1  |  ISAAN  INSIDER  |  ISSUE  III  |  SPRING  2015      

Isaan  Insider    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C I E E K H O N K A E N

Volume XXI, Issue No. III, Spring 2015

2  |  ISAAN  INSIDER  |  ISSUE  III  |  SPRING  2015      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

It’s  that  time  of  year  again!  Time  to  say  farewell  to  another  group  of  students!  34  new  people  who  we  can  officially  call  part  of  the  CIEE  Khon  Kaen  family.  In  this  final  newsletter  issue  of  this  semester,  students  write  briefly  about  what  they  did  in  the  last  couple  weeks  of  their  academic  semester.  Development  &  Globalization  program  students  completed  final  projects  that  related  to:  art  and  culture  and  the  affect  of  globalization  on  different  forms,  the  phenomenon  of  transnational  marriages  within  the  Northeast  Region  (Isaan)  of  Thailand,  different  aspects  of  maternal  health  in  Isaan  and  how  that  is  a  determinant  of  the  country’s  development,  the  effect  of  the  ‘Master  Plan’  on  villagers,  and  strategies  to  alleviate  poverty.  Public  Health  students  completed  research  projects  and  implemented  health  interventions  in  Kok  Si  Village  right  here  in  Khon  Kaen.  Their  research  focused  on  healthier  eating  for  children  and  adults  in  Isaan,  motorbike  safety,  and  diabetes  and  hypertension  education  for  villagers.  Check  it  out!  

Good  luck  CIEE  Khon  Kaen  alumni  in  whatever  life  after  Thailand  brings  you!  

 

Khon  Kaen    

3  |  ISAAN  INSIDER  |  ISSUE  III  |  SPRING  2015      

 

CONTENTS  

DEVELOPMENT  &  GLOBALIZATION  FINAL  PROJECTS    1  

Traditional  Isaan  Music.................................................................1  Justice  for  Victims  of  Thailand’s  ‘Master  Plan’ ....................1  Transnational  Marriages  in  Thailand......................................2  The  Waning  of  the  Traditional  Pottery  Practice  Dthee  Mor  in  Northeast  Thailand...........................................................2  Maternal  Health  in  Isaan ..............................................................3  Muay  Thai  Child  Fighting  Final  Project ..................................4  

PUBLIC  HEALTH  RESEARCH  PROJECTS  AND  COMMUNITY  INTERVENTIONS ..............................................4  

Creating  a  Healthy  Alternative...................................................4  Survivor  Series..................................................................................5  Diabetes  and  Hypertension  Intervention  in  the  Kok  Si  Community .........................................................................................5  Health  Research  in  Thailand.......................................................6  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1  |  ISAAN  INSIDER  |  ISSUE  III  |  SPRING  2015      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s a wrap!

DEVELOPMENT  &  GLOBALIZATION  FINAL  PROJECTS  

Traditional  Isaan  Music  By  Kat  Thompson;  Pitzer  College,  Kara  Komprathoum;  Providence  College  

Our  project  focused  on  the  development  of  mor  lam  music  and  how  it  has  been  influenced  by  western  music  and  modernization.  Mor  lam  music  is  an  Isaan  style  of  music  that  consists  of  a  male  and  female  singer,  as  well  as  a  khene  (mouth  organ)  player.  The  music  originally  came  from  Laos  and  has  been  passed  on  and  adapted  to  fit  modern  societal  standards.  Our  biggest  takeaway  as  a  group  is  that  culture  is  a  fluid  thing  and  adapts  to  newer  technologies  as  well  as  outside,  global  influences.  

Justice  for  Victims  of  Thailand’s  ‘Master  Plan’  By  Maggie  Kierstead;  George  Washington  University,  Liz  

Goodwin;  George  Washington  University,  Sarah  Sandbar,  Claremont-­Mckenna  College,  Anne  Bevis;  Tulane  University  

We  were  first  asked  to  come  and  tell  this  community’s  story  by  a  local  NGO  through  the  creation  of  a  documentary.  Why?  Because  of  the  injustices  and  suffering  they  have  gone  through  since  last  August.  In  August  2014,  the  Thai  government  instituted  a  new  policy  called  the  ‘Master  Plan.’  This  plan  was  set  in  order  to  reclaim  national  forest  land  from  investors  farming  on  it.  However,  investors  paid  off  the  

military  sent  to  drive  them  from  the  land,  and  the  military  as  a  result,  picked  a  different,  and  easier  target:  poor  villagers.  These  villagers  were  charged  for  trespassing  on  the  land  that  they  have  been  farming  for  generations,  and  now  face  charges  and  potential  prison  time  if  found  guilty  for  trespassing  or  farming  the  land.  Not  only  have  these  villagers  lost  their  home,  their  livelihood,  and  their  land,  but  they  also  are  racking  up  debt  paying  for  court  fees.    

