Tiffany Wang, 23, China/July 2009

I never thought happening to be with ECC and involve in working with Learn2Give and volunteering at Srikoonwitthayabunlung School in the Chanlan Sub-District, Phana District, Amnatcharoen which closes to Ubon Ratchathani this summer vacation would be an excellent way to experience life changing and

Marco Biagioni & Jo Ferguson, England/ June 2009

Learn to Give Project, English Crazy Clubs, and Khunhanwittayasan School







On planning our travels through south-east Asia, we both knew we wanted to participate in a volunteer project. We knew we would be learning a great deal about Thailand and its culture so yearned to give something back to the country’s people before our return home.
After hours of scrawling through Google, we stumbled across a website called helpxchange.net. And there it was; a post from Netting, (founder of learn2give project) offering English teaching volunteer work in the North east of Thailand, in exchange for board and food. It sounded perfect. We instantly messaged her and waited eagerly in the following weeks for a reply.

We received an email from P’Pang and P’Aom thanking us for our interest and asking us

Kathryn Cohen, 19, USA/March 2009

My Time being English Crazy

After some confusion about busses and trains, I was greeted by 9 students from Ubon Ratchathani University. We travelled to Ajahn Pim’s house and began preparing for the next day’s camp. The veteran volunteers, led by P’Aom, taught everyone the songs and games we would teach at the camps. We made name tags and posters and planned rotations

Hannah Macklin, 28, England

Working with Learn2Give will certainly be the experience that stands out most in my memories of Thailand 2009, and it’s not over yet!

I arrived in Ubon Ratchathani to be met by the lovely Jan and Aom, who looked after me so well from that point forward. They helped to show me around Ubon, teach me some Isaan language, and taste Isaan food (sep lai lai!). A big thanks to

Learn2Give in the News!!

Couple helps children learn English

By CAROL SOUTH
Special to the Record-Eagle

TRAVERSE CITY -- "Farang" and loving it.

Kathryn and Frank Lepera returned home in early March from a month in Thailand, where they relished being "farang" -- foreigners -- while teaching school children English. The couple, who settled in Traverse City after their marriage two years ago, had previously traveled to Europe and Greece but never to Asia. For almost two years, they had been considering a trip to Thailand that included teaching English -- their own way of giving back. They were determined to be more than mere tourists by immersing themselves in a culture and connecting with the people

Jackelyn Alvarado, 26, USA

I had the amazing opportunity of being able to spend one week living with a Thai family and volunteering at a school in the Warincharamp district of Ubon Ratchathani. I have always wanted to travel to Thailand and have had a huge interest in Thai culture. I knew that the best way to experience true Thai culture would be to live with a family there while volunteering, and was excited for the opportunity.

Upon my arrival to the Ubon airport, I was greeted by Aom and It. Immediately I felt welcome and comfortable with both of them. They took me to It’s house, where we sat down to enjoy a delicious Thai meal. Aom and I talked about what would be happening in the week and she also taught me my first Thai words. It and Aom also gave me my Thai name on my first day, “Gaawta,” – meaning one’s beloved. They told me that the direct translation actually means cornea – which is the most important part to people’s eyes. If a Thai daughter receives this name, it means that

Britta, Claire, and Laura, 23, Ireland/ February 2009

Embarking on a round the world trip, Thailand was to be our last stop and the one we were most looking forward to. Many months ago we had arranged, from home, to teach English in Bangkok. However, upon arrival in January, the whole thing had fallen through. We were determined to find an alternative and fortunately stumbled across the ECC and learn2give website. We read about the project and the previous volunteers' experiences and it sounded

Kathryn & Frank Lepera (husband & wife), USA, February 2009

This was our first time in Asia and we were eager to immerse ourselves in Thai culture through volunteering. Volunteering, we believe, offers a unique cultural education that benefits everyone involved. This kind of all-around positive inter-cultural experience is what we found in reading Else’s blog and others on this website so we contacted Aom and Netting.

We arrived in Bangkok without knowing for sure what to expect of Thailand and without confirmation that we would volunteer with the English Crazy Club. Within a few days our plans were set and we were on an overnight train to Ubon Ratchathani. Despite the early hour, a smiling Aom greeted us at the train station and talked with us over coffee as we waited for our host to arrive. P. Pim and Mr. Lake arrived on motorbikes

Else Kennedy, 20, Australia

I contacted the English Crazy Club at Ubon University not long before I arrived in Thailand. They were very helpful and organised at short notice for me to teach with the Non-Formal Education department in a small city called Detudom, South of Ubon Ratchathani in North East Thailand.

Detudom is quite