THE MISSION CONTINUES

Our faces light up with smiles as we run up the front steps of Yaowawit School, excited to see the carefree faces of the children that await us. The kids are still resilient and happy as ever here at the Yaowawit School in Kapong, Phang Nga.
It has been 5 months since the last time Hong Kong International School Students have been here and little to nothing has changed. The school is still as beautiful as ever and the people still embrace that their land is the land of smiles. This time eight students including Maxine, Alisa, Elise, Katie, Kihyun, Jordan, Roger and Zi Hao returned to continue developing the relationships between the students and work on English communication.
In the first week the focus was to teach English to different target groups and it was as if we had never left. The kids remembered our names, addressing us as Kun Maxine for example, in their English classes. A couple hours each day were dedicated to working with a certain grade level at different places around the school.
The kindergarteners were learning the alphabet, singing songs and playing games that kept even us high students entertained in the theatre. Each child had their own personality and it was truly a pleasure to get to know them even better. Little Mo, a kindergartener was a fabulous dancer and loved being carried on my back. I said, “how are you today Mo?” and she would say, “I am in love”.
The primary school children that we interacted with drew beautiful pictures and had simple conversations with us about what they enjoy doing. They occasionally accompanied us to their self-sustained farm where we helped to plant new watercress plants.
In the second week Bosch apprentice Ramona arrived from Germany to support Yaowawit for a week with a workshop programme for teachers and students of classes five and six. For their activities with Yaowawit Bosch used KiTec – Kinder entdecken Technik, a program designed to support the natural thirst in children for knowledge and experimenting. Special boxes with tools and material were provided for the workshop, having the children learn to use the different tools first and then work in teams on various construction projects. They were encouraged to use their fantasy to accomplish different tasks and enjoy working with the new tools.
Children and teachers had the chance to satisfy their zest for action by hammering, nailing, sawing and filing as much as they liked to manage the technical challenges they were given. Through this practical work they developed creativity and besides having a lot of fun also achieved basic skills in different engineering areas.
Together with Ramona and the Hong Kong International Students they built an amazing dollhouse, several cars, little chairs, tables, a wind wheel and even street lamps.
The workshop was rounded off with a presentation by the children, displaying their new skills and the final “product”. Hong Kong International Students helped preparing, practising and rehearsing the presentations in English, bringing a lot of fun and laughter to Yaowawit’s computer room.
Director of the Bosch Factory in Thailand Reiner Steffan attested Hong Kong and Yaowawit students’ great skills and a keen perception working with the tools and materials provided.
To ensure a success in the long run, Bosch believes in continuity and will send future apprentices from Germany to Thailand every six weeks to continue what Ramona has started with her knowledge, personality and a very good preparation. Valuable support to the program is also provided by Karl Steffan, director of apprenticeship at Bosch Waiblingen in Germany.
At the end of the trip, Jordan Zhang, a senior at HKIS, who worked on the house said, “Working with the high school kids was truly a pleasure because they made any activity, from sanding down the parts to typing up the PowerPoint a blast. The kids are always laughing and making jokes. Their understanding was above my expectations. I enjoyed every minute.”
It was truly an unforgettable experience and the excitement that built up to the trip lasted throughout the two weeks that we were there. Elise Chen, a junior at HKIS said, “Though it was our second time there, I was still able to learn more each day about the kids and about myself. I thought our goal there was for the kids to learn from us, but I was incorrect in that. I learnt more from them than I can ever imagine. I always had a smile on around them and I can’t wait to go back again.”
Going back to Yaowawit has truly been another learning experience for the eight of us. After two weeks, we couldn’t imagine how much closer we have grown to the students there and how much we have gained from being there. The positive attitudes of the children, the advice from the teachers and volunteers there and the new experiences we acquired are something to look forward to in the next time we visit the Yaowawit School in Kapong, Phang Nga.

Mazine Lai is a 12th grade student from Hong Kong International School