Paul Strasburg — “A life-changing lunch in Thailand”
How a young Peace Corps Volunteer’s chance encounter with a teacher in Thailand in 1966 touched over a million lives. Thousand Currents By Bilen Mesfin Peace Corps’ Passport Blog ONE HOT DAY in 1965, Paul Strasburg (Thailand 1964-66) was having lunch with his Thai counterparts near the village of Ban Nong Boa. A man in a civil service uniform approached the table. The man introduced himself as a teacher and told them his story. With no school, Boonthom Boonprasert was teaching his students outside. When it rained, school would be canceled. Cautiously and respectfully, Boonprasert asked Strasburg, then a young Peace Corps Volunteer, and his Thai colleagues: Could they help him build a school? Strasburg’s colleagues turned to him.“You are the American,” they said. “You guys have all the money.” In what would prove to be a pivotal moment, Strasburg agreed to find out what he could do. . . .
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it goes to show you that a chance encounter when you are on the ground in the third world ca…