SMU student Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin, 23, has travelled nearly 10 times to the mountains in northern Thailand. She teaches English to the indigenous population in Dayak. Years ago, she visited a village in Mae Hong Son, northern Thailand, for two weeks and promised to return as she felt that the visit had been too short for her to understand the culture and needs of the people there. She shared that subsequently in 2010, she and a group of friends established a support network and cooperated with Inter Mountain Peoples Education and Culture in Thailand (Impect) and the Indigenous Women's Network of Thailand (IWNT) to further understand the needs of the people. Despite the sense of satisfaction she gets from volunteering, Ms Samdin experienced a number of challenges in the early stages, such as the language barrier. However, these were overcome after several visits. She added that while her parents were initially worried about her safety and about her missing lessons, they have come to accept that she derives joy from such volunteer efforts.