Bridge Building : Part 2

Last month we talked about bridges, and Smiths and Jones, and bringing people together for the benefit of all.  

This month is the second of our series on Imagine Thailand’s values. We’re still looking at building bridges, but in particular we’re talking about … 

connecting those who have resources and opportunities with those who don’t.

Let’s start with a memory test.  

You have 30 seconds to look around you.  Memorize as many BLUE objects as you can.  Everything counts.  Ready?  Go!

OK.  30 seconds is up.  Now close your eyes.  Out loud, recount as many RED items as you can remember.  

Hey! Wait! What? Red items?!  I wasn’t looking for red items, you told me to look for blue!

And blue is exclusively what you saw.  In those 30 seconds all the other colours faded away.  That’s how our brains are wired.  They see the essential, the immediate, and the pressing.

Now picture yourself on the campus of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.  

Take 30 minutes and look for all the signs of privilege, affluence and academic excellence.  They’re everywhere, right?  And Chula’s reputation precedes it: ranked best university in Thailand in quality of students, quality of research, quality in particular subjects, university reputation, environmental management systems, graduate employability.  Then there’s the 19 faculties, 3 colleges, 10 institutes, and even the fact that graduates customarily receive their diplomas from the King of Thailand.  Wow!  Need we say more?

OK.  Ready to go again?  Close your eyes and recount as many signs of ‘have not’ and under-privilege as you can. 

Hey!  Hold on again!  Are we talking about the same place here?  Really?  At Chula?

Well, yes, in fact, we are.

Surrounding this island of ‘haves’ is a sea of ‘have nots’.  Children from the Sam Yan neighbourhood of Bangkok have little or no hope of higher schooling and professional careers.  Opportunity is tantalizingly near, but remains elusive in reality.  They will remain mired in the same lower end work their families have toiled in for generations.

Enter Sam Yan New Gen, or SYNG, an Imagine Thailand education program that brings together Chula University students and children from the Sam Yan area of Bangkok.  The very privileged, mentoring and teaching the underprivileged.  Our volunteer teachers have now logged 100’s of hours tutoring these kids, hosted community Christmas parties, and launched a number of educational initiatives. Now that’s a bridge.  

Next month:  pursuing mutually beneficial exchanges.

In the meantime: Add value.  Act with valour.