Hello and Sawasdee Khrap to Thailand! My name is Jon Atwell and I’ll be hosting you as we bring Changemakers 365 to the Thailand.
Thailand is known as the Land of Smiles, and I think as you meet these wonderful people you’ll find it to be true.
A lot of our work here takes place at the Thailand-Myanmar border. Thousands of migrant workers cross back and forth to go to their jobs every day, and malaria and tuberculosis are easily spread as people travel from one country to another.
The Alight teams are on the ground working closely to monitor and stop the spread of these diseases, which means cross-border work is the name of the game.
Our first stop? A river border crossing. And the idea? Umbrellas!
The team on the ground here is traveling great distances to meet some of the tuberculosis patients.
When the sun is out the sun is OUT (as my sweaty shirt could attest) and these umbrellas will help to give shade and a more comfortable journey.
The second reason these umbrellas are needed is more obvious – to protect against the rain. Nature doesn’t do anything halfheartedly in Thailand, so when it rains it pours…shortly after receiving the umbrellas we were caught in a downpour! So this couldn’t have come at a better time!
One of our teammates, Kyi Zar Khaing told me, “When it is hot the umbrella will cover us. We can bring this with us to Myanmar and use it to help with the treatment.”
Now that team was set with umbrellas, their epic journeys to serve their patients will be a little dryer, a bit shadier, and a whole lot better.
Meet Jon!
Hello hello! My name is Jon Atwell and I’m the Roving Correspondent at Alight. So much of what I do involves going to program sites and spending time with my colleagues around the world, and the people we serve. I get to capture photos, create video, and share stories of the incredible people I meet. And, I’ve gotten the chance to do the doable with many of our teams in many places. This time around, I’m so excited to tell you about our incredible team in Thailand!
