Chucking it all for Good
 

Hi there,

My partner and I will be traveling in Thailand and Cambodia from Dec. 22 to Jan. 20th. We are creating a multimedia project featuring individuals who have dramatically changed their lives to make a positive difference. If you know of folks in Thailand or Cambodia that fit this description we would sure love to hear about them.

1.Dr Beat Richter who heads the children's hospital in PP in Cambodia
1. Joy of Joy's House and School for Life in Chiang Mai

Thanks glorialf, I googled both and they each look like interesting stories. Feel free to add more if you think of anything.

Here's another one --Tania Palmer of the Green Gecko Project in Siem Reap.

Thanks glorialf. I was already thinking of Tania and making plans to meet her in Siem Reap, but I really appreciate the thought. Please do, if anyone else comes to mind, feel free to add more.

I'm also investigating Edwin Wiek, who founded a Wild Animal Rescue Centre in Thailand, and Geraldine Cox president and operator of the Sunrise Children's Village in Kandal Province, Cambodia.

Oh -- another one is Dr Cynthia who runs a wonderful clinic for Burmese refugees in Mae Sot.I don't know Edwin Wiek but I have heard of Geraldine Cox.

Thanks that's excellent. Just finished reading about her on the Mae Tao Clinic's website. Incredible story.

I visited her clinic about 5 years ago -- truly inspirational.

Sounds like a great project - but I get the feeling that in this context "people who have dramatically changed their lives to a make a positive difference" is limited to people who were born into a 'western' society. Am I wrong?

It's just that I remember the name Dr Beat Richter - he'd be the man who gives cello concerts to raise funds for the hospital? I went to one of his evenings.

But I have to say that I was far more moved by the less polished organisation that is the Mines Museum - no visible western involvement that I could see there, but still you might be interested.

Yes. Beat Richter is the cellist and pediatrician.

Joy is a thai woman -- not western. There are many wonderful non westerners doing great work but it sounded as though inspiritu was interested in people who made a dramatic change in their lives to help people. There are lots of people who do great work serving people in need (I work with 170 of them) but most did not radically change their lives to do the work. We do, however, have one volunteer who was CEO of a HUGE coporation who chucked it all at the age of 50 to help poor people. My impression is that he fits inspiritu's criteria more than I do although we do similar work.

Wow, I'm glad to see this thread has sparked discussion.

Chimani, thanks for your sugestion of Dr. Richner. I am aware of him and his work and am in the process of connecting with him. And thanks for saying you were moved by the work at the mine museum. I have not been there but will certainly go on this trip.

Glorialf, your interpretation of my criteria is pretty close to spot on. To clarify, we are interested in westerners as well as non-westerners who have dramatically changed their lives to help change the world for the better. A CEO who chucked it all to help the poor is exactly the kind of everyday hero we're looking for. Would love to hear more about him.

How many people have the courage to listen to their inner voice, when the world around them is saying "that's crazy"? I hope it's more than I would think. I hope those that I find will allow their stories to be told. And I hope these stories will inpire others to also listen.

Thank you all for your thoughts. I love the conversation. Please feel free to keep posting.

Dr. Richter is a fabulous mas. I met him the year after he started what was then a small hospital. The tour he gave me in the early 90's in PP was insipirational.

I feel like small potatoes compared to the names listed here, but I have "repurposed" my life recently, at the age of 48 (ahem) to come to Cambodia and put my shoulder to the wheel.

Would love to talk to you about how it's been so far.

Lori

[email protected]

Lori,

Thanks for your post and the invitation to talk. It's true that accomplishments of the names mentioned in the thread are pretty impressive. But that's not really the point of this project. The point is to draw inspiration from people who have taken huge leaps of faith following the voice within.

I am very interested to hear your story. Please check your email, or feel free to tell us about it here.

I won't bore my friends at Fodors with my ramblings...!

I replied to your email. Thanks for doing this project. It's a great idea.

Lori

Lori, I certainly wouldn't be bored! And I look forward to hearing the story either here on the board or privately.

me too

me too!

Lori, me too! Would be very interested !

Ok well, this makes me feel kinda vulnerable, but I'll bite. Maybe a good lesson for me somewhere in the telling....