~Isaan  Insider~  

Kat  (left)  and  Kara  (right)  pose  with  a  traditional  mor  lam  singer.  

2  |  ISAAN  INSIDER  |  ISSUE  III  |  SPRING  2015      

video,  our  group  created  a  feature  story  that  accompanies  the  storyline  of  the  documentary  and  a  policy  paper.  

Transnational  Marriages  in  Thailand  By  Veronica  Inveen,  University  of  Washington    

For  my  final  project  I  studied  how  different  transnational  couples  have  dealt  with  the  collision  of  their  two  cultures.  I  went  to  Nadokmai  Village  in  Udon  Thani  Province  where  159  women,  as  of  2008,  are  married  to  foreign  men.  I  interviewed  mia  farang  (transnational  wife),  some  of  their  families,  and  farang  (foreigner)  men  living  in  the  village.  It  was  interesting  to  see  how  each  couple  adapted  differently  to  the  culture  of  their  partner,  and  especially  how  the  male  dealt  with  life  in  Thailand.    

                                         

   

                               

In  the  four  days  our  group  spent  in  the  community,  we  heard  heartbreaking  stories.  Stories  of  a  family  in  which  both  the  parents  were  put  in  prison,  though  only  one  was  charged  for  ‘trespassing,’  and  now  the  three  children  are  left  without  the  pillars  of  their  family.  We  heard  stories  of  wives  falling  into  serious  mental  health  and  psychiatric  problems  because  of  the  stress  this  experience  put  on  her  family.  We  heard  stories  of  a  man  who  not  only  lost  his  land,  but  also  his  wife  and  children  who  left  and  got  a  divorce  due  to  fear  of  the  instability  of  having  to  fight  in  court.  Story  after  story  after  story.  Each  one  equally  as  devastating.    Our  group’s  hope  is  that  by  spreading  the  word  of  their  stories,  we  might  be  able  to  be  an  agent  that  allows  them  to  experience  true  justice  in  their  lives.  Along  with  the  

One  of  the  most  surprising  details  I  found  was  the  language  dynamic  in  the  households  of  the  transnational  couple.  Most  men  did  not  speak  more  than  a  few  words  of  Thai,  but  instead  of  speaking  English  together  the  wife  would  speak  the  native  tongue  of  her  husband.  It  was  common  for  the  couple  to  have  lived  in  the  man’s  home  country  at  some  point  and  during  this  time  the  women  learned  the  language.    

The  Waning  of  the  Traditional  Pottery  Practice  Dthee  Mor  in  Northeast  Thailand  By  Devon  Bruzzone;  Bucknell  University,  Hunter  Emmons;  University  of  Colorado,  Boulder,  Guen  Bledsoe;  George  Washington  University  

For  our  final  project  we  decided  to  explore  the  traditional  pottery  technique  of  dthee  mor  (Thai  for  “hit  pots”)  in  2  pottery  villages,  Wang  Tua  Village  in  Nam  Phong  District  and  Ban  Mor  in  Mahasarakham  Province.  Through  exchanges  with  the  villagers,  extensive  observation,  and  conversations  with  professors  from  both  Khon  Kaen  and  Mahasrakham  Universities,  we  were  able  to  gather  a  complete  picture  of  this  practice  that  is  unfortunately  largely  on  the  decline.  Women  are  involved  in  the  process  of  pounding  and  shaping  these  round-­‐bottomed  pots,  which  characterizes  the  technique  of  dthee  mor.  What  was  once  a  labor-­‐intensive  and  primarily  family  

~Isaan  Insider~  

A  traditional  Thai  wedding  in  Nadokmai    Village  between  an  Australian  man  and  a  Thai  woman.  

