V2T Reference by Volunteer Patricia Assis

My Experience with Volunt2Thai & Raimund

We spoke hours about challenges and needs . Potential solutions and stories.

I learnt with him what school never succeeded to teach me: the insider’s perspective of social change and real transformation. I saw first-hand in Volunt2Thai, what I witnessed in all community-driven organizations I have been part in Asia and South America throughout the trip.

The organizations are started by the visionaries of the communities out of their kindness, resources and hopes for their people. These organizations aim to increase the overall livelihood of their peers, because they are driven by the vision and hope that things can be better off.

Most organizations do not have sophisticated theories of change, complex metrics, or outstanding PowerPoints. Sometimes they do not know, sometimes they do not have the time, sometimes they do not find it important. These visionaries do what they know and what they can, because reality hits harder than any promising planning.

Still, they stand on their feet, humbly, always moving towards a horizon; because there is no other choice.

When these visionaries make this commitment with their village, the all family participates. There is no such thing as work, family, community, and the individual. Everyone is involved because that is what community looks like for them. So, when we help one person, we help everyone.

When we teach the students, we are alleviating the teachers who also have to farm the land to get a sufficient livelihood. When we babysit the children, we are letting the organization to build the project;

When we ask the visionaries “what do you need?”, we are giving them the motivation to continue even when they are alone. I saw the same story everywhere in the world.

But I learnt this the easy way:

With ice on my beer, sitting under the illuminated tree, I asked all the possible questions.

"We plant seeds to build a sustainable future. A future where none of us will be part of. We will see the kids evolving and watering the seeds. Sometimes we will see a plant flourishing, but unlikely we will see the garden. Because this is not about us, but about them".

Sometimes, one kid is enough, because she or he will become the role model. That is what communities need, a role model who gives people hope. Hope makes people to move forward. We must do what we can because everything is needed, and little is available. We are a brick in an entire village.

Teaching English skills, geography or music are not the goals themselves, but the means to develop profound concepts of friendship and self-esteem. When a child knows about friendship, he/she also knows about trust and self-respect. In a country with a high level of crime, they will know their own values and set limits to those who are hungry to steal their kindness.

The road to friendship and self-worth is long and curvy. The road is not in a powerpoint presentation or an economic model, because those who build the plans have not walked in the same path. Sometimes we must take big turns, slow down or change direction to arrive at the destination. Transforming a community is transforming the people and the systems. One must be creative and innovative because what we think it works, probably will fail. We just need to keep trying better every time. Each problem is different and formatted solutions just work in the universities.

And this is what I learnt:

"Change is complex. Change is slow. Change is invisible".

School of Ban Nong Phong

Raimund left Austria in his 20s towards Australia to try something new. He got lost in Malaysia by mistake, really a not planned detour. Someone he met randomly said “Why don’t you go to Thailand? It is affordable, good weather and not so difficult to start something new”. He went to Bangkok, found a cheap room in the center, started to learn the Thai language. Practiced reading and speaking every day. He went home, used dictionaries, textbooks, collected vocabulary on the street every day, wrote down words, in a notebook and translated them. He went out into the street and practiced the small sentences by involving people in conversation.

Raimund was fighting against time, as his savings were shrinking from the jobs back in Europe.

He printed business cards and handed out his services as an interpreter. Soon he found his first customers. So he became responsible for the communication at the table during many negotiations and meetings. It was a mixture of interpreting combined with a lot of research work. It was always about knowing where to get information: Ministries, the Chamber of Commerce, companies, responsible persons. He had to travel everywhere, have meetings and do research.

More and more he got a jobs as a German-Thai interpreter from engineering companies. He had to learn all the technical terms, specs and details of the manifold products to be able to translate properly. Over time, he became increasingly familiar with the products, processes and interrelationships, the possible sources and possible partners. Soon it was no longer just a matter of interpreting at the negotiating table alone, but rather of coordinating the business. It had been 3 years since he first accidentally landed in Bangkok.

From that moment on his life took another turn. He started to learn more about the business and became a project manager. From time to time he returned to Austria to follow up with further education but he liked life in Thailand.

Then he began to take on various projects as project manager and opened his office in Bangkok. He settled down, spoke fluent Thai and travelled locally and around the world, mainly for professional reasons.

He met his wife Linly and they moved to her hometown.

Linly

When he first arrived in Linly’s village, the mayor heard that he knew about the establishment of projects. The mayor asked for advice and Raimund made him a draft. Raimund was still busy with his office in Bangkok and his own work. The mayor liked Raimund’s idea and brought it before the council. It was voted on at the table, and it was decided to give a clear yes to the implementation of the project.

At the same time it was also clear that there was no one in the village who could have implemented this concept. The concept was good and raised the hopes of the local council that Raimund would realize it.

