June has brought good news, excitement, and many activities for the Thailand project. After almost two years of the pandemic with all its challenging implications – travel and gathering restrictions – Money Management (MM) trainings with the target groups are possible again.

Trainer teams are ready, materials are printed, and training rooms are booked. Excitement grows on all sides. Trainers in the project’s pilot provinces received a Refresher workshop in March, emphasizing content and training methodology. They seem to have received a confidence boost. And the freshly “baked” MM trainers who participated in the ToT in May are revising their notes, clarifying questions with team leaders, and calming their emotions. They are ready to perform.

On the other side of the room, the participants come together with careful excitement - it seems almost unreal that they can gather again without restrictions (except for wearing a face mask at all times). It is a special day for them. They will learn about how to manage their household finances more wisely. They take out their notebooks, put their glasses on and start randomly reading the training materials on the walls.

In the back of the training room, excitement grows as well. It is the table of the observers – the project team travelled from Bangkok to observe the training implementations and provide qualitative feedback to the trainers afterwards. Goal: to support trainers in their development and ensure the training quality regarding content and methodology.

The clock shows 9:00 am in Thailand, and the trainer team moves to the front of the room and greets the participants in the traditional Wai. Training has started.   

June looks promising: 15 training sessions of 1,5 days each; 6 provinces; 8 trainer teams; 4 observers from Bangkok. Ambitious, but everything is possible when effort and motivation come together.