to recognize what has happened here in recent history and see how resilient the people of Cambodia are.

One thing we all agree on is that it is going to be hard to leave all of these kids behind. We have all formed such great relationships with these kids and many of us are already planning our return. It’s hard to believe we only have a few more days of work left.

Last Meeting for Peru!

Can you believe it??? After this last meeting only four more weeks to go and VAMOS A PERU!!!

Great news everyone! Another spectacular show of philanthropy in our local communities by this years Peru team. Everyone outstandingly completed their service hours and other requirements without any trouble whatsoever.

The last meeting was packed with final instructions, reiterations, and of course, a few last minute decisions. :) Our fearless leaders jeff and tori kept close tabs on all the groups as the finishing touches were added to each designated activity. And all I can say BRAVO a todos for the effort everyone 's invested, we all really put our best foot forward. Apart from some toys and small articles for the next meeting everything is ready to go and waiting to be packed in some good-looking Youthlinc duffle-bags. :) after the meeting a dedicated group of team members decided to continue the relationship building process and get together at Sugarhouse Park. Thank you Paul Mueller for the great idea. And I will see all my Peru peeps in exactly three weeks.

Freddy out.

Update from Thailand!

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The Thailand Team has been hard at work at two schools in Krabi. We've been painting, digging, mixing and laying cement, and cleaning up the grounds at the schools. We have been working on installing a kitchen, fixing sinks and bathrooms, and painting/amending the playground at one school. At the other, we are building a wall around their fish hatchery (their fish that they use to make school lunches had all been stolen) and are building a new place for them to put a compost pile. We've been interacting with the kids at the school a lot and have found that it isn't too difficult to communicate without the use of language. At the end of the day, the whole team is always sore and exhausted and ready for dinner! We are happy to be making these people's lives a little bit easier and putting smiles on the faces of children who are less fortunate than we.

Meet the new Youthlinc International Service & Development Director!

Hi everyone! I am thrilled to be joining the Youthlinc team as the International Service & Development Director. Youthlinc is a fabulous organization, doing great things internationally and locally. As such, I am giddy to be a part of this team. I can’t wait to work with all of you and get to know you better.

As an introduction, I am the middle child of seven, raised in Salt Lake. I have always had a passion for travel. The day I turned 18, I packed my bags and left to work at a dude ranch in Teton National Park. From there, I had a blast traveling about the U.S. working all sorts of fabulous jobs-- waitressing on Nantucket Island, doing outdoor wilderness survival in the Tonto National Forest, working with foster children in San Diego, etc. Traveling keeps adventure alive!


I started my higher education at the Salt Lake Community College, which formalized my path in humanitarian work. After September 11th, 2001, I had posted fliers all over campus to raise money for the families affected by the tragic events. This caught the attention of the student leaders on campus, and they recruited me on their Student Life and Leadership board to plan campus-wide service projects. I fell in love with service-learning, and ended up working as the service-learning representative for my campus, and eventually, as Student Body Vice President. Then, I transferred to the University of Utah and worked as the Public Relations Director for the Lowell Bennion Center, working with clubs and planning campus-wide service events. I spent hundreds of hours involved in community service, and graduated with the Service-Learning Scholar designation, with a degree in International Relations.

Afterward, I moved to Guatemala as a Peace Corps volunteer. Living in a poor indigenous village, I was exposed to such poor living conditions, yet, around me, the people found strength to move forward with dignity, grace and hope for a better world. The people-- like many of you have experienced-- inspired me to move forward, with a commitment to making this world a better place, if even by just a fraction.

Since I've been home, I completed my master’s degree in Human Development and Social Policy from the University of Utah. For my research, I collaborated with local women with refugee status on how resettlement programs might better serve them. I hope to continue working with the women on microenterprise projects.

Through my experiences, my path has crossed many times with those involved with Youthlinc. I have always been impressed with the caliber of people in Youthlinc, and am honored to join you.

Yours in service,
Miriam Kramer

We're here!! Team Thailand's first few days :)

After a few days of planes, trains, and automobiles, the whole team has arrived in the province of Krabi, Thailand safe and sound. Today was our first full day in our new home and we all were thrilled to be in such a different environment. It's like a jungle here! With forest-covered, huge limestone mountains all around us. It's hot and humid, but most of us are adjusting pretty well :)Today we visited the Thamthonglang school, where we'll be installing a septic tank and kitchen. This afternoon we had opening ceremonies at the school. Members of the local school board attended, and we were served a nice lunch! Some very cute little girls from the school performed dances and played their flutes for us, and we danced the "cupid shuffle" with the kids. Although we can't communicate very well by way of language, we still had a fun-filled afternoon with the kids! We all played soccer, danced the hokey pokey, and played on their small playground. A funny moment from this afternoon was when, in the midst of a rowdy soccer game, one small boy found a frog and chased his friend around the field with it, eventually throwing it on him! As Pete put it "Although we felt bad for the frog, we all had a good laugh." After our visit to the school, we visited a buddhist temple which was basically planted inside one of the big mountains. We climbed stairs through the mountain and visited the buddhist shrines, which were really ornate and beautiful! Afterwards, some of us took a trip to a grocery store and stocked up on some good, cheap food! We enjoyed using our Baht and finding some good treats at the store. Now, back at our hotel, some of us are swimming, and some are heading off to bed. We've got a busy 2 weeks ahead of us, and we're all beyond stoked to be here. Missing everyone at home! ...but not TOO much ;)

Here's what our Cambodia team is doing in-country! Amazing!

