English for the rural poor of South East Asia.

Dear friends:

Some of you may remember me as a garden jester and sometimes spatial dramatist (of gardens). The last few years of my life have been somewhat different, to say the least! My garden-related work and play earlier this century catapulted me to far-flung places like Europe and North America for award-winning pleasure and talky tours. (Gosh, work!) Air travel can take one to odd places that one might never have thought of visiting. One of those places was Bangkok, the chaotic capital of Thailand. This was my first Asian city, and it took me by surprise…or was it shock? As the cliché goes, 'I fell in love with the place'. Well not so much the place, but the highly gregarious people and the seemingly stress-free culture. At my hotel I met a Thai school teacher group down in the city from Chiang Mai in the far north. One of them suggested I could teach English at their schools in remote mountainous territory. The people in those areas are locally defined as 'Hill Tribe' (an ethnic minority), the poorest of the poor. Most of these communities are from semi-nomadic backgrounds going back hundreds if not thousands of years from as far away as Tibet and Mongolia. These people by and large are landless and often without Thai nationality I.D.

Fast forward a few years…. Out of the blue I received an email from one of these Thai teachers (Kru = teacher) asking me if I would like to take on a teaching position funded by ASEAN. I excitedly answered asking WHEN, to be told NOW (the Thai clock is always now)! At the time I was suffering garden fatigue syndrome (many of you know the symptoms), and decided yes if I could swing it. I was working long hours to complete a municipal garden brief for the Premier of Victoria (and others) for the grand opening of a new Shire office building works and garden. That done and dusted, I flew to Thailand and taught at two delightful schools in the north for about 10 weeks. It was a most extraordinary experience and the realization came that I could contribute something of positive use for these wonderful people. I reluctantly flew back to Australia.

Eighteen months later I was invited to return for semi-volunteering at those same two schools and jumped at the chance. Anything but garden! For four of the last five years I have been employed by the Language Institute of Chiang Mai University as a language specialist (yes, I know that will excite witty Australians), which sent me out on various projects in remote and often isolated places where schools are rarely funded for the foreign English teachers. Salaries for most foreign teachers are quite low. In all those schools, annual holiday pay was not included. That is around three months every calendar year unpaid, causing a lot of financial juggling and stress. 

I am now in rural Cambodia, and have been teaching at an orphanage school/village run by an  American couple. Almost all the 200+ kids have HIV/AIDS and rely solely on this NGO for almost everything. Now for the punchline! I have been made redundant here as the school has sent my Grade 9 students to the local government high school. I have been without employment for these last few weeks with almost zero backup funds. I am madly trying to find a new position anywhere in Southeast Asia, but it’s not a good time for finding employment as the school terms have begun. I need to survive until I gain employment and to cover the costs of relocation and a month’s salary before the first pay check. I come to you cap in hand. Thanks very much if you can contribute something. What I am asking for is a reasonably conservative amount for survival. 

Best wishes,

William (Billy)