DVXuser Tai Helmet Fund

Still riding on the anger of seeing another thai person die, I decided to goto Provincial Hall and speak to the Governor. Within a few minutes he got on the phone, made a few calls, and scheduled a date for 3 donation ceremonies at the largest colleges in town. The date is July 27th (9am, 11am, and 1pm). The police will educate for 30 minutes, I will donate helmets, and then the police will start giving tickets to all violaters of the helmet law.

Just goes to show what can happen when you speak to the right person. Much like asking your parents if you can borrow the car. If one says "No" or drags their feet, just ask the other parent.

I am sure that within a few months of this mixture of generosity and tough-love more students will wear helmets and fewer students will die.
 
PK, I am so sorry to hear about that. I have questions about this, and if you dont feel like answering, that's okay. For one, and please dont take this as being derrogatory in any way, but what kind of value do the tai people put on human life? Is their social structure, even in the familial sense, such that the sudden loss of life is so easily dealt with? I understand they have a different mindset overall about looking the other way vs dealing with confrontation. Do you think that death affects them in the personal way that it does for, say, westerners? You will really have to forgive my naivete and/or ignorance in this matter. I've never lived abroad, so I just dont have a basis for understanding this. Is it that they cant afford safety gear, or that they dont understand and appreciate the value of wearing the gear in the protection of thier lives?

Best of blessings to you for your efforts.

Terri
 
thartley - How do you wake up so early and have the ability to have deep-philosophical questions like this? You're good!

Religion and culture are definitely a factor in the way we all handle death. Thai people handle death much like westerners, except Thais are exposed to death and illness much more often, so they have become much more desensitized by it. Thai people mourn a lot when a natural death occurs. A funeral lasts for 3, 5, or 7 days and it's a very serious event that everyone attendends. When someone dies an unnatural death (such as an accident) the body is typically cremated within 6-12 hours because of spiritual beliefs about ghosts. Having a loved one die and their body gone within the same day can definitely cause friends and family to handle death differently than us. And accidents are so common here that they have become desensitized to it. I ask my students how many know a friend or relative who have died in a motorcycle accident and they all raise their hands. So I don't necessarily feel this is a religious or cultural concern (which would be difficult to counter-act) but rather just opening their eyes to the fact that their friends and family do NOT need to die. Much like teaching people about the hazards of pollution in the water, smoking, etc. There is another way to live, but they haven't been shown or taught.

Most have the money to buy a helmet they've just never been taught or told it's important. The Thai people are very uneducated and (seriously) if they are not told they won't think of it on their own. They LOVE to copy others. Here, almost everyone does everything the same way. It's actually interesting to watch Thai people eat, drink, write, make crafts, shop, just about anything. They all do EVERYTHING the exact same way. I guess in a country where everyone has dark hair, tan skin, and everyone wears uniforms, individualism is difficult to teach. Driving is also the same. They all drive realy bad because lessons are not given and laws are not enforced. They want to drive cars and motorcycles but they don't have the education to handle the responsibility. A college education is much like Jr. High in the US. Westerners introduced motorcycles but we didn't included the steps of developement (or instruction manual) when we sold it to them. I'm sure you're thinking that most Americans don't have the ability to drive well either, but I can tell you Americans drive 1,000% better than Thais. The US roads are mostly organized and structured. There is very little structure here. Which helps you get from Point A to Point B easier. Just not always alive.

The police are partially to blame. Yesterday I was at a red light and some students on motorcycles went right through the redlight and almost hit a car. Two cops on a motorbikes witnessed it but did nothing. The police are a joke, but without their support I can't do much of anything.

Thanks for your questions, Terri, and I hope my long winded response answered them. Have a good day at work.
pk
 
Well, I hope your efforts can bring about some awareness over there and save some lives. Sounds like you've definitely got your work cut out for you. And if they like to copy each other, then maybe wearing the helmets will catch on, and those who do not have them will want to be like the ones who do. Start a helmet trend that will stick.

Thanks for keeping us posted on this. I'm interested in how things go at the ceremonies. :)

Thanks for all you do.
 
Update: Learned today that the accident that occurred on Friday involved two people, not one. A boyfriend and girlfriend died.
 
Hey PK,

Your first post said that the helmets are $2.50, but your banner says they're $3.25. Did the price go up or are these better helmets? Also, are the helmets strong enough to protect the head in an accident?

