Baan Dada Volunteer Trip 2006

The orphanage itself isn't finished. It will be three stories when they get the funding.

We partially dug up some structure. I dug too, but took a break to take this photo.

For two nights in a row they had toys out the wahzoo.

All the volunteers had their kids make cards to send. This is a shot of one from my school.

Dada built a mud brick oven and they use it to cook things like vegetarian pizza.

They cook most everything else in this big wok.

Four kids posed for a photo.

This is about half the vegetarian pizza we made.

Apart from the raisins, it was quite good.

Arun, my sponsored boy.

Kiran has great English.

The kids were so happy to receive cards and gifts, especially when they had the kids' names on it.

Anuwat.

The community center and temporary kindergarten.

They make their own mud bricks and use them wisely.

The food was one of my favorite things. Three hearty, and tasty, vegetarian meals a day.
I always lose weight while there, but gain it back when I hit Bangkok and Burger King.

A volunteer Thai girl teaches the young kids Thai and English.

Four volunteers got fed up and left. No seriously, they went for a walk in the country.

Churipon and me. She was always smiling and laughing.

A volunteer from New York named Daniella. She had a little story about how her last name is also the name of a German woodpecker. When she says her name to Germans they always make this pecking motion.

Not a good shot of Suthida holding a card. She looks like a boy here.

Three girls with a sign that says "Thank You Konan" (my school) since we sent cards.

Another example of a typical meal. It was so good.

Daeng saying goodbye to the other volunteers.

© Ryan McDonald 2005, for information about using images or text please click here.