What inspired you to work for your Aay’s Village?
I visited the village back in 2016 without any intention of starting anything. However, after getting to know Aay, learning about his story, and hearing him share his vision, I wanted to help.
Describe a typical day at work.
Aay's Village is 100% volunteer work except our local employees in Laos. Over a week I typically try to put in a few hours when I am available, lately I have been working a lot on invoicing and trying to get our systems in order. However, last week I focused on reaching out to organizations for partnerships.
This photo was taken in Thailand at the beautiful island of Koh Yao Noi
Why do you do what you do?
I do what I do because Aay became my friend in 2016 and I wanted to help him achieve his vision. He was very enthusiastic about this project, and we knew we could support him with our experience from both work and education.
What is your favorite part of your job?
I have to say the people are my favorite part of my job because there are so many different people and cultures involved in Aay's Village. We have people from all over the world volunteering with our project in Laos.
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
In the beginning, I was focused on marketing and digital media which is a part of my education. Now, I try to find potential partners. This is what I do professionally, I work with EU grants.
What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?
Our team is spread throughout the world working on a volunteer basis. It is obviously difficult to work together on projects when we do not have set working hours and also the difference in time zones are a big issue. However, we are trying different methods of cooperating. The latest is utilizing the software Slack, which is working very well.
What are some current projects you are working on?
Right now I am organizing our invoicing and trying to find potential partners! A few months ago I was doing marketing and before that I was building our website.
Photo taken during our Norwegian independence day!
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
I did not know we would start our organization, but if I did, I would tell myself that setting up a non-profit organization is a lot of hard work, actually, a lot more than I anticipated. Also, I would tell myself to buy the organization house and do not rent!
What makes your organization special?
Aay's Village is honestly a unique experience since it is located in the middle of the Lao jungle. I think everyone should be more open minded to visiting the rural areas of Asia because people are so incredibly friendly everywhere.
What hopes do you have for the future for your organization?
I hope we will be able to buy a local house where we can permanently build our school and eco-projects. We have had some problems where we rent our house and we lose it before our rent expires, which is out of our hands. I hope we are soon able to build or buy something of our own in the village.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
I really hope people come to our project open minded and ready for the rural experience. There are no hotels in the village and the way of living is simple, be ready for that! The good thing is that the people are so friendly and the untouched nature around the village is incredible.
If you could participate on one of your organization's programs, where would you go and what would you do?
I would probably love to work on our eco projects! We have a lot of exciting stuff going on, for instance, we are trying to replicate the Norwegian concept of "pant" where plastic is collected and you receive a small amount for the plastic. In the future, we hope to be able to recycle the plastic. There are no plastic recycling plants in Laos, but for now we squeeze the plastic into bottles and make building bricks with them called Ecobricks.
From a trip to Greece!
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
Ask or read up on local courtesy, do not expect everything to be like at home. Cultures are both equal and different and you should get a sense of the local culture and respect it before you travel.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Basically what I experienced while travelling in Thailand and Laos is what meaningful travel means to me: friendly people, good food, new cultures and new ways of living. I want to be inspired by the people I visit!
What hopes do you have for the future of international education?
I hope education will be available to all, not restricted by gender, religion, or wealth. This is what we are trying to achieve in Laos with our organization.
