Banglamung Home for the Elderly holds 1st lawn bowling contest

Vichan Pladplueng

The new Banglamung district chief officer, Chaen Cheunsiva visited the Banglamung Home for the Elderly last month to preside over the opening ceremony introducing the “1st Betong Contest” as part of the athletic program for seniors.

Banglamung district chief officer, Chaen Cheunsiva threw the first ball, inaugurating the visited the 1st Betong Contest at the Banglamung Home for the Elderly.

Lawn bowling, called “betong” in Thai, is an ancient game played in many countries. The sport was favored by HRH Princess Sri Nagarindra (Somdej Ya), and the late Princess Mother promoted the game among older generations as healthy exercise to stay active and remain fit.

The Chonburi provincial government agreed with the concept and supported a request to fund equipment and complete the betong playing field at the home. The game provides the residents at the Banglamung Home with an excellent form of healthy exercise and sets a healthy stage for interaction between one another in the outside environment.

The cheerleaders gave inspiration to the teams.

Many at the home greatly enjoy the sport. On opening day, 14 teams were organized - three women teams, four men teams and seven mixed teams. Those not playing on the competing teams surrounded the field and cheered the players on. Anyone happening by on the day might have mistaken the place for a school playground.

Pattaya's Indian Community celebrates New Year and donates funds to help in the fight against drug abuse

Pattaya’s Indian Community celebrated their end of year party with the theme ‘Dadkhan’ or The Heart Beat, at the Hard Rock Hotel. The party, organised by the Ali Baba Grover Company, brought in special entertainment for the evening.

Pattaya Mail MD, Peter Malhotra welcomed the guests with his traditional speech before handing the microphone over to Amrik Singh Kalra, who wished everyone a happy new year and emphasised the need to love and respect each other. He urged everyone to give something back to the community.

Naini Grover (left) and his mother Mrs. Grover (centre) present funds generated at the party to Pol. Col Jirat Pichitpai from the Ban Phoonsri Uppathum Drug Rehabilitation Centre in Pattaya.

Special guest Pol. Col Jirat Pichitpai from the Ban Phoonsri Uppathum Drug Rehabilitation Centre in Pattaya thanked Peter for his kind words and gave the attentive crowd some background on the rehabilitation centre and the kind of work that is being carried out to help rehabilitate drug addicts to move back into and benefit society as whole. Col. Jirat explained that when he opened the centre some 12 years ago, the average age of those staying at the centre was 30 to 40 years old, and within five years that average had dropped to 17 to 19 years old. Currently, children as young 10 years are staying at the centre to wean themselves off their drug problems.

After Col. Jirat left the stage, Peter continued to stress the importance of family values and the importance of community service. Once the formalities had finished the party began with a huge buffet style dinner and the sounds of the Bhangara beat.

Later in the evening the money raised from the sales of the door tickets and raffle tickets, amounting to over 17,000 baht was presented to Col. Jirat on stage to aid the Ban Phoonsri Centre.

As for the raffle draws, the organisers ran a little behind time and by the time the final prize was won, 90% of the guests had left, leaving a bitter sweet taste for many in what started as a good evening with good intentions.

Nonetheless, the benefactors of the evening’s entertainment were the youth of Pattaya and Chonburi in obtaining a new chance in life for the new year.

Smiling faces around Pattaya

Banglamung School’s assistant director Nutsuda Khunpleum, and some of the school’s more than 2100 students presented a certificate of thanks to Helmut Buchberger and the Dental and Nutrition World Fund.

About six months ago Rod Shields from the Dental and Nutrition World Fund in Jackson, Wyoming, USA and Helmet Buchberger from ABC Asian Business Consulting Co. Ltd. in Pattaya introduced their Free Dental Care Program to the community.

They decided to help young female students from government schools and girls from low income families to get their teeth checked and fixed if necessary, as healthy teeth are essential for a prosperous future. So far 40 students from Akson School at Thepprasit Road, 75 students from Banglamung School, and 15 young girls from a nearby village have received free dental treatment worth anywhere from B700 to B36,000 and even B60,000 for one individual. All dental work was done by a well-known dental clinic with modern equipment and facilities.

Appreciating the good work, Banglamung School presented a certificate to Helmut Buchberger and the Dental and Nutrition World Fund, presented last month during a ceremony at the school attended by assistant director Nutsuda Khunpleum and her more than 2100 students.

Chanyuth Hengtrakul sends his New Year's wishes to all members of the community

On the eve of the New Year 2002, Chanyuth Hengtrakul, managing director of Sophon Cable TV went on the air to wish Sophon TV members, their families and all our citizens a Happy New Year.

