Ryan and Melissa Crossett Pursue New Work in Asia

Online, August 9, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Ryan and Melissa Crossett, who live and work in Bangkok, Thailand, have been expanding their professional portfolio through taking on a variety of projects related to community development. The Crossetts have been working for a development foundation in Thailand, and it has given them plenty of good opportunities. Ryan Crossett taught a two month practical English class to a government department to give them the tools they need for doing their job well. Through the Foundation, Ryan and Melissa Crossett also heard about some crushing needs in a rural village in northern Thailand, and found ways to get involved. Melissa Crossett helped spread the word to friends and neighbors in Bangkok who were interested in helping donate warm clothing and blankets for the winter. Ryan was then involved in packing and delivering the donations in person. Ryan and Melissa Crossett have also taught various conversational English classes for children in both Chiang Mai and Bangkok, and enjoy giving these children an opportunity they wouldn't otherwise have.

Ryan and Melissa have begun looking beyond Bangkok for the right kind of employment that majors on sustainable development. Over the past decade, the countries comprising Southeast Asia have averaged an economic growth of over 5% per year. Indonesia's economy grew 6.5% last year, the fastest in over 15 years. The Philippines also grew at 6.5% and Cambodia is predicted to grow at a rate of up to 7% in the next two years. U.S. imports from Southeast Asia have also been steadily increasing. Thailand and Malaysia are the leading exporters, but Vietnam is quickly catching up with exporting apparel, textiles and furniture. The 11 countries of Southeast Asia all belong to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional organization which aims to create an economic community by 2015. Their goals include accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development of its members and to have a single market for goods, services, investments and skilled labor. Investors are moving their money towards Southeast Asian markets, and the economic forecast for the region for the next year is again one of firm growth of around 5%.

However, despite the solid economic growth in Southeast Asia, there are still countries that have high needs for education and healthcare. For example, in Cambodia and Laos where the rural areas makeup about 80% of the country, the economies rely heavily on subsistence farming. Statistics show that only 11% of females get enrolled into the upper secondary school level. In many of these villages, basic needs like electricity and clean water sources are hard to come by, so it's not surprising that education doesn't get much attention. Unemployment rate also appears to still be a problem despite the economic growth.

Ryan and Melissa are aware that the Southeast Asian economy is on the rise, but there are still some real needs for development in these countries. They see some promising employment opportunities and expect to make a commitment to one of those in the next few months. You can read more about them and their work doing community development in Asia at ryanmelissa.com. To find out more about Melissa Crossett, you can find her on LinkedIn and Google+. To get more information about Ryan Crossett, you can also find him on LInkedIn and Google+.