Thailand
- Population : 65 M
- Main Religion : Buddhist
- Language(s) : Thai
- Capital : Bangkok
- GNP per capita : £4,100
- Population below poverty line : 10%
More people from the UK travel to Thailand than any other country in Asia and it is easy to see why. As you travel across the country It is consistently beautiful. Its famously smiley, friendly and generous people makes Thailand a great country to volunteer in.
VESL aims to get away from the many tourists that head to Thailand every year, and is setting up projects in rural areas, where they are most needed and will get an opportunity to really have a ‘Thai experience’. Alongside the education department VESL has chosen the Chiang Rai Province to send its first volunteers to. These projects include schools situated on the Mekong River, in the famous Golden Triangle. One school actually overlooks Burma and Laos! The area is famous for its fantastic scenery, hill tribes and history. Volunteers will be based at local schools, running teaching programmes and clubs for the local children (many are from the hill tribes) and the communities.
In the future VESL aims to also run volunteer programmes in the Surin province in rural schools close to Cambodia.