A World of Difference in a Small Village


The average daily wage in Chiang Mai is 200 Baht, which is equal to about $5.00 US depending on the day’s exchange rate. (Since moving overseas, even to Australia, we have begun to pay attention to, and even think in exchange rates on a daily basis…for those of you who know me, I’m sure you must find this information shocking.)

Anyway, if you begin to do the math, 200 Baht doesn’t go very far. I must say, though, 200 Baht for a Thai person usually goes a little farther than 200 Baht for a Farang (foreigner). A Thai knows where to go, how to get there, and usually won’t be taken advantage of because of their appearance or lack of language skills.

However, for a Thai person with the 200 Baht wage, to save up enough cash to develop a stash, is really difficult even in the share society.

Our mae baan, (house helper) Nui, came to us in June and asked for an advance of 2000 Baht on her pay of 200 Baht/day. Now that is 10 times her approximate daily wage. However, she told us it was going to be a loan for her father to open up a fresh food stand in the village outside our moo baan (neighborhood). Hmmmm….That doesn’t sound like a bad idea and if it helps Nui, I’m all for it.

I gave her the money. Within a week her dad was in business and Nui was working there on her hunch hour and after she was finished at our house. Shortly after it opened, I went down to his shop, even though my Thai is very inadequate, to meet Nui’s father and congratulate them on their shop.

Despite the meager appearance of the roadside village stand, and the lack of extensive menu, within a month or less, he was making 500 Baht per day profit. He also needed to hire someone else to help with the customers.

Well, now it is four months later, and I just found out that he is making 3000 Baht per day profit! I drive by his shop nearly everyday and at various times of the day. One time on my way to the airport at 5:45 am to drop off Scott, he was there cleaning and setting up shop for the day ahead-and it was barely dawn. During the day and evening, the place is always busy. Outside people must know about it too, because he doesn’t just serve the village people. It’s like they drive in off the nearby highway just for the food.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to have contributed to Nui’s life in this way. Thais look after their extended families in a very obligatory way…as it is expected that the children will provide for their parents. We may never be able to speak the language well enough to personally share with them the hope of Jesus Christ. However, Nui knows we are Christians. So we try to live in a way to demonstrate the love of Christ to her in a framework that within her culture she may understand and see something different in us.