3  |  ISAAN  INSIDER  |  ISSUE  III  |  SPRING  2015      

Maternal  Health  in  Isaan  By  Anika  Huq;  University  of  Michigan,  Tamara  Mizrachi;  George  Washington  University,  Jenna  Register;  University  of  Rochester  

For  our  final  project,  we  wanted  to  look  at  how  pregnancy,  delivery,  postpartum  care  (including  breastfeeding)  were  changing  in  Isaan  overtime.  In  order  to  do  this,  we  had  interviews  with  health  workers  and  villagers,  and  we  visited  hospitals.  Throughout  our  research,  we  learned  that  there  are  many  interesting  cultural  traditions  that  used  to  be  followed  by  mothers,  which  are  no  longer  adhered  to.  For  example,  in  the  past,  mothers  would  avoid  sitting  on  steps  or  eating  spicy  foods  during  pregnancy.  Moreover,  mothers  would  spend  time  on  a  heated  bed,  called  a  “U-­‐fie,”  after  delivery-­‐  this  was  thought  to  help  them  prevent  getting  cold  later  in  life.    

operated  practice  traditionally,  now  consists  of  hired  workers  from  other  provinces  and  villages  that  have  not  traditionally  practiced  pottery.  The  process  has  become  industrialized  with  the  introduction  of  the  wheel,  a  skill  older  generations  do  not  possess  and  do  not  have  time  to  learn.  Unfortunately  younger  generations  lack  interest  in  the  traditional  technique  and  instead  are  drawn  to  opportunities  in  cities  related  to  social  mobility  and  an  opportunity  for  higher  wages.  Our  major  takeaway  was  the  effects  on  globalization  on  these  villages;  the  drive  for  younger  generations  to  keep  up  with  development,  which  was  reflected  in  their  desire  to  achieve  a  job  that  would  allow  excess  instead  of  merely  “just  getting  by.”  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However,  with  the  implementation  of  Universal  Health  Care,  hospital  deliveries  have  been  on  the  rise,  and  maternal  health  care  has  become  more  medicalized.  In  addition,  we  focused  on  breastfeeding,  as  it  is  a  large  part  of  both  maternal  health  and  development.  Our  results  revealed  that  mothers’  tendency  to  breastfeed  was  very  influenced  by  employment  status:  mothers  that  had  full-­‐time  work  tended  to  give  up  on  breastfeeding  altogether  after  about  2  or  3  months.  Breastfeeding  education  appears  to  be  on  the  rise  as  there  are  clinics  targeted  at  ensuring  that  mothers  breastfeed,  and  the  results  are  apparent  in  Isaan:  49%  of  mothers  surveyed  reported  breastfeeding  exclusively  for  6  months.  We  also  administered  surveys  to  see  how  shame  or  stigma  influences  a  woman’s  decision  to  breastfeed—mothers  seemed  to  be  split  on  the  issue,  either  reporting  no  shame,  or  shame  in  front  of  various  people.  On  average,  mothers  reported  higher  shame  when  breastfeeding  in  public,  in  front  of  a  male  neighbor,  or  in  a  temple.    

Overall,  our  greatest  takeaway  from  doing  this  project  was  to  seeing  how  technology  is  influencing  the  Isaan  region,  and  seeing  how  trends  have  changed  from  birthing  with  a  midwife  to  having  most  procedures  medically  controlled.  

 

 

~Isaan  Insider~  

This  is  a  woman  in  Wang  Tua  Village,  Nam  Phong  District,  using  the  dthee  mor  pottery  technique.  

4  |  ISAAN  INSIDER  |  ISSUE  III  |  SPRING  2015      

Muay  Thai  Child  Fighting  Final  Project  By  Darya  Nicol;  University  of  Rochester,  Sarah  Ramirez;  University  of  Richmond  

For  this  project,  we  looked  at  children  participating  in  Muay  Thai  fighting  as  an  informal  method  to  help  alleviate  poverty  for  families  living  in  rural  Isaan.  To  begin  to  answer  this  question,  we  traveled  to  a  village  within  Phutthaisong,  Buriram  Province.  While  there,  we  participated  in  a  homestay  as  well  as  exchanges  with  children,  gym  owners,  families,  and  trainers  partaking  in  Muay  Thai.  Though  our  time  was  short,  we  were  able  to  determine  that  Muay  Thai  fighting  is  a  fast  way  for  children  to  help  contribute  to  family  incomes  because  a  beginning  child  fighter  can  earn  300  Thai  baht  and  upwards  per  fight.  Though  Muay  Thai  and  child  boxing  is  contested,  it  is  also  important  to  be  mindful  of  cultural  familial  obligations  as  well  as  the  potential  benefits  of  having  a  gym  for  children  to  attend  in  a  community.  

