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Big C donates 40 scholarships to students in Banglamung
40 students in Pattaya are
receiving financial help in the form of scholarships from Big C Supercenter.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Big C Super Center Foundation North Pattaya Branch and South Pattaya
Branch combined on September 9 to present scholarships to students in
schools under the Education Area Office Zone 3, Banglamung District.
Benja Wongyou, store general manager of Big C Super Center South Pattaya
presided over the ceremony, which was held at the store, and which marked
the third consecutive year for the donations. Forty students were in
attendance.
Big C Super Center Foundation worked with the Education Area Office Zone 3
to select 40 students from the secondary and pre-college levels who have
achieved good school results, and who would benefit most from the
scholarships, which are worth 3,000 baht.
Over the next two months, Big C Super Center Foundation will distribute
2,200 scholarships throughout the country.
The Big C Super Center Foundation was established in 2002 with the purpose
of supporting educational needs by distributing scholarships, supplying
educational equipment, and providing school buildings. The Foundation has
already built and donated seven school buildings, each of six rooms, in Ubon
Ratchathani, Surat Thani, Chiang Rai, Nakhon Pathom, Phitsanulok and Khon
Kaen. The eighth and ninth buildings are currently under construction in
Pattani and Pang Nga. The budget for the construction work comes from the
Big C Super Center Foundation and public donation boxes.
Another remarkable gift
Ewald Dietrich and C.F.
Kruger presented the Father Ray Foundation three cheques worth more than
five million baht from two major institutions in Germany.
Andrew Watson
When I wrote last week, “I must come back here again soon,” I’m not sure
that I envisaged that within a week I would be back at the Pattaya
Orphanage witnessing another extraordinary donation from another
extraordinary group of people.
Ewald Dietrich is president of the Human Help Network, based in Mainz,
about seventy kilometres outside Frankfurt, in Germany. The organisation
works together with specific partner groups in Rwanda, Benin, Thailand,
Germany and Russia. Apart from the voluntary workers in Germany, there
are more than 50 men and women working as teachers and social workers in
the partner projects in each country. Human Help Network provides the
money and technical know-how. The aim of the work in the various
projects is to provide young people with a socio-cultural education
which will help them integrate themselves in normal life.
On this particular occasion, Dietrich was playing Father Christmas,
delivering donations of staggering size and generosity, accompanied by
C.F. Kruger, author and ex-president of the Human Help Network. In
total, they presented three cheques from two major institutions in
Germany which are worth more than five million baht.
There were two donations from Der Bild-Zeitung, Germany’s national
newspaper. One 15,000 euro gift has been used to buy a 58 seater Hino
Bus. Their second gift of 56,000 euros will be used to help finance
parts of the new bus, the new garage and general purpose hall. The third
donation was from Lufthansa, the German national carrier, which raised
38,500 euros in charitable donations which will be used to build the new
library and fill it with new books.
I spoke over coffee with Dietrich and Kruger after the donation
ceremony, where I learned that Human Help Network has been helping the
Father Ray Foundation for almost twenty five years. But, for Dietrich at
least, this was a flying visit. He was off to Vietnam, to deliver more
good news.
If you would like to find out more about the amazing work that is being
done by the Father Ray Foundation, check out their website:
www.fr-ray.org
PILC gears up for annual Holiday Bazaar
The Pattaya International Ladies Club (PILC) charity
Holiday Bazaar to be held the Royal Cliff Hotel on Saturday October 7 begins
at 9:30 a.m. with an opening ceremony. This year, the wife of the governor
of Chonburi province will be the VIP guest and has kindly agreed to open
this annual fundraising event.
 PILC
supports a very special project at the Tamar Centre in Pattaya.
Without the support of sponsors, it would not be possible to stage such
fundraising events. PILC recognises the important contribution made by their
sponsors and thanks Transpo International Ltd. and Volclay Siam, both of
whom agreed to be sponsors again this year, and Foster Wheeler for their
kind donation.
