The kids always open the church door for me. They shout “teacher” as the rush of cool air hits my sweaty skin. There’s always a lot of noise - singing, pretend sword fighting, yelling, dancing, round house kicks to sometimes unsuspecting bodies. I feel simultaneously overwhelmed, and at home in this pale yellow room with kids running around, a smattering of teenagers lounging on one another while glued to their cellphones, and a few adults talking at the table.
Most Saturdays, Miranda (CLF intern extraordinaire) and I take a bus, the sky train, another bus, a boat, and then walk 15 minutes to a church in the south of Bangkok to teach English, dance, and craft with kids who have had to hold too much pain in their short lives.
One of our CLF board members, Plaa is a pastor at the church where we teach. She’s a fearless advocate for these kids whom she loves. Watching her love and serve her community and neighbors is a gift. Yes, we go to teach English, but really we’re being taught and shown how to live well and with intention alongside others.
English Club, which we’ve affectionally entitled PEC (Prapadaneg English Club), is loud and chaotic,and this past week involved a short lecture on not pointing just your middle finger at people (shooting the bird). The kids range in age from 3 to 19. So there’s lots of coloring sheets, glue sticks, flash cards, and uno. During the first 2 hours of PEC it’s all about the younger kids. We practice the alphabet, play dance stop while reviewing numbers, cover vocabulary (last week we focused on rain and umbrellas), and flex those fine-motor skills while making a craft. When the younger kids leave, we break out the UNO and Phase 10, and practice conversational English with the older kids.
Six of the older children who come to PEC are also a part of CLF’s scholarship program. Kind humans from around the world sponsor these kid’s education, so that they can continue learning. Plaa told us that without these scholarships, most of students would have to stop studying, and begin working. Two students attend middle school, 2 high school, and 2 are in college.
The students are resilient and tenacious. They know how to fight - fight to learn, fight systems that are not set up for their success, and fight for kindness in a heavy world. I wish y’all could see how the older kids care for the younger kids -it’s definitely that specific type of love that can only be delivered by an older sibling - rife with harsh truth, a bit of yelling, and affectionate jabs - but if one of the kids is ever in a sticky spot with learning or a game gone awry with hurt feelings, one of the teenagers is there to aid.
Saturday is one of favorite days of the week. These kids are brilliant - hilarious, they make artful masterpieces from Popsicle sticks, and dance with abandon. They are strong, are quick to fight for, and defend one another. It’s and honor to learn with them and to bear witness to Plaa’s community development skills and compassion.
We always end every class with dancing, because - we've got to dance it out sometime, we might as well do it together! Usually our song of choice is Bobby Day’s Rockin Robin, but lately, Justin Timberlake has stolen our hearts and dancing shoes with Can't Stop the Feeling. Next time you find yourself in the South of BKK on Saturday, stop on by and we’ll let you show off your dance moves and paper-plate craft skills.
Thanks for reading!
EM
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