A letter from The Land of Smiles

Hello from the Land of Smiles. It is nearly a month since I arrived and as always things are moving slowly but progressively.

The weather at this time of year is far less trying than it will be in only a month or two. The days are hot and staying indoors under a fan is about the only way to keep cool. But at night the temperature drops significantly and the release is always welcome. It’s funny that in Ireland we complain about the cold and the rain, here the complaint is the heat.

Since I have been back I have had an unexpected house move that has taken up a lot of time and energy but now I am settled in a little cottage style house, about ten minutes drive from the town centre in a small country village. It’s perfect.

We are back working full steam ahead with Cultural Canvas Thailand. All three of us have come back with renewed energy and high hopes for the near future of our organization. The fundraising night that I held in Kilcullen and the support that I got from our community has given me a great boost in confidence and added motivation to succeed.



In the next months our website is going to see quite a few changes. After which time the main mission will be to market it to potential volunteers, wishing to get involved in the community of Chiang Mai.

The overall plan for the art program is finally complete and this week I will be working on sending it to as many Chiang Mai artists. With the money from what we are calling the 'Kilcullen Community Fund' we will be able to start with the art programs, whatever the interest in the volunteer programs is.

For those of you who are not aware of Cultural Canvas Thailand let me recap.

Our first objective is to create a volunteer experience where tourists wishing to travel to Chiang Mai have the opportunity to get involved with organizations working with people affected by issues that very often corrupt or disregard their rights as human beings. These groups consist of HIV/AIDS victims, hill tribes, Burmese refugees, sex workers and orphans. We want to create a volunteer program that promotes cultural exchange between groups whose lives have been blessed by privilege and groups who have been born with little and are rarely given the chance to progress.

While living in Chiang Mai we realised that most tourists are largely unaware of the social problems in a city that has a lot of cultural and historical wealth to offer. We want tourists to be able to come and feel comfortable interacting with people who very often make them feel uncomfortable. The reason for this discomfort is simple lack of knowledge about who they are or why they are so much on the outer edges of society.



The art programs will further promote cultural exchange and learning while using artistic media as a substitute for language. One of the main barriers in exchange between foreigners and the Thai population, in general, is language. The art programs will see members of mainstream Thai society, in particular artists, working to bring the Cultural Canvas target groups and foreigners together in an interactive environment.

This is the idea now it is our mission to see it become a reality. Sincerest thanks again to the community of Kilcullen. I will keep you updated of our progress.

Kind Regards,

Anna McCarthy.