Here is the first part of it:

I came to Siem Reap for the same reason most people do: to tour the temples at Angkor Wat. I am a participating member on some on-line travel boards (such as fodors) because all my life, travel has been my passion. During the research for this trip through southeast asia, I came across the name of Ponheary Ly over and over again, as the ultimate tour guide for the temples, so I contacted and booked her for my trip.

As the date got closer and I read more about Cambodia, about the poverty there and the suffering of the people, the children in particular, I decided it would be a good thing to make a donation or do some volunteer work while I was there. So I emailed Ponheary and asked her to hook me up. Serendipity being what it is, she talked to me about her work in the educational community in the rural villages and things started to gel.

The trip we made to a rural school while I was there to deliver school supplies was not only the highlight of my three weeks in southeast asia, it was to be a life altering event. I knew it the moment it happened.

This experience in that dusty schoolyard moved something in my spirit I could not turn away from. Could not forget. After two years of having it stir around inside me, I think I can articulate what it was. Anyway, I will try.

There is a hopefulness in the spirit of a child who suffers. They don't necessarily have an awareness that they are suffering. They only know "this is how it is". They don't know that they shouldn't be so happy. They have no awareness that they should not suffer like they do and they don't know they are disenfranchised. So they are hopeful. About many things. For instance, they want to go to school. They don't see how this can be possible, but still they hope. Then one day you waltz in and hand them the things they need to make this hope become a real thing. Just like that. Suddenly, they understand that hoping is an ok thing to do.Hope fulfilled makes one exceedingly happy.

This hope comes from somewhere deep inside them and they are little children, so they are not afraid to show it to you in its raw form. It goes into you, shines on you like a light, and unlocks in your heart the truest form of compassion. In that moment, when hope meets compassion, some miracle occurs. This miracle channels grace, here on earth. That moment is the highest form of human interaction and to be a part of that synergy is something that speaks to you at your core. You cannot turn away from it. Or at least I couldn't. To me, it is the essence of what being a human is all about. It's one of those "why we are here" things.

There were hundreds of children we needed to help that day. I brought only enough money to help maybe half of them, so we had to CHOOSE. This was hard. Ponheary was having to do this choosing on an ongoing basis. She said it broke her heart and I could see why. We talked about this at length. We talked about how great it would be to be able to go to a village school like this and help EVERYONE. We did some calculations about what that would take, just for this one village. Not much, really. I reasoned that if everyone I knew would give up a couple of capuccinos, we could probably do it.

So, on the plane home I hatched the plan to start the non-profit and when I got home, I got that done in short order. I had the help of some very good friends who hopped on the Board and helped me get the 501c3. I posted the story on the travel forums I am a member of and the donations started pouring in. All the people who had been to this part of the world, and especially the ones who knew Ponheary, were profoundly affected by these kids and also by her compassionate heart. People wanted to help. They didn't know how. All I did by starting the non-profit was provide the opportunity. Create a way to connect the dots.

We now are supporting 4 schools and tomorrow we will drive to Koh Ker and start our 5th. There are over 2,000 kids on the roster now and we have added bike-to-school programs, breakfast programs, clean water programs...we teach kids how to wash with soap and brush their teeth. English classes. Yard toys. Sewing machines. Teacher subsidies. Step by step, transforming a grass hut into a real school where real learning happens. The transformation in the schools, the teachers and especially in the kids, fills me with the immense gratitude and satisfaction. These accomplishments beat every single "important" thing I ever got done at my desk in Austin. Hands down.

This all started two years ago. Since that time I have come to Siem Reap twice a year to help. Or get in the way, depending on who you ask. Every time I have come it's gotten harder and harder to leave. When I was here in March I cried all the way home. Just wanted to stay. When I got home I compared the glamour of my day to day life in Austin to the difficulties of life in Cambodia and found that I preferred the latter. Go figure.

My life "before":
I was the VP of Manufacturing at a very large printing company in Austin, Texas. I have been in the printing business all my adult life and worked at this particular company for 18 years. My position was relatively swanky; with a great salary, a great staff, total freedom, wonderful perks including six weeks vacation. My life in Austin was very good. Nice house, Nice car. Nice lifestyle. Traveled a lot. Did whatever I wanted. I had worked very hard for this life, and was at the apex of my achievements, reaping the rewards of a life of hard work and dedication to climbing the corporate ladder. Basically I was living the life I always wanted to have. I was not unhappy by any stretch. It's not like I chucked a life I did not want.