“PILC has over 150 members, comprising 31 nationalities, so we are a truly
international club!” says Gillian Thom, president of PILC. “The aim of the
club is twofold - not only to provide a support network for ladies arriving
in, or retiring to, Pattaya, but also to raise funds for the charitable
projects we support around the area. Many members volunteer their time to
help with these projects, and in addition, we are always keen to develop
relationships with new sponsors, so we can organise future events and raise
the money needed to continue our important welfare work.”
So what are the charities that PILC support?
Helle Rantsen, PILC welfare chairperson, has worked for many
years with various charity organisations. She explains just one area where
some of the money is making a difference to the lives of young women and the
families they support in other parts of Thailand.
“Last year PILC raised over 400,000 baht from the Holiday Bazaar and more
than 600,000 from the 2005 Charity Ball. A lot of very hard work is put into
making these two major events as big a success as possible. PILC members are
fully aware that with sponsorship and the donations collected at the events,
important and necessary welfare work in the Eastern Seaboard can take
place.”
So how did PILC spend the money collected last year?
PILC does not only help and support larger projects/institutions
for children, but has an interest in helping all those in need. That is why
PILC decided to support a very special project at the Tamar Centre in
Pattaya. Every year a new group of 12 women, all of them former prostitutes,
are given a chance to take part in job training and a counselling program to
give them an alternative to prostitution.
Every year large numbers of women and young girls arrive in Pattaya hoping
to find a job in order for them to take care of their families at home. Many
of them end up as prostitutes. The Tamar Centre helps and supports a very
small group of these women, helping them to regain their self respect and
self confidence. PILC wanted to support this important effort and hopes to
continue this support in the future.
You can help PILC continue to support the Tamar Centre, many other
worthwhile causes and those in need of a helping hand. Come to the Holiday
Bazaar at the Royal Cliff Hotel on Saturday October 7. Doors open to the
public at 10 a.m. Entrance donation is 100 baht. Children under 13 free.
For more information about welfare www.123hjemmeside.dk/charitywork-thailand
If you would like more information about PILC, please contact Gillian Thom,
president on 081-762-6003.
Next Event: PILC Charity “Around the World” Gala Ball, Saturday November 25,
2006. The Charity Gala Ball will be at the Royal Cliff Hotel. The special
four-course dinner menu has been designed by the Royal Cliff Hotel executive
chef, and includes wine. There will be live music and dancing until late.
Tickets 1950 baht.
For more information about the Holiday Bazaar or Gala Ball please contact
Roseanne Diamente, special events chairperson on 081-865-0714.
Double glory for Assumption
The victorious Assumption
U-16 team. Also pictured are coach Franz Schwarzwaelder (back row,
second left) and Brother Verayuth Boonpram (back row, centre).
Mark Beales
Assumption College Sriracha
Assumption College Sriracha has scored a double victory in two major
football tournaments. The school’s under-16 students won the government
Khompara competition and then triumphed in a dramatic final of the Air
Force competition.
Assumption’s under-16s had to play a gruelling ten games in 30 days in
order to lift both trophies. The Khompara win was especially important,
as it means ACS now gains promotion to Division One of its league.
ACS beat a string of top teams on the way to the finals, including the
Bangkok Christian College and Watsutee School. In the Khompara
semi-final against Watsutee, Assumption had a player red-carded after 20
minutes, but held on to score the winning goal minutes before the end.
Football coach Franz Schwarzwaelder said the red-card was harsh, but the
boys dug deep for the victory.
In the Khompara final, ACS swept past Assumption College Panitchayaharn
4-0.
The Air Force final, held in Bangkok, was a different matter. Franz, a
former professional footballer in Germany, said their opponents
Assumption College Thonburi is full of national players and is usually
considered unbeatable.
ASC played on the counter-attack and kept the score goalless after the
full 80 minutes were played. The final went to penalties and ASC held
their nerve, with the goalkeeper saving three shots to give the school a
3-2 victory.
As a reward, the team were treated to a short break in Koh Samet.
