For many 17-year-olds, getting used to a parent remarrying can be
frightening. But for Andrew Titley of Oceanside, it helped him discover a
new project and brought along some international recognition.
"If it wasn't for my dad getting married, I would have never gone up there,"
Titley said of his recent excursion to Thailand.
In August 2004, Titley's dad, Andrew Titley Sr., got married in his bride's
native Si Sa Ket province in northeastern Thailand. While visiting, the son
toured a school in nearby NongWaeng village and found a modest learning
environment.
"The conditions for learning English were inadequate," he said. "The books
were in terrible condition."
After meeting with several educators in Thailand, who asked him to bring
back books in English, he decided to dedicate his next trip to doing just
that.
Just as classes were about to begin at Oceanside High School last month,
Titley, who serves as class president, taught himself how to create a Web
site, www.ThaiBookDrive.com. He received financial help from his father and
accepted donations. Teachers allowed him to speak to classes about his
project, and some even doled out extra credit to students who donated books.
Titley garnered about 1,000 books, ranging from the Berenstein Bears to
basic grammar books from his school and community members. And word of his
drive was making its way around the Internet.
"By January, my house was filled with books to the point where you couldn't
see the TV," he said, adding that he would find books on his doorstep when
he arrived home from school. "My mom said, 'We can't live like this.'"
His biggest donation came when an international book company, Books for
International Goodwill, sent him close to 30,000 books, helping him reach
more than 60,000 books by the summer. Titley said he shipped them directly
to Thailand.
"I wasn't sure how big of a response I was going to get," he said. "I
thought I'll do the collecting and worry about the shipping later."
This summer, Titley returned to Thailand for two months and lived in Ubon
Ratchathani, where he rented a two-story house. The books flooded the entire
first floor.
He met with local school officials who arranged for him to visit several
schools in the province. With the help of his stepgrandfather, he would
deliver a truckload of books and use a translator to speak to students about
himself, what America is like and the importance of learning English. By the
end of the summer, Titley had visited more than 60 schools and met with more
than 10,000 students. He said he plans to return to Thailand next year, and
would like to take computers.
"They're so far back from technology that I can go back with computers next
time ... then I could start talking to the government about Internet
connection, so they can become more in touch with the outside world."
