How did the idea for using humor to disseminate information about birth control come about?
As a student I was more interested in teaching methods that were fun not dull, and I assumed that most people would prefer it that way. Humor has kept the issue alive, and in areas where there is possible embarrassment it has helped tremendously. How has the focus of the PDA changed? Only ten percent of our programs now revolve around family planning but family planning gave us the start. It was a human thing to do. If you can get close to people on matters that are highly personal and they trust you, then will trust you with their pigs, chickens, livelihood and other things more easily. We got right into the bedroom early on and that helped us. Since then people have trusted us. But now you don’t have to remind Thais these days about having small families. The population growth is now about 1.1% whereas it was 3.3% when we started. Most families now have two children as against seven two decades ago. Thai people are making clear decisions. They want a better life for themselves and th
