On June 24, 2019, in preparation of their trip to Thailand, the five selected candidates of Thai American Friendship Project (TAFP) 2019 participated in orientation at The Royal Thai Consulate - General, Los Angeles, to learn about their assignments, Thai culture, custom,tradition, and other information required.

In this opportunities, the Consul-General gave his opening remark and advice to the participants and underscored that the volunteers are to play in important roles in bridging people-to-people relations between Thailand and the U.S. and widely disseminating Thai traits in various aspects.

The selected volunteers to participate in TAFP in Thailand are as follows:

1. Ms. Tasha Boyer from Chugiak, Alaska, who graduated from Yale University;

2. Ms. Monica Pornpitak Campbell from Los Angeles, California, who is
studying at UC Los Angeles;

3. Mr. Sky Chiean Kumtong from Los Angeles, California, who graduated
from UC San Diego;

4. Ms. Thutchada Visaijorn from San Diego, California, who graduated
from UC San Diego; and

5. Ms. Pukjera Jena Rungreang from Los Angeles, California, who
graduated from California State University Northridge.

The five Thai-American youths departed to Thailand in the night of June 24, 2019 to work as an English teaching volunteer in educational institutions in Thailand and learn about Thailand in every angles as well as to participate in other beneficial activities. The program will complete at the end of September 2019.

The TAFP was initiated in 2017, by the Royal Thai Consulate – General,
Los Angeles in cooperation with Tourism Authority of Thailand and Rangsit University which has been very successful. The program aims at building people-to-people relations between the two countries and promoting Thai image via TAFP volunteers, who shall be Thai cultural ambassadors in the US. Meanwhile, TAFP will be beneficial to Thai youths by learning English from native speakers and acknowledging that there are Thai descendants in abroad, who still love and bind to Thailand.