Peter Malhotra (right), MD of Pattaya Mail presents a basket of New Years goodies to Chanyuth Hengtrakul, MD of Sophon Cable TV, whilst wishing him good health, long life and happiness in the New Year.

In his talk, Chanyuth said there would be many new entertainment programs on Sophon Cable. He said that there were now 39 channels and there would be an increase of all sorts of entertainment programs. He added that he had signed contracts with all the major TV networks so that there will not be any more interruptions in receiving these channels. He went on to say that because of so many requests to have UBC and the Nation Channel, that he has signed agreements with them as well.

Chanyuth promised that in the coming year, the quality will definitely improve, not only in programming but also the reception in and around Pattaya. He also pledged that it would be a world-class cable TV channel.

Chanyuth also praised the Pattaya Mail Channel for the services rendered to the viewers of Sophon Cable, without which the English speaking audience could not keep up to date with the current happenings in Pattaya. He also appreciated the fact that viewers can now see programming schedules on the pattayamail.com website and even print them for further reference. He told the audience that his technicians were ready 24 hours a day to solve any problems and to call him personally at 01 6337777 if they needed assistance.

Ge Laurant remembered as the foundation set up in his name donates funds towards road safety in Pattaya

Gerard Lemmers (center right), chairman of the Ge Laurent Foundation, presents the cheque for 225,000 baht for the new Road Safety Campaign to Alvi Sinthulvanik, president of the Rotary Club of Jomtien Pattaya.

The name Ge Laurant lives on, even though the person himself passed away five years ago on December 30th, 1996. The Ge Laurent Foundation was set up by close friends Gerard Lemmers and Ruud De Voss to give something back to the community which had allowed them to live happily in Thailand.

Last Sunday, December 30th, friends of Ge Laurant and members of the Ge Laurant Foundation continued their support of the community by presenting a cheque for 225,000 baht to the Rotary Club of Jomtien Pattaya for the commencement of the initial stage in the Road Safety Project.

The project, now in its fourth year, strives to educate the community on road safety through training seminars in 10 local schools. Up to 5,000 children have benefited through their attendance at these seminars, and the project has resulted in many safety checks for cars and motorbikes for local motorists.

This year’s campaign will widen the reach of the Road Safety Campaign by broadcasting educational cartoons on local TV stations, such as Sophon Cable TV and Banglamung Cable TV, before moving on to other local TV stations in the outer provinces.

The cartoons, still at the proof stage, are being produced by a company in Bangkok and will be aired once completed. The donation last Sunday by the Ge Laurant Foundation will cover approximately 30% of the project cost, with additional funds being given at a later date.

Members from the Rotary Club of Jomtien Pattaya and Ge Laurent Foundation hope to expand the project around the country with the support of Rotary Clubs throughout Thailand.

Following the presentation of the cheque, everyone then went to pay their respects to Ge Laurant on the 5th anniversary of his passing in Pattaya, and held a ‘Tambon’ ceremony held at the Wat Chaiyamongkol on South Pattaya Road.

President Alvi shares the King's wisdom with Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya

At the regular meeting of the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya, President Alvi Sinthuvanik spoke to members and guests and wished them all a very happy and prosperous New Year. As a part of her New Year wishes, she quoted some of His Majesty the King’s advice and words of wisdom which he recently shared with students.

President Alvi Sinthuvanik quoted wise words from the King at her New Year address to the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya.

Alvi chose a portion of His Majesty’s speech which dealt with how to approach and solve a problem. In his speech he remarked that, “When you work on something, there always seems to be a problem. When you see the problem, you must do something quickly to solve it. Don’t leave it. It only gets worse.” He added that problems usually cannot be solved alone. “You should seek help from others and form a team to find the way out. You must not allow a problem to interfere or destroy what you are trying to achieve,” he advised. “Do not allow the wrong attitude to block the way to find a solution. When you have the wrong attitude you may not see the truth, or if you do, you may not accept it and you will not learn the reason for the problem arising in the first place.”

His Majesty went on to tell the students that the first way to solve a problem is to take a well-balanced view that will help to analyze what is at stake. “This approach will help you to clearly understand the situation which will lead to a just solution,” he told them. These are wise words to live by and a fine way to start a brand new year.

President Alvi finished her talk with some profound words of her own, “I think the King’s words were very wise and I hope I shall remember them when faced with some difficulty in the future.” Once again, President Alvi proved what a wise choice she was for the presidency of the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya.