Children dig in to make Ao Udom Beach clean and safe

Hill tribe children awed by the splendour of the sea

Pra Khru Viboonsangkakarn Foundation presents scholarships to children at Wat Chaiyamongkol

Children dig in to make Ao Udom Beach clean and safe

Suchada Tupchai

More than 100 members of the Cosmopolitan Lions Club of Jomtien along with pupils and teachers from the Regent’s School and Wat Mai Nern Payom School collectively rolled up their sleeves to clean up Ao Udom Beach at Sriracha on September 18.

The whole team of teachers and students gather for a group photograph at Wat Mai Nern Payom School.

This was the second cleanup organized by the club, which also uses these occasions to bring together Thai and international school students who occupy different sectors of the educational system and might otherwise not have the opportunity to meet.

Cosmopolitan Lions Club chose Ao Udom Beach because although it is very scenic it suffers from unsightly garbage dumped there both by nature and by undisciplined human beings. Most of the refuse picked up and placed in the black garbage bags were plastic bags and bottles.

Everyone should help to keep our environment clean and safe.

Teacher Mayuree Sricharoen led the Wat Mai Nern Payom School students who were from Primary School Class 6. The children were excited and worked with great gusto, even though it was the weekend.

Cosmopolitan Lions Club holds regular activities with the school including lunch projects and scholarship awards. The international school students were a little older, and were happy to chat in English with the local students.

Hill tribe children awed by the splendour of the sea

Narisa Nitikarn

On September 27, a group of hill tribe children who had never seen the ocean before gathered excitedly in Pattaya to play on the beach and splash in the waves, while many of their parents looked on with equal pleasure and excitement.

The sea water feels so good.

The visit was the result of a government-funded scheme with the suppoert of Suwat Choksuwattanakul the governor of Nan province. Tasanaphan Rapeetasanapong, Nan Hill Tribe Center officer said, the children were from the Hmong and Mian hill tribes and were studying in primary classes 1 to 5 of Ban Song Kwae School and Ban Namkong School in Nan province.

Living in the mountains of north Thailand, the children had no experience of the sea, and they had all been looking forward to this day for a long time. During their visit they were also scheduled to tour the aircraft carrier the HMS Chakri Naruebaet in Sattahip and also visit the Under Water World in Jomtien.

Let’s build sand castles.

It was a sight to behold as 43 excited children in their exquisite tribal costumes alighted from the bus on beach road before running off to frolic in the sea, sand and sun.

Five-year-old Jitima (Nong Muk) Leekasemsrap from Ban Namkong School said she was enjoying her first visit to the beach very much and would tell her friends at school what a beautiful place Pattaya is. She said she would come back to Pattaya again as soon as she gets a chance.

Wait until we show this picture to our friends in Nan, they’ll flip out.

Pra Khru Viboonsangkakarn Foundation presents scholarships to children at Wat Chaiyamongkol

Ariyawat Nuamsawat

At a commemoration ceremony held at Wat Chaiyamongkol temple, scholarships totalling 300,000 baht were presented to students from the 10 schools under the care of Pattaya City.

Pra Khru Pisanchariyaphiwat, abbot of Wat Chaiyamongkol, hands out the scholarships.

The religious prayers and presentations were held on September 22 as part of the ceremonies to commemorate the first anniversary of the passing of Pra Khru Viboonsangkakarn the former abbot of Wat Chaimongkol.

Santsak Ngamphiches, advisor to the Deputy Minister of the Interior, and

Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh presented robes to 300 monks and novices at the temple.

A student happily receives his scholarship from Cha-On Chitplume.

The Pra Khru Viboonsangkakarn Foundation distributes the scholarships every year.

This year there was a total of 300,000 baht divided into 300 scholarships at 1,000 baht each. Other private organizations and citizens also donated scholarships including Khun Cha-On Chitpluem who donated 170 scholarships.