Bridge Building : Part 1

Last month we said we’d be launching a new series of posts focused on Imagine Thailand’s values.  Here’s our first value and series opener:

Bridge Building :

We bring people together : from different communities, organizations and nations.  We connect those who have resources and opportunities with those who don’t.  We pursue mutually beneficial exchanges.

There’s a lot of good stuff here, and examining it all in one quick post would be a shame.  So let’s break it down into 3 parts:  bringing people together, connecting the haves and the have nots, and pursuing mutual benefits. 

For part 1, let’s start with a story:

Smith was a hardworking man who cared about his family and his neighbours.  He was friendly and helpful and appreciated by all.  Well, almost all.  

Old Mr. Jones in the house next door was a different matter. Again and again, Smith tried to shout hello over the fence or wave to him from the street, but Mr. Jones just continued to work in his garden and wouldn’t even look up.  Eventually, Smith grew so resentful of his neighbour’s rudeness that he made up his mind to confront him on it.  

One day he noticed Mr. Jones on his hands and knees weeding his garden. Smith walked around the fence, marched straight through the man’s yard and stood behind him. 

“Mr. Jones!”  No response. He called out again, “Hey!  Mr. Jones!”  Again no response.  Smith was getting madder by the minute.  Just then Mr. Jones put down his tools, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and turned around to rest.  A look of complete surprise came over his face when he saw his neighbour towering above him. 

Then the lights came on for Smith.  Old Mr. Jones had hearing aids in both ears, his glasses were thick, and the lenses were cloudy.   The old man wasn’t rude, he was severely deaf and almost blind.  He had never heard nor saw Smith’s attempts to communicate.  Smith suddenly felt very ashamed. 

Through shouted conversation, Smith learned that Mr. Jones was all alone.  His wife had died and his children lived far away.  Because of his disabilities, he rarely ventured far from home.  He thought that his neighbours wouldn’t care about an old man who could barely see or hear.  So he did the only thing he could think of to be a good neighbour:  Old Mr. Jones made his house and garden beautiful.  So beautiful that it made the whole neighbourhood look that much nicer.

Smith became Mr. Jones’ best friend and best advocate.  He rallied the neighbours to help out with food delivery and get him to medical appointments.  They discovered that Mr. Jones had been a landscape designer, and soon they were seeking his advice on flower beds and vegetable gardens and landscaping plans.  The neighbourhood became like a park, and their compassion and care surged as they beheld the changes and looked out for Mr. Jones. 

When Imagine Thailand installs a water purification system for a Burmese migrant school we, too, are saying, “let’s build a garden together, Mr. Jones”.  The school that has next to nothing gets clean water and healthy kids.  A bridge is built.  Surplus water can be sold to their community for a fair price.  Now the village is healthier, and the school has a bit of money.  A second bridge is built.  The school buys clothes, medicine and teaching supplies.  It becomes a place of pride, and families rally around their kids’ education and health.  They can almost feel the grip of poverty loosen as hope replaces despair.  Another bridge is built, this one with dreamy possibilities.  Thais, working with Canadians, working with Burmese and Karen.  More bridges.

As always, opportunity abounds to partner with us, Imagine Thailand.  Become a Smith, help the Jones’s, build bridges.  Give us a call.

Next month:  connecting those who have with those who don’t. 

In the meantime: Add value.  Act with valour.