Life in Phana

Volunteers come and go in Phana

I miss a lot in Phana because I am only there for six months of the year. There is always a lot happening when I am there so it doesn't really matter very much. At my age you can have too much of a good thing (if you are lucky).

One of the things I regret missing is the arrival of the new volunteers from Project Trust in late August and then I miss their leaving the following July. Tetsaban Phana, which sponsors them, always put on a good bash for both occasions. The welcoming party always features the traditional Lao Bai Si ceremony as well as dance performances, and, naturally, lots of speeches. I blogged about this HERE and one of our first volunteers put her view of the experience Here .

These two volunteers, Sarah on the left and Lauren on the right, were in Phana 2009-2010. They were really excellent and they were very popular with everybody -- the children they taught, the teachers they worked alongside, their host family, the tetsaban staff, vendors in the market. Everyone they came in contact with, in fact.

 

 

In fact, Phana has been very lucky with the volunteers that have been sent by Project Trust. They have all been very good indeed and have given a lot of themselves to make their year in Phana a success for everyone, themselves included. When Pensri and I get back to Phana we will find two new volunteers, Billie and Rosie, already installed. They will be the seventh pair of volunteers welcomed to Phana. What makes them a bit different is that they are both English. Of the previous twelve, seven have been Scots and one was from Northern Ireland.

 

This year, Project Trust has sent 279 volunteers abroad, and 10 of them are in Isan, in Amnat Charoen, Yasothon and Mukdahan provinces.

Promoting the Quality of Life in Phana

This is the citation for the mayor of Phana Municipality as a champion (promoter) of health in the community. It will be used to present him at the WHO Global Forum on Health and Urbanization at Kobe, Japan, in November this year as part of the 1,000 cities 1,000 lives campaign.

 

 

Mr Prachoenlarp Intarachun, the mayor of Phana Municipality, recognizes that there are a lot of problems in the community. In particular, there are problems concerning health, garbage, pollution and the degradation of the environment. These problems arise from the everyday activities of the people.

One problem in the community concerns people’s health. Increasingly, people are eating too much fatty food, they do not have a well-balanced diet and do not get enough exercise. As a result there is an increased prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Phana Municipality tries to counter these problems by providing activities that develop healthy bodies and healthy minds, leading to increased vigour and longer lives. Phana provides the opportunity for people to have a good quality of life.

To improve the quality of life in Phana, Phana Municipality makes provision for 4 groups of people.

In the first group, the stage of childhood, we have projects to encourage mother and child health, sporting activities, developing communication skills in English, ordaining novices in school vacations and facilitating the presentation of stage shows for children and youth.

The second group is people of working age. We have many projects which provide training in skills for working people and emergency and community health volunteers. Training is provided for shopkeepers and stall-holders especially in health and hygiene. Campaigns are run for the prevention and control of contagious diseases and rabies. In addition, we provide facilities for exercise and community sport, both related to minimising the temptations of drug use.

The third group is provided for by monthly financial support in the form of 600 Baht monthly allowances to support the elderly, disabled persons and HIV/AIDS patients. Old people are also provided with opportunities to put on stage shows which help maintain an optimistic and youthful spirit.

The fourth group is those people who have no financial resources of their own and no-one to provide for them, and who are in need of new or renovated housing. Phana Municipality has a scheme to provide new housing in such cases.

We also have schemes which aim to prevent problems arising, such as the bicycle security patrol, traffic control and tourist guides. All of these services are provided by volunteers in the community with organization, training and support provided by Phana Municipality. There are also on-going campaigns for the prevention of drug use in schools and the community, and other activities which promote the preservation of traditional local culture.

The problem of garbage disposal has become greater and because of its size Phana Municipality does not have its own disposal facility. A lot of garbage has to be transported for disposal elsewhere. The collection and disposal of garbage have both become more expensive.

One important project involves people of the community in preserving a pleasant environment. One moo baan is running a pilot project with three related projects: keeping the environment clean, producing organic fertilizer from waste, and setting up and managing a recycling bank. This pilot project is being run as an exemplar that can be widened to the whole municipality.

Phana Municipality has instituted a ‘dust-bin free’ policy along the main road in order to enhance the urban scenery.

Mr Prachoenlarp Intarachun, the mayor of Phana Municipality, has enlisted the co-operation of both the government and private sectors in order to carry out these policies. All the above projects receive the support of the people of Phana. The various projects have led to a 33.3% decrease in the quantity of garbage for disposal and the budget for collection and transportation of garbage has been reduced. A survey conducted recently showed that 95.4% of the people approved of the projects and thought that the quality of life had improved as a result of them.

These projects are an important means for the people of Phana to dedicate their work to His Majesty the King, the father of the Thai people. It is also a way in which the people can demonstrate responsibility for improving and maintaining the quality of life in their community.

Phana to represent Thailand at WHO Global Forum in Japan

Because I am not in Phana (or Thailand) at present, the news I get from there is generally more gossipy than usual. But some good news I have to report today falls between the past and the future. You may or may not be aware that the World Health Organization is focusing its attention this year on Health and Urbanization and activities on this theme were encouraged during the week 7 - 11 April. The campaign was entitled "1,000 cities, 1,000 lives" and the goals of the campaign were:

• 1000 cities: to open up public spaces to health, whether it be activities in parks, town hall meetings, clean-up campaigns, or closing off portions of streets to motorized vehicles.
• 1000 lives: to collect 1000 stories of urban health champions who have taken action and had a significant impact on health in their cities.

During the week, 1,543 cities in 138 countries participated. In Thailand, 70 'cities' took part. To put that in context, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos each had just one city taking part, while Vietnam had 2,  Malaysia 6, Indonesia 7, India 87 and China 463!

Back in April, Phana was awarded the Princess Sirinthorn Trophy for "Zero Waste", and as I understand it, this was an important factor in Phana being chosen  from among the 70 Thai 'cities' as one of just five small tetsaban to represent Thailand at the WHO Global Forum on Health and Urbanization to be held in Kobe, Japan from 15 to 17 November this year. 

The tetsaban sent me some photos of the occasion when the trophy (or certificate as it seems to be) was presented. In this first picture, the mayor is holding the award, and the four people with pakama tied around their waists are the visiting awarding committee.

 

As is the custom, local music and dancing were part of the celebration. Here is Phana's most notable khaen player...

... and a group of dancers:

 

In my next post I will feature the submission made by Phana in the 1,000 lives category in which the mayor and the tetsaban are promoted as 'champions of urban health'.