Melissa Hansen Visits Thailand and Laos with AgForesty Program

Hansen describes the international seminar as life-altering

WAITSBURG – Having been home for only a couple of weeks, Melissa Hansen is still mentally and emotionally processing her recent trip to Thailand and Laos, but she knows for certain that it was life-altering. The trip, called an international seminar, was just one part of the 18-month AgForestry Leadership program that she will graduate from in May.

The Washington Agriculture and Forestry Leadership Program (AgForestry) awards fellowships to 24 people each year from across Washington State. The program is designed to provide leadership training and networking to individuals engaged in natural resource industries.

In addition to completing individual and group projects, participants take part in twelve three-day seminars on topics of government, economics, international trade, communication, water issues, media relations, the criminal justice system, and the environment.

The program also includes two study travel seminars; a seven-day seminar in Washington D.C., which Hansen completed last year, and a two-week foreign seminar.

Hansen said several locals have participated in the program including her husband Norm Hansen, Dan McKinley, Pat McConnell and Lori Stonecipher.

Hansen's class worked in a soup kitchen in Tacoma as part of a social issues seminar and toured the Walla Walla State Penitentiary as part of a crime and corrections seminar. She said the goal of the international seminars is to expose students to different governments, ways of farming, and social issues. Of the 24 students in her class, 22 went to Thailand and Laos.

In Bangkok, Thailand, the class visited the U.S. Embassy, met with USAID at the Center for Disease Control, and attended market briefings at the UFM Food Center. They also visited the Thai Red Cross Snake Farm, a folk arts and crafts center, palaces and temples, and took a boat ride on the Chao Phraya River.

The class visited a flour mill and baking school and heard from representatives from the U.S. Potato Board, Northwest Cherry Growers, Washington Apple Commission, U.S. Wheat Association, and more.

"We were able to visit two supermarkets to see what our products looked like on the shelves there. They love anything that says 'Made in America.' That to them, means quality," Hansen said. "They don't have the clean air and clean water that we do," she added.

In Chang Mai, Thailand they visited hill tribe villages and a tea leaf farm. They met with representatives of WonGeneration, which is an organization that befriends troubled children and teens and brings them in to live in a safe hostel and offers work in their coffee shop.

"The streets are pretty tough in Thailand. There is a lot of human trafficking in the sex industry and AIDS is a huge, huge problem," Hansen said.

In Luang Phrabang, Laos, the group visited the Ministry of Agriculture and saw teak forests. They also toured the Northern Agriculture and Forestry College where students are taught to grow hops, vegetables and rice.

"Not a lot of people get to attend that because it costs money," she said. "The $2,900 tuition covers three years of study, books and lodging. But most people live at or below the poverty level, equal to $1.25 a day in U.S. dollars."

The group was so impressed with the college that they donated $2,900 of group funds to sponsor one student's tuition, Hansen said. They also visited an orphanage where they pooled funds to donate rice, pork, eggs, and toys.

An eight-hour bus ride took the group to Xieng Khouang, Laos, which is where Hansen said she was the most impacted. At the Mines Advisory Group and UXO Survivor Information Center, she saw firsthand the destruction the country suffered, and continues to suffer, from landmines left and bombs dropped by the U.S. government during the Vietnam War.

Laos was declared neutral during the war, but was caught in the middle when Vietnam established supply Viet Cong supply lines through the country, she explained.

"I was shocked to learn that after we quit bombing in '73 these people are still dealing with the lasting effects of unexploded ordnance (bombs)" she said.

Signs at the UXO center read that there were 50,000 UXO (unexploded ordnance) victims and 20,000 post-war casualties. All 17 provinces in Laos suffer and 25% percent of all villages are UXO contaminated.

"They have such beautiful scenery, and natural resources like teak forests and fertile soil. It's amazing given that, how poor they are," she said.

Hansen attributes the poverty to a combination of the lack of infrastructure, the communist government, and land that is contaminated with bombs, which contributes to their food dependency.

"We have to accept some responsibility for that. Our servicemen were doing what they were told and that's not their responsibility. But our government needs to be accountable," she said.

Hansen said the trip was filled with lessons. "We have a saying in our group that 'true leadership begins at the end of your comfort zone.' I learned that getting to the end of my comfort zone means being a leader and doing what I can to help.

"I also learned lessons in forgiveness. In the face of tough and challenging situations, they (the Laotians) face those situations with determination. They were determined, despite their poverty, to do the best they could. That was interesting because we don't always see that here. You don't see panhandling there. We were told they are a 100% employment rate country, and that's because there's no job they are not willing to do," she added.

Hansen said she hopes to return to Laos in a humanitarian capacity and would like to take her son, E.J. Meserve, with her. Meserve attends WSU, studying communications, political science, and criminal justice.

"There are so many lessons to be learned by going someplace like that. It truly changes your perspective," Hansen said.

Hansen described the AgForestry program as "phenomenal" and strongly encourages anyone involved in agriculture, forestry, or fisheries to consider it. Learn more at agforestry.org.