Hosts street children for a day of festive activities
Suchada Tupchai
International automotive parts company Dana Spicer
celebrated their centenary in grand style last weekend. As part of the
festivities, Dana Spicer (Thailand) hosted over 50 children from the
Redemptorist Home for Street Children in the grounds of their Rayong
Plant. Michael Diamente, Dana Spicer plant manager and his staff welcomed
the children.
Mike
Diamente announces, “Let the games begin.”
“I’d like to welcome the children on behalf Dana
Spicer in this our 100th year of operations since the company’s
inception in the USA. Our policies include community service and
development projects. We carry out these activities annually but this year
is the first we have held them in the plant grounds and is our most
successful,” said Michael.
Following the release of the ceremonial balloons to
kick start the day, plant staff and the children split into five teams for
a decathlon of games including stilt and sack races, musical chairs, mini
golf and coloring in competitions, with each of the teams cheering wildly
as children, plant staff and management joined in the fun. All worked up a
hearty appetite for the nutritious lunch provided by Dana Spicer Thailand
while the points were tallied. After lunch, prizes for the winners and
gifts for the children were presented by Michael Diamente, lighting up
huge smiles on the kids’ faces in the process.
Kids
having fun.
Dana Spicer came into existence in 1904 when Clarence
Spicer had an idea to improve the way to power automobiles. In 1902 the
automobile had a noisy and inefficient chain-and-sprocket transmission.
Clarence changed all that with his invention of the Universal Joint.
In 1914 Charles Dana joined the firm and eventually
changed the name to Dana Corporation. Over the years Dana has manufactured
parts in just about ever market and in over 35 countries. The product line
increased to axles, seals, drive shafts, and frames.
As the market was growing in Asia, Dana saw an
opportunity to open an axle plant here in Rayong. Dana already had a drive
shaft plant in Ladkrabang. On March 12, 1998, Dana officially opened the
axle plant with 13 employees. There was only one assembly line with all
the components being imported from either other Dana plants or other
suppliers. Since then the plant has grown and now stands at 100 people,
engaging in both manufacturing and assembly supplying parts throughout the
ASEAN region.
The
intense concentration of coloring in!
According to Mike Diamente, “Dana has always believed
that the people are the difference between one company and another. At
Dana Rayong we encourage community involvement and know that our people
are the image of the company that the public sees. We have strived and are
proud to be a community member and this means being involved in the whole
community.”
In all the parts of the world this year Dana people will celebrate the
centennial by showing what Dana people are made of. Dana Spicer continued
their celebrations on June 5 & 6 with a show at the Elephant Farm and
then to Koh Samet for some fun and relaxation.
She
huffed and puffed until the balloon burst.
Lausanne
Diamente, daughter and nieces enjoy the activities from sidelines.
Some
local style ‘coconut clog races’.
Music
on and ready for some fun games.
Ekachai Kamolsri
With the conclusion of the annual Cobra Gold exercises
for 2004 on May 27, many US military personnel took time off to relax in
Pattaya while others continued with community service activities directly
benefiting the region’s children. The Ban Jing Jai (Sincerity House)
hosted a number of such persons on the afternoon of May 27, organized by
the Pattaya Expats Club.
Piengta Chumnoy, Ban Jing Jai project manager, and
children welcomed the guests to their Nernplubwan facility, which cares
for orphaned children. Personnel from the USS Essex came bearing donations
of sporting equipment and an afternoon lunch for the children.
While setting up for the barbeque, the Marines played
with the children, lending their sporting prowess in games such as
basketball and taking care of them while on the playground equipment. A
feast of burgers and hotdogs was spread out for all to enjoy as they
served up numerous helpings for the kids.
It was an afternoon filled with warmth and care which the children and
marines will most certainly remember for a long time to come.
US
Marines played some games with the kids while waiting for the BBQ to be
set up.
It was
hard to tell who was having more fun, the kids or the Marines.
Look
at me, I can fly!
A
great barbeque was served for the hungry and enjoyed by all.
These
Cobra Gold 2004 participants took time off to treat Ban Jing Jai children
to an afternoon of food and fun.
B. Phillip Webb Jr.
The
residents are all smiles during the parade for Buddhist lent.
Taking care of one’s neighbors is one of those duties
that people living in rural areas take for granted, as it has been part of
their tradition for generations.
“If a person in one family here is sick, every family
in the village will send someone to stay at that sick person’s house to
help take care of them. Likewise, if one family here has an event such as
a wedding or a funeral everyone will go to their house to help,” said
Mr. Nong, a resident of Nong Kung Yai.
Everyone
enjoys themselves during the parade for Buddhist lent.
For residents of Nong Kung Yai, one of hundreds of
villages in the Isaan province, it is necessary that everyone goes to the
various functions of their neighbors when they celebrate a special
occasion or hold a party for a family member.
Khlong
jars where the extra fish are kept.
“Because our village is smaller than larger places,
everyone knows everyone else’s name and face. If you come looking for
someone in the village, you only need to ask any villager and they can
take you to his or her house,” Nong pointed out.
Most people in the village are farmers who work to get
enough food for their families, but if they are fortunate enough to catch
more fish than they need, they will sell their surplus catch at the Lao
Pao Dam Bridge. The bridge is a special feature and tourists often pass by
there, so this presents the villagers with a good opportunity to sell fish
to them.
104
years old and still attracting the men.
Nong gets up very early to go fishing in the Lam Pao
Dam Lake because he knows that at that time of the day there will be very
few other people fishing. Because the lake will not have been disturbed,
there will be plenty of fish available. When he is satisfied with his
catch he goes home and around 6 a.m., eats breakfast prepared by his wife.
“After breakfast I take a rest for a while and work
in the garden and rice-fields until lunchtime and then I carry on with my
work until sunset,” he continued.
Some days I get eight kilos of fish for my family and
then I can sell the remaining fish to the tourists that visit the Dam
region.
This
woman was clearing a lot for an elderly couple.
Sometimes I drive to a neighbour who cannot go out to
shop because someone in their family is sick. I have a motorbike, so one
of my sidelines is that I often go to Kalasin to buy household items to
sell to my neighbours. This way I can get a little money to buy clothes
and candy for my children “Nong said.
Nong has one son and two daughters, but they are not
yet of school age. Today he’s collecting some money to pay for the
funeral expenses of one of the village residents who recently passed away.
Most people living in the village earn their income from the crops they
grow in their gardens and rice-fields. “There is enough for us to live
on here because we have the dam to fish and the land to cultivate. This
has been the way of life here for generations,” said Nong.
This
was a community project to house 3 orphan families of children. The total
cost, including land, was 85,000 baht.
Two of
the local girls attend to their family’s cows.
Suchada Tupchai
To celebrate the completion of shooting for the Thai
movie ‘Sai lor fah’, Thai director Yuthalerd Sippapark threw a party
at the Sigma Resort Club Pattaya.
A karaoke caf้, ‘Sai lor fah’, was the
setting for the film.
“This is the fourth film that I have directed,”
said an upbeat Yuthalerd. “It is a story about two guys who are close
friends. They always turn a tiny irritation into a big row, which can be
compared to ‘Sai lor fah’ (lightning conductor), the title of the
movie.
“Tao Somchai Khemklad and famous Thai comedian Nhong
Chachacha play the lead characters as the close friends,” said
Yuthalerd.
The movie was mostly filmed in Pattaya.
Actors
have a good laugh behind the scenes.
The
director, Tom Yuthalerd Sippapark.
The
leading characters: (from left) Nhong Chachacha, Tao Somchai Khemklad, May
Pitchanat Sakakorn and Paeng Ornjira Leamwilai.
