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Why did you start volunteering in Thailand?

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   I was a monk in a temple of Tendai sect in Chiba. As one of the volunteer activities, I went to India, New York, and Hawaii. Likewise, I came to DPF in Thailand 8 years ago to work on volunteer activities. Now, we have other four Japanese staffs cooperating with Thai staffs to resolve problems in the slum.

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What kinds of activities do you work on for Klong Toey slum?

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   Although there are a lot of problems in the slum, one of the most serious issue is an eviction order from the Thai government. Recently, the government attempts secure as much land in Bangkok as possible for urban planning. Since Klong Toey slum is owned by the country, the government strongly claims eviction to the people settling there. In fact, since these residents make their living by working in Bangkok, they woud get even poorer by being forced to move out.

To address the situation, DPF is playing a role of intermediation between the government and residents, and continue to negotiate with the government for protecting the slum people. For example, DPF negotiates to ask the government to provide setters with minimum livings in the case that Klong Toey slum would be taken by the government. As the response, the government requested residents to live in an apartment which will be constructed in another area. However, most people in Klong Toey slum do not have resident registration, so they are not qualified to live in the apartment. To unite the residents and issue their registration, DPF support their community and help its activity. As this problem is remained even now, we must cooperate with residents for it.

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Do you feel hardship when working on volunteer activity in Thailand as Japanese?

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   Yes, I do. DPF has about 100 Thai and 5 Japanese staffs now. Of course, there are cultural gaps in a way of doing jobs. Particularly, the sense of punctuality is quite different from Japanese like me. Therefore, I am sometimes puzzled by the inefficient time management.

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Does DPF need more staffs or volunteers?

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   We do not actively look for any Japanese staffs and students in these days. Due to the tasks of our projects, we need Thai staffs who can help us in the long run, especially the youths. However, talented Thai youth does not choose to work with DPF because of the relatively low salary. Therefore, one of the biggest issues is to find successors.

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What do you think about the future Thai society and operations?

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   The economic growth in Thailand has been remarkable while its gap between the rich and poor keeps spreading. The more upscale companies try to make a profit, the wider economic inequality would be the issue. In my perspective, the stability of employment and income in regional areas is the key to defeat the problem in slums. The government needs to deal with inequality among citizens, and deal with poverty in slums like Klong Toey to establish the equal and sustainable society. I believe that increasing public awareness of Thai people towards the poor insider the country surely leads to further progress and prosperity of the society. I hope I could be the one, who unites the government and citizens.

 

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<After Interview>

   The impressive findings was the practices of different kinds of educational attempts, such as educating children, dispatching trained people for disaster recovery as well as the training youths in the slum. Educating people promotes expanding community, and it is a very important basis for their lives. We were impressed by missions and activities of Duang Prateep Foundation. It was such a precious experience to know and think about the present situations of slum and poverty.

 

Why don’t you visit Klong Toey slum if you have a chance? You may get new experience to discover a new aspect of Thailand!

 

We sincerely appreciate the interview opportunity with Duang Prateep Foundation.

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Duang Prateep Foundation HP : http://www.dpf.or.th/en/

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