Anyway, I think you're doing a good thing, and I just made a donation. They recently repealed the helmet law in Florida, and there's definitely a rise in injuries/fatalities in motocycle accidents. But Americans should know better, so it's really their fault if they get hurt because of not wearing helmets.
 
Couldn't agree more. So many people don't wear helmets around here. I always wear a helmet these days. I used to wear a helmet most of the time but the one time I didn't I ended up fracturing my skull (not fun - unless large amount of morphine and jello are really cool). Not cool. I don't leave the house without one now.
 
I wear a helmet even when walking through the grocery store. Safety first! :)

SumFun -- So that was you. I was wondering who just made a donation. I didn't recognize the name. Thank you very much! That will help a lot. Yes, the first post said helmets are $2.50 but that was for a cheaper style that isn't legal. I discovered I could get a better (legal) style for only a little more. They're approved by the government, have plastic visors to protect the eyes (a huge concern with the amount of rocks and dust hitting drivers) and they are the most popular style here.

Shaw - I agree. I've got two helmets. One for me and one for any Thai babe that wants to ride on my red hot moped. Grrrrrrr! Yea, baby! Yea!
 
jp - Thanks! Your donation has been added to the total purse. Not that I carry a purse.

UPDATE - Yesterday I tried to get the helmet shop to give us a cheaper price. They wouldn't budge. Not even a penny. D'oh! Fortunately the exchange rate is high now so we'll still get a lot for our money. It's a good time to buy, check out this chart.

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?amt=1&from=USD&to=THB&submit=Convert

Basically, we'll be able to get 30 more helmets just because we're buying now, instead of a few months ago. That's cool!

Today the education department called to confirm the date of July 27th and that we will be donating 100 helmets to each of 3 schools. Videos and photos will be taken. It might even make the national news.

Helmets will be purchased next Friday. If you know anyone who hasn't heard of this opportunity to directly help a lot of students, please forward the info and website address.

http://www.laundryday.com/about/helmets.htm

Once again, thanks to everyone for your support.
PK
 
If any of you were over here, you'd do the same thing. I'm sure of it. And you'd probably use your own money instead of bothering others for their money. :)

Sorry for all the updates, but since you all trusted me with your money, I feel I should keep you informed.

UPDATE
I have ordered 400 stickers ($30) which will be applied to the back of the helmets. The stickers will have 3 jobs. 1) To distinguish between donated helmets and non-donated helmets, 2) To remind people about the importance of wearing their helmet and 3) To forward them to a website which contains more information about education and health issues in Thailand. The website will also have a list of names for everyone who donated.

The Helmet Sticker:

isara-logo.jpg


It says "Life With Freedom". Isara means Freedom in Thai.


The Website:

isara-web.jpg


The website should be up in a week or two. Still gathering content. The logo for the website is the same as the sticker, minus the orange helmet. Helmets for Students will hopefully be one of many programs using this website, so the logo needs to be generic.

Helmets will be purchase in 2 days. Tell everyone you know they need to hurry. Every bit helps. Thanks again DVXusers.

pk
 
Wouldn't it be funny if PF turned out to be a huge scam artist? HAHA........:undecided

Joking of course.:laugh:
 
Allow me to say, OMG!!! That is a VERY generous donation, Danny. WOW! :) Because of all the last minute generosity I'm going to be rushing to find 2 more schools we can donate to and we might actually break 500. :) :) :)

Other than the small percent PayPal takes out, everyone's donation goes directly to the helmets and protecting students. Of course giving the helmets is half the battle, getting them to wear them is the other half. And that's where my marketing experience will hopefully pay off. I've got quite a presentation prepared for the students. They'll be wearing those helmets with pride by the time they leave the auditoriums.

Thank you VERY MUCH, Danny. Your generosity, and everyone elses, will not be forgotten.

PF, ...I mean, PK. (TC, How did you know my real initials?)

...CODE RED! CODE RED! PF's cover has been blown! Abort helmet scam! I said, ABORT!!!!
 
PK Gillock said:
PF, ...I mean, PK. (TC, How did you know my real initials?)
Click to expand...
I know all your dirty little secrets Mr. Patrick Kirk Fillock.

I won't edit that post, just as a reminder to myself that if I'm going to be a jackass, I should really spell check my posts. :beer:
 
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