04/06/2026
-- DEPARTURE OF A FRIEND AND VOLUNTEER --
Benjamin is a friend of ours and has visited us on Don Som several times. He came here for the first time (as a guest at Don Som Riverside Guesthouse ) after a tip from the people at Tao guesthouse in Kasi (northern Laos) and liked it here so much that he kept coming back. Benjamin also feels very involved with the work of Don Som Project and could therefore often be found there. Woodcarving, playing football (until he sprained his ankle...), working on the laptop (he has an IT background), and more. As a staff member of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières / MSF France), he knows that projects like the ones we do can have a positive impact on children. He has worked in Haiti, the Central African Republic, DR Congo, and more, and has experienced (extreme) poverty and misery up close.
Today marked the end of his stay with us. He spent no less than 69 days on Don Som. Our (Tanoi and Sander) plans changed, because we intended to go on a (short or somewhat longer) vacation, and Benjamin was ready to help co-run the guesthouse then. So that didn't happen (there are currently very few tourists anyway; the war between Israel / America and Iran is having an impact here too).
Benjamin: thank you very much again and best wishes! We hope that your departure was a real 'see you soon' and that we may welcome you back to Don Som soon or in a little longer!
p.s. because this kind of crosses Don Som Riverside Guesthouse and Don Som Project we post it on both pages.
