Driving their own custom ambulance vehicles, volunteers from various Buddhist organizations respond to emergencies such as road accidents, bar fights and anything else involving death or injury. Most of them work regular, full-time day jobs – maybe behind an office desk, service counter or taxi driving wheel. At night however, they put on uniforms and monitor police frequencies, waiting for reports of accidents, violence or disaster to respond to. With different degrees of medical training they try to help Bangkok’s rudimentary ambulance services by either stabilizing victims before transporting them to a hospital or taking dead bodies to the morgue. The Ruamkatanyu Foundation is one such private, donation-supported charity. It divides the city of Bangkok in three areas: northern, southern and Thonburi (the west bank of the Chao Phraya River). Approximately 2,000 volunteers are spread out around these three areas, and anyone can join the organization after two to three days basic training in emergency response.
These images were taken of Ruamkatanyu volunteers during the recent Songkran festival.
(Be sure to view them in full-screen glory!)
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