This past week our Courageous Kitchen students had the opportunity for a special visit to local international school Bangkok Patana. There the teens participated in a student led baking activity, making chocolate chip cookies and dark chocolate brownies with students from 8 international schools from around the city. The activity was part of the 2017 ServICE Conference which aims to engage young leaders at international schools to discover ways they can more actively give back.
On the first day of the conference the participants were divided up for activities with several NGOs and small charities, where they could serve the organizations with direct action in some way. Students who indicated interest in “No Hunger”, one of the new Sustainable Development Goals, joined our Courageous Kitchen students in the Bangkok Patana cooking classroom. These students who are passionate about ending extreme hunger, improving agricultural practices, and eliminating food waste — had probably not been expecting to spend the day baking and making friends with our kids from a community in Bangkok where food can be scarce.
This activity was also rewarding because, although our students have been cooking as a part of the Courageous Kitchen activities for more than two years, our kitchen facilities are basic compared to what you would find in a western kitchen. Instead the cooking we mostly do involves Thai or Asian recipes requiring minimal electrical equipment. This means CK students are pros are stir frying on a gas burner, but had not had the opportunity to bake before. When the activity began they were forced to learn very quickly how to deal with wax paper, induction stoves, electronic scales, and the sometimes tricky controls of built-in ovens.
The activity was a giant success, and although not all of the baked goods came out as planned, the new friendships made, and young minds expanded were beyond everyone’s expectations.
All photos are credited to volunteer photographer Alisa Suwanrumpha.
We’re launching our first Thai cooking class in Bangkok and you’re invited!
If you’re looking for things to do in Bangkok, you can finally join a Courageous Kitchen cooking class with us! We’re taking our experiences doing community outreach, feeding and educating people, into hosting people looking for unique cultural experiences in Bangkok.
We hosted our first official class this week and everything went better than expected. Now we can confidently extend our invite to other friends, supporters, and even tourists visiting Bangkok. Cooking classes are already a popular activity for tourists visiting Thailand to do when they’re not battling the sun visiting famous temples or passed out at a Thai massage. We hope to tap into the enthusiasm and curiosity people have about Thai food, while having some fun, and sharing the story of Courageous Kitchen.
We’ll be keeping the classes very small and pumping the funds generated by bookings back into our work with children in need. As a matter of fact, you will even have a chance to learn some of our students favorite recipes!
Here’s what you’d do in a typical cooking class:
– Visit a local fresh market and be introduced to unique Thai ingredients
– Browse different street food stalls and a stop for coffee
– Hear from our team and volunteers about Courageous Kitchen
– Be introduced to locally grown and organic Thai ingredients we use frequently
– Cook up a storm making up to three of your favorite Thai dishes (requests welcome)
– Enjoy eating your pad thai and other dishes together, with a traditional Thai dessert
We’re excited to invite you to join us and to kindly ask that you would help spread the word about this latest initiative. If you or friends are visiting Thailand you can join us in Bangkok, meet some of our volunteers, and support our project while having fun and getting fed!
This December Courageous Kitchen celebrates a year as an official charity! With such a turbulent year behind us, we’re more excited than ever to be doing fulfilling, important work in communities so often overlooked. With that said we want to tell you about our latest partnership with two great organization based in Bangkok.
In recent months we have been connected with Share Soap, an organization collecting unused toiletries, and Support the Girls, another group collecting donations of bras and feminine products. That means this year the primary thing under the Courageous Kitchen Christmas tree is soap, toothpaste, sanitary pads, and bras!
A photo posted by The Courageous Kitchen (@courageouskitchen) on
If you’re thinking, “Who the heck wants soap for Christmas?!” then thankfully you’re like most of us who don’t have to decide between feeding our families and personal hygiene. While most anyone would expect to see some toys under the tree, we’re instead thankful for our new found partner organizations who are helping us spread dignity and self confidence to the vulnerable women we work with of all ages.
We’ll be giving out the remaining donations this coming weekend and having our year end Christmas Eve class. The occasion calls for a big meal for our students and their families, being thankful for the year that’s past, and looking forward anticipating more great things in 2017. Thank you for your support this past year and if you’re a newcomer to our project, please get in contact about helping a family or even reserving a seat in our new cooking class!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
PS – US Citizens don’t forget to claim your donations on your taxes in the coming year! If you’ve given $250 or more, let us know and we’ll happily provide a donor acknowledgement form for you to submit along with your returns.
We’re excited to announce the latest Courageous Kitchen documentary called Urban Refugee: Bangkok. The 12 minute film debuted recently on youtube and we hope you’ll watch below and share with friends:
The film was directed and shot by Tara Milutis a talented American filmmaker. She helps explain the plight of urban refugees and asylum seekers in Bangkok, in their own words. Each of the narratives is assisted by members of the community who have been actively working to aid this vulnerable group of people. The video also introduces views to the work of the Courageous Kitchen, especially in the lives of children who don’t have typical access to education, live in broken homes, and who are not eating enough nutritious food. The goal of the film is to inspire, educate, and challenge people to get involved. Please do take the time to leave a comment and let us know what you think!
Common Questions About the Video:
I had no idea this was happening, how can I help?
You can help further the mission by donating to our project, especially by creating a recurring donation. When you click the donate button there are options where you can choose to donate, no matter how large or small the gift. Beyond giving financially, following along on our facebook page, while sharing our activities with friends is a contribution we don’t take for granted.
Finally for people who will be traveling to Thailand and hoping to get involved please be aware most of our volunteer opportunities go to people who are in the country long term. Although there are not many short term opportunities, do make sure you follow our facebook page for events and other happenings where you may participate.
Is this a Christian ministry?
Courageous Kitchen is a non religious, non political public charity. The classification of our organization means we neither discriminate among the people we help, nor the volunteers who help us, based on religious or political affiliation.
While we do enjoy good relationships with some churches and faith based organizations, we do not receive any regular financial contributions from these institutions.
Is it possible to donate clothes?
No, we are not currently accepting any clothing donations. We do encourage people interested in giving their clothes to find another local charity who can accept these in-kind gifts. If you are in Thailand, one such organization is called Second Chance Bangkok. For other locations around the world, please check with the local refugee organizations in your community.
The Courageous Kitchen is a charity that believes the heat and fast paced nature of kitchens can forge leaders and build strong teams. The kitchen is a hands on classroom and our kitchen education includes basic cooking, food safety, and nutrition for disadvantaged youth. We also provide support for students to learn other invaluable skills such as English and math.
In this quick update Dwight shares the progress on creating a new classroom for the students. For the past year and a half most of the cooking sessions have been happening in a cramped cooking space, with at times over 40 students. However, we’ve been working recently to upgrade a new space so it can be used as a classroom. This has meant doing some renovations such as raising the floor, redoing plumbing, painting, and a lot of cleaning. There were also funds to outfit the space with tables and shelves to make it more organized and conducive to teaching.
Big thank you to the Year 2 students at Bangkok Patana School and everyone else who has been supporting us!
P.S. Please mark the date August 19th, when we will debut a new documentary about our work in Bangkok. The video will be about 10 minutes and will talk more in depth about the situation and the importance of getting aid to the community we’re serving, especially the food, housing, and educational support we’re working hard to provide.
