The Journey(s) of Ian

Visit to NOPAHAA  (Northeastern Orphan and People Affected with Aids/HIV Association) My annual birthday fast approaching I made the decision to do what I now normally do, throw a party for a group of deserving and poor students. This time I was in the small town (pop. 13,000) of Stung Treng (“Stung Dray”) in north eastern Cambodia, near the Laos border. This seemed a suitable time to do my birthday thing.           I spoke to my local tour guide James, an enterprising fellow, who, after some thought and discussion, advised me that the best group to visit would be ‘across the river’, which is to say on the other side of the river from Stung Treng. At a village named ‘Thalla’. This is a school and orphanage for orphans and those children harmed by HIV. We also discussed what I should provide to the students. We settled upon a personal gift, a plastic bag containing: a writing pad, pen, pencil, rubber, a ruler, and a confectionary. For the group, fo...

A birthday event—helping the orphans and socially disposed of Thailand Here, residing in the 3rd world, we can forget how relatively wealthy we in the first world are. While it is true that the ‘western world’ does have many problems and social injustices which should be addressed, it is equally true that we should also turn our attention outwards to others, in other countries, and do what we can to help. Or at least that is what I believe, in accordance with my humanist beliefs. Thus I decided, after consultation with the people concerned, to not simply give a gift to my family when each birthday rolled around, but to rather give a donation to a worthy cause in whatever region I found myself in at the time. Being in Pattaya near the time of my brother Brett’s birthday I decided that a donation to a school for orphans and deaf students would be the way to go. So, along with my two friends from the Gothia bar, Noi and Yee, I visited the school on the 11th Augu...