Originally Posted by
Troy
Personally, I find that rather sad.
The close members of my wife's family look after our house and our farm while we are away. In return I look after them as best I can, which usually means they have all the rice from the harvest apart from a few bags to meet our needs. The water pump we installed on the farm last year (electricity only arrived two years ago) has changed things for the better. We now have livestock and cash crops during the off season (single season rice area), having turned a couple of Rai into a living area for the family and animals. The family and kids love it there and seldom go back to their own house with chickens, ducks, pigs and a couple of cows to look after (no they are not cooped up in Thai style breeding pens). To be honest, I love it out there so much I can't wait until we can move permanently.
I don't give money, but I do get things built and other items fixed for them. The latest thunderstorm ripped off the roof of their house and I bought the materials so they could repair it.
Part of the extended family live in a very poor village a couple of hours drive away. I've had a few of the children stay at our house and be schooled in our village to keep them out of trouble. We get them work in other villages or down in Bangkok through the different family networks they wouldn't normally know about. In return they work on our farm during planting and harvest for the usual wages.
They have taught me all sorts of things about their way of life, the dangers and the pleasures, and where and how to find food. I feel extremely fortunate to have learnt so much.