In addition, I was one of those people who planned everything out, was very dependable, stable, not a flake; not one to go and do something off the grid like this. I did not shoot from the hip in life. My life was very predictable and steady. Calm and sturdy.

One thing I found out through this process, that sort of surprised me, is that EVERYONE, pretty much without exception, has a place in their heart that wants to do this work. Everyone dreams of this. Friend after friend admitted this to me as I told them about my decision.. But no one knows how to make it work. They can't imagine how to make it work. People think life has them bound and that they can't escape and maybe that's true in most cases, (children, mortgages, debt) but I found it interesting that NO ONE thought I was crazy. Without exception, everyone I know has been not only very supportive, but helped me in ways I would have not imagined.

There's more to tell about the decision making process, the way circumstances came together to bring me to the place where things suddenly became possible; then the logistics of dismantling a life, the effect on one's love life, all the financial considerations, then of certain health issues making me weigh the quality of life against the quantity. All big things.

Like you say, it's a lot and my tendency is to ramble. Bear with me. If I tell the short story it makes no sense.

Lori

Lori-thanks for your story. It is inspirational.

As an aside, Beth and I were fortunate enough to meet the famous Lori for dinner on our recent trip. What she doesn't say in her tale is that she is really funny. Also, her energy level is off the charts. She emits very positive vibes.

Great story, Lori. In 1985 I made the decision to move from a huge salary to the world of non profit. I am still not making what I made in 1985 (in real money having nothing to do with inflation) so give new meaning to the phrase "downwardly mobile". But I feel that what I do really makes a difference and except when I'm laying in bed panicky about money it's a decision I never regretted.

I am speechless and in awe of the bravery and committment that you have decided to make a part of your life. One of the wonderful things that I am learning is when you follow your passions, the doors always open up. My husband and I make 2 trips a year to Thailand and are finding the doors opening also. Your words and thoughts reflect so much like the way we feel also. We look for ways to change peoples lives while we are here and find great gifts for ourselves when we do. Thank you so much for opening up and telling us your story.

Thank you, Lori, for sharing a part of your very moving story.

Hi-
I just spent 4 days in Cambodia with Lori (Offwego) and went with her to bring supplies to the school at Koh Ker.

Trust me, her story, and Ponheary's are both inspirational. So much so that my mother and I raised $2200 to bring to Cambodia for the Koh Ker school. I would have never done it had I not been inspired by everything on the www.plf.org website. I'd met Ponheary before, but this was before Lori started the foundation. It was the chance to help that brought me back to Cambodia.

She has big plans for these kids and the foundation had already had a major impact on many lives. I know she's making a positive difference. I've seen it with my own eyes. The kids in the schools that they've been supporting for the past two years are thriving. The teachers are learning (she gives English classes in the evenings). She's making a difference.

What you're writing is to me the REAL reson to go to asia -- far more important than seeing temples or having massages or shopping (all of which I love). But it's letting the people touch you, connecting with them and giving back to them in whatever way you can that truly makes travel life changing. And, as you say-- what you give you get back 1000 times over.

This isl awesome! Thanks everyone for rallying around this topic. This is my first ever post on Fodors, and it looks like I've found the right community to raise this subject. This is an even better response than I could have imagined.

Lori, thanks for opening your heart and inspiring us all with your story. What you are doing is exactly the kind of inspirational message my partner and I want to profile. See my reply to your email. I hope we can meet up in Siem Reap.

Gpanda thanks for relating your personal experinces knowing Lori.

Kristina, I love that you and your mom raised all that money for the Koh Ker school. From reading the website, www.plf.org, I know that amount of money can do a great deal of good.

Stitchintime, I'd sure love to hear more about what you and your husband are doing on your trips to Thailand. If you are too shy to tell it here, feel free to email me directly at [email protected].

Glorialf, thank you for continuing to add energy and inspiration to this thread. Your 22+ year commitment to leave a big salary and work in the non-profit sector is also inspirational to me. I would love to hear what made you make the brak. Was there a particular tipping point you can point to?

Jeff you did find the right board to make this post. The vast majority of the people here get the whole point of traveling and have been very supportive of MANY worthwhile organizations.

Gloria I would like to hear your story too.