Thailand
Go ED. Mekong Program
Program Overview
Go ED. is a program designed to transform the next generation to own and end poverty by engaging their heads, hands, and hearts in learning about community development first-hand. Go ED. Mekong is based near Chiang Mai, in the highlands of northern Thailand, with field practicum opportunities offered in Southeast Asian countries in the Mekong region. The Go ED. Mekong program engages students with the realities of marginalization of minority people groups in the context of development. Students have opportunities to interact with local communities, particularly those of the hill tribes (Lahu, Akha, etc.) whose lives are characterized by both abundance and struggle, natural richness and vulnerability, cultural beauty and social exploitation. In additional to classroom instruction, students participate in a month-long hands-on field practicum placement. The program fosters Christian spiritual formation alongside academic courses and cross-cultural experience and seeks to provide a context for mutual transformation.
Courses
- Exclusion & Exploitation: Marginal People of the Mekong
- History, Religion, & Society in the Mekong Region
- Social Context for Development
- Thai Cultural Arts
- Cross-cultural Field Practicum
Special features
- Four-week-long, full-time practicum opportunities with development organizations in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam
- Guided spiritual formation sessions exploring "Owning Poverty"
- Engagement with the cultures through which the Mekong River flows
- Hands-on experience of the creative and cultural arts (local weaving, painting, dancing, cooking, etc.)
Application
The student will fill out two applications:
- George Fox off-campus application form (obtained from the Center for Global Studies; or downloaded here).
- Go ED application (to be completed online here).
*The Go ED application should only be completed after being informed from the Director of Global Studies that you are accepted for an off-campus study semester.
Eligibility
Students must be full-time undergraduates with junior or senior status, holding a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher to apply.
Credits
Because students remain enrolled at George Fox while participating in the program, 16 hours of academic credit is awarded by George Fox University.
Housing
The program will provide lodging and food at the Go ED. house and dorm in Doi Saket, Thailand, on the campus of a Lahu bi-vocational college, as well as at all practicum locations where students stay in groups of two and three.
Costs
The student pays George Fox University standard tuition, room and board and student fees and continues to receive financial aid, including scholarships since they are George Fox students. George Fox pays Go ED. program fees which include international travel, tuition, room and board, local travel and all local program related expenses. Student will only need to cover the cost of textbook rental, visas and other miscellaneous expenses, and travel to and from the U.S. orientation/departure city (this flight cost will be credited to the student's George Fox account).
| For more information about the program, check out: Go ED. Mekong State Department Consular Information: Thailand Bangkok Post World Fact Book: Thailand Centers for Disease Control: Thailand |
For more information, contact:
Center for Global Studies
Stevens First Floor
Phone: 503-554-2686
E-mail: globalstudies@georgefox.edu