Ant Wars and the Slum

“That’s what we need! Suicidal ants!...Come on little guys, why can’t you be more suicidal?” And so went a recent conversation between Brittany and myself as we stood in the kitchen contemplating the great dilemma of an entire colony of tiny ants invading our cereal. Let me tell you, ants here are relentless! Below is a picture of our attempt to win this particular battle with them.

A glass in a bowl full of water

This last week has flown by! I’ve been spending most days working with Thai Song, doing whatever they need done. Last week I worked on template earrings and made cards. Today I spent the morning trimming loose ends off of bags and later this week I’ll be working on some paper work and computer stuff. I’m really enjoying being involved with the business. The more time I spend there, the more I find myself catching the vision they have for empowering women.

Today (Tuesday) is Thai Song’s second anniversary. We celebrated yesterday by eating lunch with the ladies who make the bags and their families. It was quite the feast! We brought food from a local restaurant that specializes in a style of food from Esan, an eastern province. The house sits on stilts above a swamp. The water is full of trash and sewage. Between the floorboards you can see whatever happens to be floating by at the time. Brittany tells me that we’ve had a mild rainy season thus far, so the house hasn’t flooded yet. Apparently during a bad rainy season the water comes up through the floor.

The house itself is made of wood, corrugated metal, and whatever else is handy. One side of the main room doesn’t have a wall, but rather a sort of railing, beyond which is about 18 inches of open water, ending in the next house’ wall. There are four women employed by Thai Song, but only three of them could make it yesterday. Included in the party were the women’s children, two of whom are developmentally disabled adults, one with a two year old of her own. I spent a lot of our time there playing with the kids because while I can’t speak Thai, I certainly can speak gibberish and silly hand games – the language of children.

P' Ting and myself

We spread out the food in serving plates on the floor, and sat around cross-legged eating community style. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and, although I wasn’t always able to follow the conversation, everyone seemed to be having a good time. After lunch we cleaned up the dishes (by rinsing them with water from a spigot at the back of the house) and gathered around for ice cream cake. After cake Tukta gave out awards (I’m not sure exactly what they were for, but I think it was just meant to encourage). I received a “welcome to Thailand, the land of smiles” card J Following the award ceremony, Brittany shared the story of Thai Song, which the women had never heard in its entirety. We sat around visiting for a little bit longer and then headed back to the base. It was really good to be able to actually see with my own eyes what Thai Song is all about.