THE WELL COMMUNITY CHURCH AT MA OH JO VILLAGE, JUNE 2014
The Well Community Church team from Fresno, CA arrived shortly after SDCC’s departure to continue the projects at Ma Oh Jo village. The seven volunteers were put straight to work to accomplish multiple tasks for the medical clinic, coffee demonstration center and other miscellaneous duties.
MEDICAL CLINIC
Six months ago, on February 21, 2014, the Ma Oh Jo medical clinic was officially opened and recognized by the Thai government. This is a huge accomplishment, as it is the ultimate aim of hill tribe communities to receive acknowledgement and funding by the government. This past June, The Well built an entire water system for the medical clinic. This is the only medical clinic in Ma Oh Jo Community and supports all 15 neighboring villages. Way to go team!
The Well team worked for seven continuous days to construct the water system. THANK YOU! Now the entire clinic has access to clean water, serving over 400 villagers from all over town who come to the clinic.
ITDP would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Eric Hanson. He is a dear friend and long time supporter of ITDP, as well as a member of Well Community Church. Dr. Hanson has played an enormous part in the construction of the clinic. All of this could not have happened without his continuous help and support. We look forward to having him and his wife, Darlene, back this upcoming December.
COFFEE DEMONSTRATION CENTER AND NURSERY
Additionally, The Well continued to plant coffee in the surrounding hillsides for the demonstration site. This coffee plantation will show farmers and assist them in learning how to grow coffee. Coffee can be a big source of income for the farmers.
The team also built a nursery to hold coffee seedlings. Coffee seedlings are used to plant on the hillsides for the demonstration center. Other uses include selling the seedlings to villagers (at a fraction of the cost). We have the farmers pay a small cost for the seedlings because buying it gives the farmers a sense of ownership and pride in their coffee crops.
Meanwhile, the team bagged 1000’s of bags of soil/manure. The bags of soil are used to plant coffee seeds.
BRICK MAKING
Volunteers were continuously making clay bricks. It is a repetitive but necessary job as the bricks are constantly being used as a foundation for the buildings being made (such as the second school).
BIOGAS SYSTEM
Lastly, the team worked on a biogas demonstration site. The biogas system is a sustainable and renewable resource. Villagers use their pigs to create gas for cooking. This saves money, time and resources. Villagers no longer have to travel an hour into town to buy propane tanks or resort to burning wood to cook food (preventing deforestation)
TO SUM IT UP
The Well Community Church and San Diego Christian College have left a huge imprint on the lives of the people in the Ma Oh Jo Community. Being back to back, these two teams were able to fully execute all the projects. We cannot thank the teams enough for their hard work and for sharing their faith with these villagers. It isn’t easy working eight-hour days in the hot Thailand weather. But you did it!! It is amazing to see God working in the Ma Oh Jo community through people like you. We hope to see familiar faces next year.
