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By Dorothy Brotherton
WHO are the winners in the game of life?
Not everyone agrees on the answer to that question.
“People in Canada have basically won the lottery just by being born here,” said Ryan Detwiller of West Kelowna. But Peter Dove, who has spent the last
seven years in Thailand, told BCCN : “We feel very honoured to have a part in their lives. Maybe we have won the
lottery because we get to live there.”
The two bring their perspectives together in a project called Imagine Thailand.
Dove and his wife, Cavelle, head the ministry of the Pentecostal Assemblies of
Canada in Thailand. Detwiller and his wife Meagen are joining the project for a
year, to provide media power – to tell the story through pictures and words, both in Thailand and Canada.
Derek and Irislee Koch, with their four children, will head out this summer for
at least a year of immersion in the have-not culture. It’s part of an effort to help refugees who have fled from Burma (Myanmar.)
The Koch family, also from West Kelowna, will focus on the city of Mae Sot, five
kilometres from the Thai-Burma border – where slum communities include many traumatized orphans.
“Some of these kids have seen parents or family members killed. They may have
experienced land mines or hiding from soldiers. They have no identification, no
protection. They’re open to human trafficking,” said Irislee.
International efforts have set up schools for these kids, who aren’t allowed to go to public schools. The Koch family’s goal is to install water filtration systems in the schools, to ensure clean
water. The water projects create bridges to the whole community. One system
serving 200 kids affects the families they are connected with, reaching some
800 people.
The family will also work in education, and help kids create ‘life books’ – to keep a connection to their roots, and help them get legal status.
Derek has been a pastor at Emmanuel Church in West Kelowna for 15 years. For
him, the experience is about serving the desperate. “To look at a child who has fled from war, to help them get the basic needs of
life and see them thrive – there’s nothing better.”
His son Isaac, 12, is eager to get on the plane and see “everything down below.” As to plans when he gets there, Isaac said: “I’ll probably play soccer. Me and my dad are thinking of starting a soccer camp.”
Isaac plays soccer at the highest level in his age group in the Okanagan; but
for now, he is putting aside those dreams.
Eagerness to get going is shared by his sisters: Ellie, 13, Hannah, nine, and
Olivia, seven.
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“We attended a conference in January, highlighting issues in developing countries
– and the kids were saying, ‘Let’s go,’” said their mother. “They’ll miss their friends. Isaac will miss his hamster. There’s a little anxiety, but a total buy-in by the kids.” Irislee will home school all the kids; she has already home-schooled Isaac for
a year.
They will rent out their home. Derek said: “This is the first step. We may sense we want to go long term. This is
exploratory.” Irislee agreed, calling it a reconnaissance trip.
The couple admitted to some fears. Derek wondered if they would be able to
handle the heat; whether communication barriers would be overcome; and where
ongoing funding will come from. Irislee admitted to nervousness about emotional
impacts: “The need is so overwhelming. How will we handle the tragic stories of children?
Many of them have no safe place, and few survival skills.”
The Detwillers sold their house last summer, in preparation. They spent six
weeks in Thailand to get their feet wet. Meagen said that experience relieved
her fears, and now she knows what to expect. She’s giving up a job as a nanny; Ryan is relinquishing a job with ICBC.
“There is the fear of being overwhelmed with the scope of the problems,” said Ryan. “The big picture is pretty huge.”
Peter noted: “It’s a life-long journey to conquer fears.” He described the instability of the area, saying that if you are found in a
no-go zone, the army can shoot you on sight.
Despite the dangers, despite giving up jobs and homes and friends, the two new
couples agree with Ryan, who described his motivation: “It’s a feeling that we had something to offer. No amount of money or career success
is anything by comparison.”
Contact: www.kochkamotion.com or www.detwiller.com.
This article first appeared in Westside Weekly.
September 2009
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