Week 10. The grande finale!

Because last weekend was ‘Wien Tian’, an important Buddhist celebration and national holiday, everyone took well earned rest. When we visited the community to put up posters about the weekend off we saw the progress that Pi Un, Gop and others had made finishing the retaining walls. This will keep in the sand (a much gentler and more economic alternative to asphalt) and also leave a space by the existing house for emergency use in flood or fire. This wall will also be used as planter beds for more plants in the week to come.


Each time we come to the community more people greet us and more kids run out to see us and help put up the posters. It seems like we are gaining popularity and have the people’s trust. The kids have even begun to call me ‘Pi Hugo’, a title of friendly respect used for addressing older people.


The workers at CON CASE are helping us make the new structure for the playground. Although the budget is not enough to build it exactly to the kids design, we have designed it to incorporate plenty of their ideas (like the hang and swing bridge).



When we go to the community to advertise this week’s ‘closing ceremony’ we see the planter beds have been filled and planted, the place looks amazing! The flowers of the plants we planted have also begun to bloom.


The night before the party and we are all working overtime to get the structure finished in time for the party.



The day of the party arrives. The community has set up chairs and a marquee, food has been brought by CASE and the volunteers. We set up a projector in the shopkeeper’s warehouse to show the painting day movie and slides of all the work we have all done over the last 10 weeks.





Everyone has a great time, there are games and gifts for the kids. Gop is on the music. The head of the community, Khun Pa Sunee, gets the names of all the kids who helped in the project. She is going to take them on a trip to reward them for all their hard work for the community.





It has been wonderful to see the way people in the community have got involved, more and more each week, taking control of the project and really making it their own, a common effort to be really proud of. Pi Un enjoyed the process so much that he offered to help out in the future on CASE’s next project!


It is hard to believe that it’s all over! It’s been such an amazing effort by so many people and in the end it looks fantastic! But even more important than the physical improvement is the connection that the people have made to this place, what was a burnt out wasteland has become a real community space. A place for kids to play, adults and teenagers to play football or just sit in the shade by the canal to relax and chat with friends and neighbours. It has been their efforts which made this place, so it is is somewhere they will always be connected to.

Before....

...and After