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Students Help Rebuild Lives in Thailand

Sometimes you just have to go for it.

Jensen, a construction engineering major, Colin Madden, a horticulture major (both students at Iowa State University), Luke Jensen (Nick’s cousin), and Jon West (both students at the University of Northern Iowa) hadn’t planned to take an overseas trip in 2005, but then the tsunami struck. Hanging out together during the holidays, the young men were stunned by the extent of the destruction that left more than 200,000 people dead and millions more homeless.

The four long-time friends wanted to do something to assist the thousands of victims. They had skills, energy, and enthusiasm to contribute but needed help to make it happen. The help came fast. Their respective churches, the Cornerstone Church in Ames and Harvest Free Church in Story City, agreed to sponsor them. A friend had a family contact in Bangkok who made arrangements for them to work in Khao Lak, the hardest hit region of Thailand. A donor paid their expenses.

A quick trip to Chicago to get passports and visas, and everything was in place. On January 21, less than a month after the tsunami hit, the Jensens, Madden, and West were on the 24-hour flight to Thailand.

The Iowans spent the first five weeks working for a relief effort called the Tsunami Volunteers. “We worked with a team of volunteers building temporary wood frame structures,” Jensen said. “There was a huge need for shelters. A hundred people would move in the minute we got them finished.”

The youth from Iowa worked alongside a Thai native, covered from head to toe for protection from the heat, to build a shelter for tsunami victims.

For the second half of their stay, the students worked on projects organized by the Mercy Foundation. Acclimated to the culture and working conditions, Jensen and his friends were put in charge of constructing 15 permanent houses built with reinforced concrete. They coordinated the efforts of some 100 volunteers each day.

“It was a lot different than working in the U.S.,” said Jensen. “Tools were at a minimum. We dug the footings and mixed concrete by hand. The days were long and hard, but it was a great opportunity. Our leadership and decision-making skills developed very quickly, and we worked with volunteers from all over Europe, Australia, and America so it was a worldwide cultural experience.”

The group was productive as well. When they left for home in April, eight of the two-story houses had been completed with seven more ready to be roofed.

Getting to know the Thai people was perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the experience. Jensen had expected the language barrier to create some awkwardness, but it turned out that the Thais loved the challenge of communicating with people from another culture. “We taught them English on the job site,” Jensen said, “and they taught us some Thai.”

In spite of all the Thai people had endured, Jensen found them to be amazingly positive. “They are very joyful and have a lot of fun,” he said. “In spite of the hardships, they made the best of everything. They were so appreciative of us coming to help, and they were right there working with us.”

Three more Iowa State University students will leave for Thailand on May 23 to build a church, an orphanage, and more houses. Grant Lovin, a construction engineering major, and Aaron Nelson and Andrew Chalmers, mechanical engineering majors, look forward to their upcoming journey that they say is a great opportunity to help people in need.