| Twenty Years of Service |
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| Written by Bob |
| Tuesday, 05 July 2011 07:38 |
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We don’t usually include much about our employees in our media coverage. This is because we would rather concentrate on the heart of the stories we find, showing how people have been affected by the work we do and by the support we receive from you whether through your donations or, more importantly, your prayers but we couldn’t let twenty years of faithful service go by without writing about it. After all, it’s a story that’s had an impact. Kriengsak Kitisub, or Nohng as he’s called here at ADRA Thailand (“Nohng” means little brother) began working at ADRA Thailand on May 1, 1989. He presently is the Asst. Project Manager for the Integrated Area Development Program in Chiang Rai. His experience at ADRA Thailand runs a gambit of talents; from drilling water wells in Isan Province to organizing, gathering and distributing Emergency Response basic needs packages to Tsunami victims, from working alongside villagers digging trenches and laying pipe to teaching young villagers the ins and outs of conducting House-Hold Surveys. The man has done it all. It would probably be OK to just write a story about him and include a few quotes of his here and there but why don’t I just let him tell you some things in his own words: When did you start working at ADRA Thailand? (Nohng) - I started working at ADRA on May 1, 1989 Why have you stayed working in ADRA Thailand for so long? (Nohng) - At that time there was a disaster in the south A typhoon had hit Nakhorn Sithammarat causing flooding and landslides there and in many of the surrounding provinces. The area that was hit the worst was Pii Boon district, the whole village was gone. I was in a volunteer team to distribute the “life bags“ (this is a kit containing basic necessities for catastrophe victims) to the villagers and also went with the medic team to many different areas. Afterward, ADRA called me to help when they needed volunteers in disaster situation. What is your most memorable experience? (Nohng) - My first job was a Well Drilling project in the northeast. It was the first time I traveled to the northeast. The project sent me to travel by bus. I was excited and it was my first time to work full time for ADRA. I was sent to work close to the Laos and Cambodia borders. I was worried because I could not speak the dialect and the provinces I worked in were remote areas. I had many feelings while I worked there, I felt so sorry for the villagers. They lived in a difficult situation. Each household had to walk for hours to carry water back to their homes. Some villagers were two kilometers from the water source and when they reached the source, they had to wait for long time for their turn to fill their buckets. It was sad and I always thought why were these areas so dry, like deserts from drought. I was speechless at their way of living. Less than 50% of the villages had any adequate sanitation. The villagers were so poor that the very few owned a vehicle. Anyone who had a vehicle or even just a motorbike was considered very rich. I was truly impressed with their hospitality towards the people who helped them. I will remember this project for the rest of my life. I could never forget the people there. What is your happiest experience? (Nohng) - The happiest moment I had at work was in 1997. I was the project manager for water wells and health programs in the northeast. At that time I worked at Tansom district in Ubonratchathani. There were 20,000 people in the district who were affected by severe drought and the people were very poor. Our projects were very useful for the villagers. For example, I Ban Kam Nanm Thang there were about 100 homes and there was only one well drilled by a government program because in the surrounding area no one could find water even after drilling about 10 meters. There wasn’t any equipment to drill deeper so the villagers in that area lined up at this well for water and even some families had to go to another village for water. They lived very difficult lives. Our project dug five wells for them and each one was deep, around 40 meters. It took around one month to complete the digging process. It was a challenge to dig all these wells. We tried to spread the wells all over the village. We also built 60 latrines for the house which didn’t have any. The villagers were extremely happy, they considered the project a Godsend to help them. The smiling faces are still fresh in my mind. What is your worst experience? (Nohng) - On December 26, 2004, the day the Tsunami hit the Andaman sea and on January 1st 2005 I received a phone call from the director asking me to go to Phuket and be in charge of the emergency response. I was on the way to Ubonratchathani to drive my family back home at that time. I had to ask my wife to drive back home as I had to go to the Support Office (the main HQ of ADRA in Thailand) in Bangkok. From there, I drove down to Puket and when I reached Phang-nga and was about 200 meters from the major temple there I could smell the dead bodies. 4000 people had died in this area and many of them were stacked at the temple. All along the way to Phuket, for about 130 kilometers I saw dead bodies strewn every which way. I thought that it was impossible to imagine this kind of damage; the damaged roads, the electricity polls all toppled over on the streets, the aid vehicles filled the roads end to end in some places. In the sky, the airplanes flew back and forth surveying and taking the injured to hospitals. I felt such a sorrow, so bad, so overpowering for the victims. When I reached the work place, I was assigned to lead the survey and rescue team to help people in the temporary shelters. I worked in three provinces which were Phuket, Phang-nga and Ranong. The first month there, I hardly ate, I traveled all the time and I had to be careful with what I ate and drank. It was stressful work and I had to be careful with everything. I met with people who lost all the members of their families, lost their homes and I felt so sorry for them. My team was the first ADRA team to work there and I worked there for three years. How does ADRA affect your world view? (Nohng) - For the past 20 years that I’ve worked in ADRA, I helped needy people in every situation. It’s made me realize that I am so lucky to have never faced the situations that they have. I have enough food to eat, have a good family and have a good job to do. I am so blessed and I thank God for this; that he has been merciful to me, so that’s why I want to give it to others. I want to share and help others and I will be always grateful for the love God has shown me. Do you believe ADRA is different from other NGOs? Why? (Nohng) - I have never worked anywhere else other than ADRA Thailand therefore, I only have an ADRA point of view. ADRA is a Christian organization and ADRA employs many people from different background without discrimination. We do not get involved with politics or religion. ADRA gives people a chance, ADRA wants to employees with a big heart How much longer do you intend to stay at ADRA? Why? (Nohng) - If I can continue in ADRA, I am willing to serve the best I can for as long as ADRA will have me. I gain many experiences and receive a lot from this organization. I would like to give it back to others. Where do you see yourself and ADRA in the next ten years? (Nohng) - I don’t know what the future will bring but I have two plans; first is to serve ADRA further, the other is to spend time at home with my family. Everything is in God’s plan. He knows all things and I will let God lead my life.
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| Last Updated on Thursday, 21 July 2011 08:20 |
You’ve probably heard someone call out; “You ‘da man!” at one time or another whether on the silver screen or just listening to some crazy American in passing. It’s a comment usually directed at someone (man or woman … although with women it can be a bit disconcerting) that draws attention to that person’s achievement or respect for a person’s ability. We at ADRA Thailand would like to take a little time to tell you about someone who fits the bill.
