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1 | ISAAN INSIDER | ISSUE III | SPRING 2015
Isaan Insider
C I E E K H O N K A E N
Volume XXI, Issue No. III, Spring 2015
2 | ISAAN INSIDER | ISSUE III | SPRING 2015
It’s that time of year again! Time to say farewell to another group of students! 34 new people who we can officially call part of the CIEE Khon Kaen family. In this final newsletter issue of this semester, students write briefly about what they did in the last couple weeks of their academic semester. Development & Globalization program students completed final projects that related to: art and culture and the affect of globalization on different forms, the phenomenon of transnational marriages within the Northeast Region (Isaan) of Thailand, different aspects of maternal health in Isaan and how that is a determinant of the country’s development, the effect of the ‘Master Plan’ on villagers, and strategies to alleviate poverty. Public Health students completed research projects and implemented health interventions in Kok Si Village right here in Khon Kaen. Their research focused on healthier eating for children and adults in Isaan, motorbike safety, and diabetes and hypertension education for villagers. Check it out!
Good luck CIEE Khon Kaen alumni in whatever life after Thailand brings you!
Khon Kaen
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CONTENTS
DEVELOPMENT & GLOBALIZATION FINAL PROJECTS 1
Traditional Isaan Music.................................................................1 Justice for Victims of Thailand’s ‘Master Plan’ ....................1 Transnational Marriages in Thailand......................................2 The Waning of the Traditional Pottery Practice Dthee Mor in Northeast Thailand...........................................................2 Maternal Health in Isaan ..............................................................3 Muay Thai Child Fighting Final Project ..................................4
PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH PROJECTS AND COMMUNITY INTERVENTIONS ..............................................4
Creating a Healthy Alternative...................................................4 Survivor Series..................................................................................5 Diabetes and Hypertension Intervention in the Kok Si Community .........................................................................................5 Health Research in Thailand.......................................................6
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That’s a wrap!
DEVELOPMENT & GLOBALIZATION FINAL PROJECTS
Traditional Isaan Music By Kat Thompson; Pitzer College, Kara Komprathoum; Providence College
Our project focused on the development of mor lam music and how it has been influenced by western music and modernization. Mor lam music is an Isaan style of music that consists of a male and female singer, as well as a khene (mouth organ) player. The music originally came from Laos and has been passed on and adapted to fit modern societal standards. Our biggest takeaway as a group is that culture is a fluid thing and adapts to newer technologies as well as outside, global influences.
Justice for Victims of Thailand’s ‘Master Plan’ By Maggie Kierstead; George Washington University, Liz
Goodwin; George Washington University, Sarah Sandbar, Claremont-Mckenna College, Anne Bevis; Tulane University
We were first asked to come and tell this community’s story by a local NGO through the creation of a documentary. Why? Because of the injustices and suffering they have gone through since last August. In August 2014, the Thai government instituted a new policy called the ‘Master Plan.’ This plan was set in order to reclaim national forest land from investors farming on it. However, investors paid off the
military sent to drive them from the land, and the military as a result, picked a different, and easier target: poor villagers. These villagers were charged for trespassing on the land that they have been farming for generations, and now face charges and potential prison time if found guilty for trespassing or farming the land. Not only have these villagers lost their home, their livelihood, and their land, but they also are racking up debt paying for court fees.
~Isaan Insider~
Kat (left) and Kara (right) pose with a traditional mor lam singer.
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video, our group created a feature story that accompanies the storyline of the documentary and a policy paper.
Transnational Marriages in Thailand By Veronica Inveen, University of Washington
For my final project I studied how different transnational couples have dealt with the collision of their two cultures. I went to Nadokmai Village in Udon Thani Province where 159 women, as of 2008, are married to foreign men. I interviewed mia farang (transnational wife), some of their families, and farang (foreigner) men living in the village. It was interesting to see how each couple adapted differently to the culture of their partner, and especially how the male dealt with life in Thailand.
In the four days our group spent in the community, we heard heartbreaking stories. Stories of a family in which both the parents were put in prison, though only one was charged for ‘trespassing,’ and now the three children are left without the pillars of their family. We heard stories of wives falling into serious mental health and psychiatric problems because of the stress this experience put on her family. We heard stories of a man who not only lost his land, but also his wife and children who left and got a divorce due to fear of the instability of having to fight in court. Story after story after story. Each one equally as devastating. Our group’s hope is that by spreading the word of their stories, we might be able to be an agent that allows them to experience true justice in their lives. Along with the
One of the most surprising details I found was the language dynamic in the households of the transnational couple. Most men did not speak more than a few words of Thai, but instead of speaking English together the wife would speak the native tongue of her husband. It was common for the couple to have lived in the man’s home country at some point and during this time the women learned the language.
