Childcare Buddy

The first few years of a child’s life are fundamentally important. They are the foundation that shapes children’s future health, happiness, growth, development and learning achievement at school, in the family and community, and in life in general.

Recent research confirms that the first four years are particularly important for the development of the child’s brain, and the first three years are the most critical in shaping the child’s brain architecture. Children learn more quickly during their early years than at any other time in life. They need love and nurturing to develop a sense of trust and security that turns into confidence as they grow.

PMGY childcare volunteers support children at a pre-school in Patum Thani that aims to offer such structure. Founded in 2009 and home to around 150 3 to 4 year olds, it is located on the same premises and adjacent to the school where our teaching volunteers join us. The pre-school children here are provided with mental stimulation, attention and encouragement to help them grow, learn and develop.

For children this age, it is all about playing activities, building social skills and learning how the world works. The classes here focus on basic elementary education that is not as intense or formal in its daily syllabus as for the slightly older children in the neighbouring school blocks in A1 and A2.

Teaching the children basic life and hygiene skills is a key focus which volunteers are expected to encourage and get involved with. Volunteers are advised to always be mindful of their body language and tone throughout as children can be easily influenced and the local teachers will be particularly observant. You will also get involved in organising and supervising play activities. The main teacher will usually lead the sessions and so your role is largely to assist.

The pre-school generally comes with the modern and developed facilities and infrastructure to enable an environment for children to flourish and grow in their early years. Likewise to the teaching programme, it comes with 7 well furnished and equipped air conditioned classrooms extending into well developed playground facilities.

It is worth noting that although the school as a whole will appear quite well off and developed from the outside looking in; the reality is this is not the case overall with many of the children coming from underprivileged backgrounds.

Education and childcare here is free to those who are from the local village in the surrounding area. In the province each village has its own local government and the underlying aim of this local government was and remains to provide free accessible education and care to the children. This also incorporates embedding life skills, routines and positive behaviours as part of this commitment that the parents of the children must coincide with. Prior to this such opportunities were not forthcoming for the local children.

For our team it is a positive to have such an establishment available on their doorstep for the children from under resourced areas. This is because it shows the local government is investing taxes back into the right areas for future growth and development within the local education infrastructure as oppose to say other corrupt avenues.

Volunteers will also get the chance to experience the morning assembly rituals and cultural norms that is brought with this. In addition you will support and deliver activities that help children with nerve and movement developments, assist with a weekly syllabus, help at meal and nap times and play games with the children.

 Working with children is a really fun and highly rewarding experience. From helping the children during mealtime, to singing songs and teaching them essential life skills, you will play a part in their early life development. The pre-school facility makes such a difference to the lives of low-income families, and single parent families, whereby the parent/s can work and earn in the day knowing their children are in a safe and secure environment.

IN & AROUND BANGKOK

PMGY volunteers are based in the suburbs of Bangkok, Thailand’s bustling capital city. It’s a city of contrasts. Modern yet cultural, chaotic, traditional and bizarre – you will never get bored in Bangkok we can assure you of that!

Here air conditioned megamalls sit side-by-side with 200-year-old village homes; gold-spired Buddhist temples share space with neon-lit, bar lined strips; slow-moving traffic bypassed by long-tail boats plying the royal river; and streets lined with food carts are overlooked by restaurants on top of skyscrapers.

The great thing about Bangkok is although it is pretty vast, getting around is simple, fast and affordable with the BTS (inner city rail network). Which also means the great nightlife is easy to get to too whether its backpacker central on Koh San Road or catching some great live music at one of the cool bars near Victory Monument.

GRAND PALACE

The Grand Palace was once the official home of the Kings of Siam. It is unquestionably one of Thailand’s major tourist must-sees. The complex houses a number of top attractions including Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). This 45 centimetre Emerald Buddha carved from just one piece of jade is the holiest and most revered religious object in Thailand.

WAT PHO

Wat Pho is another amazing 8 hectare compound incorporating a host of superlatives: the city’s largest reclining Buddha (46 metres long – genuinely impressive!), the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand and the country’s earliest centre for public education.

CHATUCHAK MARKET

Chatuchak Market is among the largest in the world and seems to unite everything buyable, from used vintage sneakers to baby squirrels within its 15,000 stalls. It is well worth a full day here as there’s a plethora of things to see and do, but make sure you’re there early to beat the crowds and the heat.

FURTHER AFIELD

KHAO YAI NATIONAL PARK

Cool and lush, Khao Yai National Park is Thailand’s oldest reserve and an easy escape into the jungle. The 2168-sq-km park, part of a Unesco World Heritage site, spans five forest types, from rainforest to monsoon. The park’s centrepiece is Nam Tok Haew Suwat, a 25m-high waterfall that puts on a thundering show in the rainy season.

Around 200 elephants tramp the park’s boundaries. Other mammals include tigers, leopards, bears, gaur, barking deer, otters, various gibbons and macaques and some rather large pythons. The bird list boasts 392 species, and one of the countries largest populations of hornbills lives here.

AYUTTHAYA & BANG PA

The temple town of Ayutthaya, formerly Thailand’s capital, and the nearby Summer Palace compound of Bang Pa-In are both popular day trips from Bangkok and easily accessible. Ayutthaya’s temples are magnificent — both Khmer and Thai-style ruins lie along the rivers here, in what was once Thailand’s greatest city.