There were many challenges, of course. First, as a new club at RIS, we had to fundraise a lot to donate the ฿7,500 biogas balloon to the village. Second, creating educational material was an arduous process that took over a month. However, the biggest challenge was the trip itself. Navigation was difficult since our destination was four hours away and in a national park area with a limited internet connection, and our bus driver did not follow the designated path. We thus ended up getting lost in the middle of the forest, and I felt a lot of pressure. At that point, our itinerary had been delayed by over two hours. It was about to be too dark to do our planned activity. I had to try hard to calm myself and figure out a solution. In the end, we came together and decided to head back to the hotel and shorten breakfast and lunch on the second day to make time for both activities on the second day. 

Ultimately, seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces when we taught and played with them was all worth it. They also hugged us and wouldn’t let us leave, which was heartwarming. Moreover, the village chief told us we did something extraordinary by providing a household with a biogas balloon because “one hour of our work provided this household with ten years of renewable energy.” This trip was memorable because it taught me the importance of perseverance and cooperation. I also started and organized this trip, which felt even more special.