PUBLIC  HEALTH  RESEARCH  PROJECTS  AND  COMMUNITY  INTERVENTIONS  

Creating  a  Healthy  Alternative  By  Lena  Barouxis;  University  of  Massachusetts  Amherst,  Hana  Bressler;  Tulane  University,  Rebeca  Lopez;  Occidental  

College,  John  Romero;  Tulane  University,  Amanda  Waller;  Bucknell  University    In  collaboration  with  the  World  Food  Programme  of  the  United  Nations,  Thailand’s  Ministry  of  Public  Health  has  implemented  a  nationwide  “School  Lunch  Program”  (SLP)  in  hopes  of  decreasing  both  the  prevalence  of  over  and  underweight  youth.  Central  to  the  program’s  aims  is  the  recognition  that  poor  nutrition  adversely  affects  children’s  physical  and  mental  development,  therefore  negatively  impacting  young  students’  ability  to  succeed  in  academic  environments.  Various  studies  have  corroborated  this  notion,  with  one  study  finding  that  when  schools  began  to  provide  food  for  their  students,  these  institutions  were  met  with  higher  enrollment  and  attendance  rates,  lower  dropout  rates,  and  improved  student  performance.      As  such,  our  research  team  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

recognized  that  it  is  vital  that  meals  provided  by  schools  be  of  high  nutritive  value.  In  light  of  this,  our  proposed  intervention  consisted  of  a  single  activity  designed  as  an  educational  seminar  for  school  cafeteria  and  other  interested  parties.  The  proposed  activity  aimed  to  educate  participants  in  rice  cooking  methods  that  would  result  in  higher  nutrient  values.  Ideally,  the  activity  was  to  foster  a  reformed  cooking  practice  amongst  the  participants.  While  our  intervention  was  ultimately  not  implemented,  we  were  able  to  create  and  distribute  flyers  detailing  the  cooking  method  among  the  villagers.  I  think  I  can  speak  for  my  team  and  say  that  although  researching,  creating,  and  planning  an  intervention  was  a  thoroughly  challenging  experience,  it  was  also  an  immensely  rewarding  one.    

Children  gather  around  19  year  old  Bas,  a  member  of  the  gym  who  children  look  up  to.  

~Isaan  Insider~  

5  |  ISAAN  INSIDER  |  ISSUE  III  |  SPRING  2015      

driving  or  riding  on  a  motorbike.  Additionally,  most  of  the  people  we  interviewed  had  been  in  an  accident  or  knew  someone  who  had  been  in  an  accident.    Based  on  our  data,  along  with  experience  living  and  observing  in  the  community,  we  decided  to  do  an  intervention  involving  helmet  use.        Our  goal  was  to  start  a  conversation  among  the  community  members  about  safe  motorbike  riding  behavior.  We  planned  to  hold  a  “Survivor  Series”  where  people  who  had  any  experience  with  motorbike  accidents  could  share  their  experiences.  We  hoped  that  this  would  enlighten  the  community  members  on  the  dangers  of  driving  a  motorbike  without  a  helmet.    In  the  end,  our  group  definitely  learned  how  to  adapt  to  a  changing  situation  when  things  don’t  go  exactly  as  planned.  It  was  an  all  around  great  experience  and  we  loved  being  welcomed  back  into  

Survivor  Series  By  Kimberly  Chen;  Ramapo  College,  Meghan  Culhane;  George  Washington  University,  Hannah  Gottlieb;  Bates  College,  Rebecca  Gustine;  American  University,  Erin  Macy;  University  of  Colorado-­Boulder    After  visiting  three  different  communities  and  performing  a  needs  assessment  in  each,  our  group  decided  to  do  our  focused  research  on  motorbike  riding  behaviors  in  the  Kok  Si  community  in  Khon  Kaen.    This  was  the  semi-­‐urban,  semi-­‐rural  community  where  we  saw  a  major  problem  being  the  underuse  of  helmets  while  riding  motorbikes.  We  conducted  interviews  and  focus  groups  in  addition  to  observing  the  main  road  to  count  the  number  of  helmeted  motorbike  riders.  The  research  confirmed  that  many  people  in  the  community  didn’t  consistently  wear  a  helmet  while  

   

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the  community  for  the  third  time!  