The Waning of the Traditional Pottery Practice Dthee Mor in Northeast Thailand By Devon Bruzzone; Bucknell University, Hunter Emmons; University of Colorado, Boulder, Guen Bledsoe; George Washington University
For our final project we decided to explore the traditional pottery technique of dthee mor (Thai for “hit pots”) in 2 pottery villages, Wang Tua Village in Nam Phong District and Ban Mor in Mahasarakham Province. Through exchanges with the villagers, extensive observation, and conversations with professors from both Khon Kaen and Mahasrakham Universities, we were able to gather a complete picture of this practice that is unfortunately largely on the decline. Women are involved in the process of pounding and shaping these round-‐bottomed pots, which characterizes the technique of dthee mor. What was once a labor-‐intensive and primarily family
~Isaan Insider~
A traditional Thai wedding in Nadokmai Village between an Australian man and a Thai woman.
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Maternal Health in Isaan By Anika Huq; University of Michigan, Tamara Mizrachi; George Washington University, Jenna Register; University of Rochester
For our final project, we wanted to look at how pregnancy, delivery, postpartum care (including breastfeeding) were changing in Isaan overtime. In order to do this, we had interviews with health workers and villagers, and we visited hospitals. Throughout our research, we learned that there are many interesting cultural traditions that used to be followed by mothers, which are no longer adhered to. For example, in the past, mothers would avoid sitting on steps or eating spicy foods during pregnancy. Moreover, mothers would spend time on a heated bed, called a “U-‐fie,” after delivery-‐ this was thought to help them prevent getting cold later in life.
operated practice traditionally, now consists of hired workers from other provinces and villages that have not traditionally practiced pottery. The process has become industrialized with the introduction of the wheel, a skill older generations do not possess and do not have time to learn. Unfortunately younger generations lack interest in the traditional technique and instead are drawn to opportunities in cities related to social mobility and an opportunity for higher wages. Our major takeaway was the effects on globalization on these villages; the drive for younger generations to keep up with development, which was reflected in their desire to achieve a job that would allow excess instead of merely “just getting by.”
However, with the implementation of Universal Health Care, hospital deliveries have been on the rise, and maternal health care has become more medicalized. In addition, we focused on breastfeeding, as it is a large part of both maternal health and development. Our results revealed that mothers’ tendency to breastfeed was very influenced by employment status: mothers that had full-‐time work tended to give up on breastfeeding altogether after about 2 or 3 months. Breastfeeding education appears to be on the rise as there are clinics targeted at ensuring that mothers breastfeed, and the results are apparent in Isaan: 49% of mothers surveyed reported breastfeeding exclusively for 6 months. We also administered surveys to see how shame or stigma influences a woman’s decision to breastfeed—mothers seemed to be split on the issue, either reporting no shame, or shame in front of various people. On average, mothers reported higher shame when breastfeeding in public, in front of a male neighbor, or in a temple.
Overall, our greatest takeaway from doing this project was to seeing how technology is influencing the Isaan region, and seeing how trends have changed from birthing with a midwife to having most procedures medically controlled.
~Isaan Insider~
This is a woman in Wang Tua Village, Nam Phong District, using the dthee mor pottery technique.
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Muay Thai Child Fighting Final Project By Darya Nicol; University of Rochester, Sarah Ramirez; University of Richmond
For this project, we looked at children participating in Muay Thai fighting as an informal method to help alleviate poverty for families living in rural Isaan. To begin to answer this question, we traveled to a village within Phutthaisong, Buriram Province. While there, we participated in a homestay as well as exchanges with children, gym owners, families, and trainers partaking in Muay Thai. Though our time was short, we were able to determine that Muay Thai fighting is a fast way for children to help contribute to family incomes because a beginning child fighter can earn 300 Thai baht and upwards per fight. Though Muay Thai and child boxing is contested, it is also important to be mindful of cultural familial obligations as well as the potential benefits of having a gym for children to attend in a community.
PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH PROJECTS AND COMMUNITY INTERVENTIONS
Creating a Healthy Alternative By Lena Barouxis; University of Massachusetts Amherst, Hana Bressler; Tulane University, Rebeca Lopez; Occidental
College, John Romero; Tulane University, Amanda Waller; Bucknell University In collaboration with the World Food Programme of the United Nations, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has implemented a nationwide “School Lunch Program” (SLP) in hopes of decreasing both the prevalence of over and underweight youth. Central to the program’s aims is the recognition that poor nutrition adversely affects children’s physical and mental development, therefore negatively impacting young students’ ability to succeed in academic environments. Various studies have corroborated this notion, with one study finding that when schools began to provide food for their students, these institutions were met with higher enrollment and attendance rates, lower dropout rates, and improved student performance. As such, our research team
recognized that it is vital that meals provided by schools be of high nutritive value. In light of this, our proposed intervention consisted of a single activity designed as an educational seminar for school cafeteria and other interested parties. The proposed activity aimed to educate participants in rice cooking methods that would result in higher nutrient values. Ideally, the activity was to foster a reformed cooking practice amongst the participants. While our intervention was ultimately not implemented, we were able to create and distribute flyers detailing the cooking method among the villagers. I think I can speak for my team and say that although researching, creating, and planning an intervention was a thoroughly challenging experience, it was also an immensely rewarding one.
