Philippus Albertus Van Wyk was born into a very wealthy farming family in South Africa's Pretoria, but money didn't give his life meaning. The 39-year-old is now a volunteer teacher at Baan Koh Payam School, a local Prathom school on Koh Payam, a two-hour boat ride off Ranong province, and says he has finally found his purpose.
Philip Van Wyk with students at Baan Koh Payam School.
It was raining hard the day of his interview with Life, but with umbrellas under his arm he rode a motorcycle to pick us up at the pier. One could see from the first glimpse of his smiling face that what he's doing has nothing to do with monetary comfort, but something enriching to the soul.
"Sawasdee krub, phom chue Amnart krub," his said, his Thai on its way to perfection. Amnart is the Thai name he has long adopted and known by students at school.
Back in South Africa, Van Wyk studied mechanical engineering. After working for a while with Siemens telecommunications, he went to help the family farming business for 10 years. It is a massive mixed farm where the family raise cattle and grow wheat.
Growing up in the 80s with apartheid, he's familiar with how badly black people were being treated and issues of injustice in society. The way his parents raised him and treated black people gave him a different mindset to many in his area.
"They always tell us we must think of other people, that there are people who are very poor in South Africa so don't throw away stuff but give it other people," said Van Wyk. "There's an area called 'squatter camp' where poor black people with no homes live. They build their homes out of anything they can get — plastic, wood... When it's very dry, they don't have anything to eat so my father would just take some food and go give it to them. That has really imprinted on my heart."
Another incident that has shaped the person he is today was a visit to a place near where he lived called KwaMhlanga. It's a town with many black people suffering from Aids and he accompanied his friend one day to help these people.
"Their flesh is rotting so it's very smelly, I couldn't go in. But my friend, he just went in, washed them and talked to them even though he knew they might die the next day," said Van Wyk. "I wanted to be able to love people like that."
Ironically, he had to move away from South Africa in order to help people. Being good to black people was something to be frowned upon, especially in the eyes of older generations.
"It's almost a culture, especially for older people. If I work with black people, they would go 'No, you are not doing something very good. You are helping people we see as lower class.' That makes it difficult for me to work in Africa."
It was during a holiday to Thailand that he got the idea of coming back to work one day.
"You can say we are very wealthy people, a lot of money, living a very comfortable life. We can buy whatever we want. We can afford anything. Go on a nice holiday. But I told my father I don't have peace in my heart. I know we have a lot of money and for me this isn't enough. There must be something in my heart that I can do. I only have one life. I can live like this forever and have all the money or I can do something meaningful."
Finally, six years ago, he got a chance to come back to Thailand and first worked with different Christian organisations. He was employed in Khon Kaen province for a year and a half, working with local farmers, but later on he quit because he also had to teach religion — something he didn't sign up for.
"It was a lot of fun but I just wanted to help people, not teach them [religion]."
Later he went on holiday to Malaysia with a guy he knew from South Africa and Van Wyk was introduced to the Moken people, known by some as "sea gypsies".
After a visit here to the Moken village on Koh Payam, he went back to South Africa to tell his friends about this project. They have been supporting him financially ever since.
Baan Koh Payam School now has a mix of Thai, Burmese and Moken students, but before Van Wyk arrived, the Moken children wouldn't go to school at all.
"At first I taught the Moken children at the village, but there were so many," recounted Van Wyk. "So I went to talk to the school and they said, 'Please, bring them here, they are supposed to come'."
Early on, the Moken children found it difficult to fit in due to different world views and cultures. They got scolded for doing something they thought was normal, and it was difficult for Thai teachers to connect with them.
"They didn't want to go to school so I went to have a talk with the director," said Van Wyk. "He suggested that I come to school to help the Moken children to understand and help [the staff]. [In return] they would teach me more Thai."
From then on he started to go to school with the children and taught English as well. Van Wyk has also been helping the Moken people in the village establish a way of life on land, something they have had to adapt to since the tsunami in 2004.
"They knew only fishing and I want to help them with their lifestyle," said Van Wyk. "They used to live only on boats and are now living on land for longer periods, so it's a big change in their lifestyle. I'm still teaching them the basics, the sanitation, to use the toilet and to wash themselves and stay clean. It's going to take a long time because it's their mindset, but I'm very happy with everything so far."
In the long run, with the help of education, Van Wyk wants to see the Moken people become independent and take responsibility for one another. He believes that then the children can become whatever they want to be one day.
"I am doing what I love. Helping people gives you great satisfaction. It gives you peace and happiness. I don't want to do anything else. To see these small seeds growing, you see them change, from not being able to read until they can. That is just beautiful."