7 days in and our projects are progressing even better than we could have imagined. Incredible events have unfolded; through the unanticipated involvement of community members and children, our projects have been expedited. We are all constantly amazed at how willing everyone is to jump in and help at any given time.

Our group is divided into 6 committees: construction, medical, education, cultural, micro finance, gardening.

The construction committee has been primarily working on building a new bathroom. 6 years ago, the school bathroom stopped functioning properly and was abandoned. We have been working to restore this bathroom and a new bathroom is almost completed. By the time we have to leave, we hope to have completed the construction of a boys and girls bathroom. In addition to the bathroom project, the construction committee is also working on building a fence for the school. This fence is an important aspect of our gardening project - previously, animals, such as wild cows and chickens, had destroyed the school garden and disrupted the school atmosphere.

The medical committee has been teaching dental hygiene (which the kids love), anatomy, and other crucial medical practices. The village and school have a separate medical clinic, and at this clinic, the medical committee has been teaching more lessons, such as safe birthing practices. One of our beloved mentors, Rich, provided a wonderful demonstration of proper birthing techniques.

Daily, we have about 10 people teaching English and Art lessons to the children. These lessons range from math to fruit to sports. Teaching was one of those things Britnie told us that we would fall in love with, and despite the difficulties, many of us have.

Without the cultural committee, the opening ceremony would not have been possible. More information about the opening ceremony can be found in the previous post by Britnie. The cultural committee will also help us go out with a bang, in that they will organize the closing ceremony.

The micro finance program is ultimately intended to lift people from poverty by providing loans to women to start small businesses. We slightly tweaked this program to fit the needs of Cambodia by switching the program's primary focus to livestock, such as cows, pigs, and chicken. Individuals can sell the products of these animals, such as milk and eggs, as well as sell the offspring of such animals in order to earn money. The micro finance committee has been working to teach basic business skills as well as implement the program.

The school we have been working at had garden, but due to the lack of care, the garden failed to grow properly. The gardening committee has been working hard to revive this garden in hopes of inspiring the community. Wild animals have been a problem however, and the gardening committee has been working to resolve this problem.

While it has been physically grueling at times, we are enjoying ourselves. It has been absolutely amazing to see the tangible results of our actions - thank you to all of you who have supported us and helped us get here. Be sure to stop by the blog as we will try to update it regularly - internet connectivity is limited though, so please bear with us. See you soon!

Welcome to Cambodia!

It has been an amazing few days here in Cambodia. The vibrant buzz of the city coupled with the humble quiet of the Peak Sneng village is more than one could have imagined.

We were welcomed with a beautiful ceremony of traditional Cambodian dancing. One of our favorites was the monkey dance. We tried to wow them back with some tumbling by Max, guitar playing by Carly and some crazy dancing by the entire team!




All projects are well under way and it has been a very successful few days. We'll post more about the particular projects another time.

Thailand packing up and ready to leave!

The Thailand packing meeting was this last Saturday. Everyone showed up excited and not knowing what to expect. It seems like everyone has the pre-departure jitters! I am also happy to announce that everyone has completed all of their service hours. As a whole, the team collected 2550 service hours this past year!! I think that is so great! I am so proud of everyone on the team! I know that they have worked so hard all year to get to this point and now they can finally relax. Our flights leave on Tuesday and Wednesday and I know that we are going to make a big impact and difference to the people of Thailand. This is an awesome group of kids who clearly loves to serve and can't wait to get over there already! The meeting went great because we were able to pack basically everything that we wanted to and everything that was donated! A shout out to everyone that has helped our amazing team get to where they are right now! Thanks for all the donations and support. I just know that the students on this team are going to fall in love with service and change as individuals and be able to have the experience to learn so much more about themselves as well as the world around them. GOOD LUCK THAILAND TEAM!!!

Cambodia team is packed up & ready to rock this service trip!

Well the time has come. We leave for Cambodia on Thursday. It has been a CRAZY year to say the least, but we made it through everything. All the students have completed their hours, and now we just have to suffer through the pre-departure jitters until Thursday morning is here!

We had our packing meeting this Saturday and we were able to pack tons of medical supplies, over 130 feminine hygiene kits, about a million toothbrushes, lots school kits, 2 huge space bags full of clothes, and many other things the people of Cambodia will benefit from.

While we are in country, we are installing 100 water filtration systems, setting up a community garden at the school to supply the school with food, teaching lessons in the classrooms, providing a livestock capital of cows, pigs, and chickens, along with many other projects that will improve the quality of life for the people of Cambodia. I cannot wait to be able to work side by side with the people of Cambodia. I cannot wait for the friendships that will form between not only the people on our team, but with the kids and people in the village. It is the most magical experience you can ever have, and I am excited to be able to get over to Cambodia and get all of our hard work started.

I am so proud of our team already. Everyone has been working so hard all year trying to complete their service hours, as well as fundraising an incredible amount of money. All the fundraisers have been a huge success and everyone will be able to see the impact they will have on the lives of the people in Cambodia.

All past alums; wish us luck as we depart on Thursday. You all know the adventures that await us, and make sure to check up on the blog occasionally as we will be posting about our progress while in country.