Diabetes  and  Hypertension  Intervention  in  the  Kok  Si  Community  By  Louisa  Pendergast,  Carnegie  Mellon  University,  Annie  Archer,  University  of  Virginia,  Hayley  Keur,  Northern  Michigan  University,  Caroline  Tydings,  University  of  South  Carolina    Over  the  last  two  months,  our  Public  Health  courses  have  focused  on  community  based  research.  Through  interviews  with  villagers,  VHVs  (village  health  volunteers),  prominent  village  figureheads  and  through  surveys,  we  have  identified  key  health  risk  areas  within  each  community.  All  of  the  four  research  groups  chose  to  do  an  intervention  in  the  Kok  Si  community  in  Khon  Kaen,  with  ours  focusing  on  diabetes  and  hypertension  education  within  the  working  class  population  of  the  community.  After  completing  focused  diabetes  and  hypertension  research  in  Kok  Si  in  April,  our  group  designed  a  health  fair  to  address  the  knowledge  gaps  shown  from  our  survey  results  and  interviews.    Our  intervention  was  designed  as  an  interactive  health  fair  with  separate  booths  for  diabetes  and  hypertension  education,  a  question  wheel  to  answer  basic  diabetes  and  hypertension  trivia  for  a  fruit  prize,  

~Isaan  Insider~  

6  |  ISAAN  INSIDER  |  ISSUE  III  |  SPRING  2015      

a  doctor  present  to  answer  the  villager’s  health  questions,  and  a  relay  race  to  demonstrate  exercises  easily  incorporated  into  day  to  day  life.  After  an  hour  and  a  half  long  thunderstorm,  some  of  the  elderly  women  from  the  community  attended  the  intervention,  but  decided  to  sit  and  observe  our  booths  from  afar  and  play  our  question  wheel  game  as  a  group.  While  our  target  audience  did  not  attend,  our  post-­‐test  survey  results  improved  after  a  post-­‐test  administered  to  some  of  the  participating  women.  We  hope  that  our  pamphlets  and  exercise  packets  can  be  given  to  the  working  class  population  that  did  not  attend,  as  they  are  at  a  high  risk  of  developing  diabetes  and  hypertension  if  they  do  not  make  any  lifestyle  changes.  This  has  been  a  great  learning  experience,  as  we  all  realized  rain  makes  everything  come  to  a  crippling  halt,  and  trying  to  inspire  lifestyle  changes  is  next  to  impossible.  

Health  Research  in  Thailand  By  Grace  Procopio;  University  of  Illinois  at  Urbana-­Champaign,  Lyana  Delgado;  University  of  Illinois  at  Urbana-­Champaign,  Lauren  Peretz;  University  of  Wisconsin-­Madison,  Avery  Trim;  University  of  Massachusetts-­Amherst,  Cady  Trvalik;  The  George  Washington  University  

We  researched  the  correlation  between  diabetes  and  the  diets  and  cooking  preparation  of  the  residents  of  Kok  Si  Village  in  Khon  Kaen.  Through  surveys,  interviews,  and  observations  we  found  that  the  villagers  have  high  rates  of  diabetes.  How  they  prepare  foods  and  what  they  are  eating  contributes  to  their  high  rates  of  diabetes  because  they  consume  a  lot  of  red  meat,  oils,  salt,  sugar,  msg,  and  processed  snacks.  So  for  our  intervention,  we  prepared  two  popular  Thai  dishes  

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

but  with  healthier  ingredients.  It  was  fun  and  the  villagers  loved  our  som  tam  (green  papaya  salad)  and  chicken  grapow  (Thai  holy  basil)!  We  handed  out  samples  along  with  the  recipes  and  healthier  cooking  technique  cards.  

We  learned  a  lot  about  the  research  process  and  how  difficult  it  is  to  gather  somewhat  personal  information  about  the  villagers’  health  and  wellness.  Aside  from  research,  we  learned  about  the  culture  and  how  the  community  runs,  which  was  extremely  interesting  and  fun!  Overall,  Thai  people  love  to  have  fun  and  are  so  kind  that  working  with  them  was  a  blast!      

       

 

 

 

 

Eating  a  delicious  meal  in  Kok  Si  Village  right  after  we  observed  how  they  made  each  dish!  

~Isaan  Insider~  

7  |  ISAAN  INSIDER  |  ISSUE  III  |  SPRING  2015      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For  more  information,  contact:      Assistant  Resident  Director  •  Arunee  Sriruksa  •  aruneee@yahoo.com    Community  Public  Health  Program  Academic  Director  •  Anootnara  Kuster  •  anootta@kku.ac.th  Field  Study  Coordinator  •  John  Mark  Belardo  •  jmbelardo@gmail.com      CIEE  Portland  Advisor:    Susan  Pollis  •  spollis@ciee.org    

Visit  us  on  the  web,  at:  CIEE  Khon  Kaen  Development  and  Globalization  Program  webpage    CIEE  Khon  Kaen  Community  Public  Health  Program  webpage      

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~Isaan  Insider~