С����Ƶ

С����Ƶ students had the once in a lifetime experience in January to travel to Thailand for a service learning trip. In between semesters at Rider, the group worked alongside youth from Mahidol University and with The Foundation for Children, a local elementary school and orphanage in Bangkok.

“I picked Thailand because I’ve never been on a service trip and I wanted to give back”, says junior Sarah Kim ’18.

Kim and her peers contributed to helping the community they were visiting in several ways. They helped beautify the grounds of the school, painting walls and making murals. Some of the students — mostly education majors — contributed to teaching the students, mostly simple concepts along with elementary English. “Working with the students was awesome, these kids come from parents who can’t take care of them anymore," says sophomore Tavante Brittingham. "The kids were attached to you they just didn’t want to let go.”

“The people of Thailand are very into the beliefs of Karma and other Buddhist teachings, so when people of Thailand would come to the orphanage for a tour they usually would donate to the orphanage, ”Jack D’Addario ’18 says. Jack then went on to talk about how these children were given to the orphanage.

The Foundation for Children accommodates children up to 12 years old and survives off of $30 per student per month from the government. The organization also accepts donations along with volunteers both locally and abroad, like those from Rider. For many of the school's children, the staff members are the only parental-like figures they have, says junior Jack D’Addario.

The Rider students also helped construct wood-stained chicken coops for the school. “The finished project of the chicken coups is just incredible and will teach the children how to care for the chickens for years to come and will also give them eggs for years to come”, says Kim Algeo, Rider's assistant director for international education.

Algeo volunteered to chaperone the trip along with Assistant Director for Service Learning Joan Liptrot. Algeo used to live in Thailand and has returned to the Southeast Asian country for the past five years. "We hope to return again in 2019 and keep returning every other year," she says.

In addition to helping the elementary school and its students, Rider students were able to explore the country. One early morning in Kanchanaburi, a municipality in the western part of the country, the group experienced an almsgiving. The students bought pre-packaged food — soup, rice, water — to give to monks. Afterward, they hiked to Erawan Waterfall, which features seven levels of falls. In addition to taking a dip with each other, students had the chance to swim with elephants and give them a bath.

The day wrapped with a shopping trip to one of Bangkok's floating market — a shopping center that exists on a waterway and must be navigated by boat — and firefly boat tour.

“That was one of the busiest days, but it was one of my favorite days because we did so much," Kim says. "The waterfall was beautiful, the island was breathtaking, and bathing the elephants was one of the most exciting experiences I’ve ever had."

Sophomore Meghan Korb says the trip was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," and while basking in the tropical climate and sights and sounds of a foreign country were a thrill, she is most proud of the attempt to make a difference in a place that lacks many of the privileges of her home.

"I am so proud of all the work we did at the Foundation for Children and all the fun I had playing with the kids," Korb says. "It truly made me appreciate all the blessings I have and how I can help others.” If you want to make a difference in a community somewhere around the world the Center for International Education will be announcing in the next few weeks the new service learning trips to Greece and Morocco for 2018.