Children gather around 19 year old Bas, a member of the gym who children look up to.
~Isaan Insider~
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driving or riding on a motorbike. Additionally, most of the people we interviewed had been in an accident or knew someone who had been in an accident. Based on our data, along with experience living and observing in the community, we decided to do an intervention involving helmet use. Our goal was to start a conversation among the community members about safe motorbike riding behavior. We planned to hold a “Survivor Series” where people who had any experience with motorbike accidents could share their experiences. We hoped that this would enlighten the community members on the dangers of driving a motorbike without a helmet. In the end, our group definitely learned how to adapt to a changing situation when things don’t go exactly as planned. It was an all around great experience and we loved being welcomed back into
Survivor Series By Kimberly Chen; Ramapo College, Meghan Culhane; George Washington University, Hannah Gottlieb; Bates College, Rebecca Gustine; American University, Erin Macy; University of Colorado-Boulder After visiting three different communities and performing a needs assessment in each, our group decided to do our focused research on motorbike riding behaviors in the Kok Si community in Khon Kaen. This was the semi-‐urban, semi-‐rural community where we saw a major problem being the underuse of helmets while riding motorbikes. We conducted interviews and focus groups in addition to observing the main road to count the number of helmeted motorbike riders. The research confirmed that many people in the community didn’t consistently wear a helmet while
the community for the third time!
Diabetes and Hypertension Intervention in the Kok Si Community By Louisa Pendergast, Carnegie Mellon University, Annie Archer, University of Virginia, Hayley Keur, Northern Michigan University, Caroline Tydings, University of South Carolina Over the last two months, our Public Health courses have focused on community based research. Through interviews with villagers, VHVs (village health volunteers), prominent village figureheads and through surveys, we have identified key health risk areas within each community. All of the four research groups chose to do an intervention in the Kok Si community in Khon Kaen, with ours focusing on diabetes and hypertension education within the working class population of the community. After completing focused diabetes and hypertension research in Kok Si in April, our group designed a health fair to address the knowledge gaps shown from our survey results and interviews. Our intervention was designed as an interactive health fair with separate booths for diabetes and hypertension education, a question wheel to answer basic diabetes and hypertension trivia for a fruit prize,
~Isaan Insider~
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a doctor present to answer the villager’s health questions, and a relay race to demonstrate exercises easily incorporated into day to day life. After an hour and a half long thunderstorm, some of the elderly women from the community attended the intervention, but decided to sit and observe our booths from afar and play our question wheel game as a group. While our target audience did not attend, our post-‐test survey results improved after a post-‐test administered to some of the participating women. We hope that our pamphlets and exercise packets can be given to the working class population that did not attend, as they are at a high risk of developing diabetes and hypertension if they do not make any lifestyle changes. This has been a great learning experience, as we all realized rain makes everything come to a crippling halt, and trying to inspire lifestyle changes is next to impossible.
Health Research in Thailand By Grace Procopio; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Lyana Delgado; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Lauren Peretz; University of Wisconsin-Madison, Avery Trim; University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Cady Trvalik; The George Washington University
We researched the correlation between diabetes and the diets and cooking preparation of the residents of Kok Si Village in Khon Kaen. Through surveys, interviews, and observations we found that the villagers have high rates of diabetes. How they prepare foods and what they are eating contributes to their high rates of diabetes because they consume a lot of red meat, oils, salt, sugar, msg, and processed snacks. So for our intervention, we prepared two popular Thai dishes
but with healthier ingredients. It was fun and the villagers loved our som tam (green papaya salad) and chicken grapow (Thai holy basil)! We handed out samples along with the recipes and healthier cooking technique cards.
We learned a lot about the research process and how difficult it is to gather somewhat personal information about the villagers’ health and wellness. Aside from research, we learned about the culture and how the community runs, which was extremely interesting and fun! Overall, Thai people love to have fun and are so kind that working with them was a blast!
Eating a delicious meal in Kok Si Village right after we observed how they made each dish!
~Isaan Insider~
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For more information, contact: Assistant Resident Director • Arunee Sriruksa • [email protected] Community Public Health Program Academic Director • Anootnara Kuster • [email protected] Field Study Coordinator • John Mark Belardo • [email protected] CIEE Portland Advisor: Susan Pollis • [email protected]
Visit us on the web, at: CIEE Khon Kaen Development and Globalization Program webpage CIEE Khon Kaen Community Public Health Program webpage
Facebook CIEE Khon Kaen
~Isaan Insider~