Raimund’s main concern was to give the local council a concept for orientation for the further development of the village. Raimund thought astonished: “No, I don’t want to do that. This is not my area, I already have my occupation I am not even from here. What can I do if I am not even Thai? But who else can do it? I designed this project, so I am the only one who can carry it”. And Volunt2Thai starts in 2013.

The project started with an empty land, and no budget. Raimund looked at himself “This will be the most challenging project of my life”. Savings over, less people to help and the day-to-day starts being built slowly but impressively steady. I tend to believe it is thanks to his outstanding project management skills. Today, Volunt2Thai is different from 2013. Volunt2Thai is lively and there are always different people stopping for a visit. That was one of the milestones of the project: a place where children and their parents meet the other side of the world.

There is always something happening. New volunteers arriving, the children showing up to play, some villagers stopping by for an ice coffee. Raimund will be probably building, fixing, planning something. If not, he is taking volunteers to school, meeting with the teachers or switching with Linly to take care of Alexander.

Raimund, Anita and Alexander

Raimund wakes up early, like every Thai person. Between him and Linly, his lovely and smart wife, they split the tasks to take care of Alexander (1), Anita (5), Nikki (11). Sometimes he helps papa (his father in-law) in the rice delivery around the village. Papa also raises pigs to sell in the market.

Occasionally, Raimund and Linly drive together to Volunt2Thai because Linly needs to run the small café and the clothing shop in front of Volunt2Thai. Other times she must work in the market or sort out other daily tasks. Nikki and Anita go to school, and Alexander is usually around VT2 with Linly, Raimund or Mama (his grandmother). There is always something to do. Everybody takes a part, everybody is involved.

When he stops, he thinks.

Contemplating the surrounding and life happening around him. He sits with himself, quietly, taking a promenade with his mind. Kids grab him, volunteers ask questions, villages stop by, he stops the promenade.

Raimund likes a good dialogue. He thinks fast and discloses humbly his inner world. Sometimes, he wonders about the stars, the soil, and the kids.

He jumps from thought to idea, from idea to thought. Sometimes one can get lost temporarily, but quickly you find the reasoning line. I learnt to forget the format and focus on the content. Each thought is a learning.

Raimund is the best example I know of making things happen! He is a real doer. He is driven by the belief that “we are here in this world to help each other”.

Sometimes, I am deeply moved from what he says and somehow sad that more people do not get to know his vision for the world. The challenges of Volunt2Thai are similar to every other social organizations: financial sustainability and people to support. Organizations lack resources at different levels: people to carry the day-to-day activities, money to support the infrastructures, or innovations to overcome extreme societal matters.

At the end of each day, for three weeks, we talked about the future of Volunt2Thai.

I was thrilled with the idea to build something together. Raimund was arms opened to receive any of my ideas. More than that, he wanted to support them. Somehow, he believed in me before I believed in myself.

From our brainstorms, we gathered our skills and came up with a self-development-volunteering program. It consists in a personal development training with a fully immersion in the daily life of a social project. When I left Volunt2Thai in 2017, SAPANA (a non-governmental organization I co-founded with a group of great people back in 2012) and Volunt2Thai created this amazing partnership.

In my last day in 2017, I was terrified but feeling over the moon about our partnership. In an emotional goodbye, Raimund told me:

“You are a very special and strong lady. Keep doing your things.

Someone one day will pick it up and see who you are.”

All together, we made this happen already twice! I cannot thank enough the amazing SAPANA team who believed immediately in this idea and everyone in Volunt2Thai who hosted the groups so warmly and well. We all see this as a beginning…

Partnership in 2017

Project developing in 2019

Sometimes, he calls me saying “I had an idea Patricia!” I hear astonished the genius ideas he has for the future. In less than nothing, they are already happening. Also, he tells me, although seldom, “this will be the last project I will implement. Then I will need to focus on my family and help them grow.” Raimund is a very humble man, carrying a vivid spirit, with a truly humanistic heart.

You see in his look when he sits with himself. That is the photograph I will always carry with me. I admire his power, coherence, vision and heart. Sometimes, I ask myself if he does not get tired. Now that we are friends, I also ask him directly and he says “who will do something for these people? We must do something when we can”.

I found a mentor, an inspiration, a go-to person. Raimund opened me the doors of his family, his dream and his village. I thank all of them to have given me the opportunity to learn from them, spend time with them and show me the paradise where they live. In my heart, I wish I have become a companion of this old soul who carries the vision and the modesty to bring dignity to everyone around him.

Today, when sitting together, he tells me:

“This is not about us, but about them. We did good Patricia, today we gave a good feeling to someone.”

I now understand better, Change is slow. Change is invisible. Change is not about us, but about them.