Franz said he was proud of his team, who had played a lot of games in a
short time to achieve both victories.
Students tour Pattaya Mail offices
Primprao Somsri, Pattaya
Mail executive manager of sales & marketing (right), welcomes the group
of students from the Thai Benja Business Administration Chonburi
College, and brought them to visit all departments.
Narisa Nitikarn
Students from the Thai Benja Business Administration Chonburi College
made an educational visit to the offices of Pattaya Mail Publishing Co
Ltd on September 8, where they saw at first-hand how a weekly newspaper
is compiled and published.
General manager of Pattaya Mail Publishing Co, Kamolthep Malhotra and
Primprao Somsri, executive manager of sales and marketing welcomed the
group of students and teachers, 47 people in total. Teachers Ms Kanokwan
Yongprasittikul and Ms Thanatchaya Chonchaiya led the students, who are
on a two-year vocational course in English business studies, a course
that includes computer graphics.
The school has a policy of arranging field visits for its students, and
of inviting those experienced in English business subjects to give talks
at the school. On this occasion the school selected students from two
streams in Level 2 to show them how the English language is used in a
publishing environment, including the use of abbreviated words in
classified advertising.
Kanokwan and Thanatchaya said that the school uses English language
newspapers in course studies, and that as Pattaya Mail is regarded as
the leading quality English newspaper in the Eastern region, an
educational visit to the offices was felt to be desirable.
Kamolthep and Primprao gave a brief presentation explaining how the main
titles within the group, namely the Pattaya Mail, Pattaya Blatt and
Chiangmai Mail were distributed all over the country, not only in
Pattaya City. They then took the students for a guided tour of the
building, showing them the front office, reporting division, accounting,
graphics and administration.
The students were particularly interested in the reporting division,
having many questions regarding the various steps taken before a news
story appears in print. They also found the graphics department to be of
great interest, and had a lot of questions regarding the use of
software.
At the end of the tour the students had their photograph taken as a
souvenir, and presented a thank-you basket of flowers to Kamolthep and
Primprao.
The Fobissea Music Festival at Garden International School
7th - 12th November 2006
By Andrew Watson
Three weeks into term and all’s well down at Garden International School
(GIS). Preparations for the Fobissea Music festival continue on a daily
basis under the meticulous auspices of the inspiring Shane O’Shea, Head
of Music and his redoubtable team. But hold on a minute, it’s not about
the teachers, is it? Shane and I agreed as much when we chatted the
other week. Time to talk to one of the students then, one among many
whose fantastic potential has flourished ever since the music man from
Waterford came to town.
 Erika
Hampel, amidst the greenery at Garden International School
Erika Hampel is a delightful Year 12 IB Diploma student who has been at
GIS as long as she can remember. She’s seen it all and is quick to
recognise the new dynamism about the school which is both refreshing and
exciting. At last, the school feels like it’s about to take off. Her
enthusiasm mirrors that of her mentors and her smile is as broad as any
I’ve seen.
“It’s going to be a great experience for the students at Garden and all
the other students who are coming. They’ll be able to meet new friends
and learn new things, whether it’s the piano, violin or drums. Many are
coming to Thailand for the first time. It’s really exciting!” enthused
Erika, hardly able to contain herself.
Erika will be playing guitar, samba drums, and singing in the choir as
well as looking after students from another school. As a new IB student,
she’s part of the CAS (Creativity Action, Service) team who will be the
school’s ambassadors when their fellow students arrive in Thailand.
Erika is already in touch with her guests and is looking forward to
being their “tour guide”.
 It’s great to see students being given the opportunity to use their
initiative; they always respond so well to a challenge. Erika feels that
she and her fellow CAS students are absolutely prepared, with the
reassuring figure of Shane O’Shea never far away. “I’m happy with him
being there”, she confirms. “He’s changed the school quite a lot.”
Erika told me about her band, called “IOUD” (Inside Out Upside Down-
great name!) So fluent was Erika’s command of specific musical
vocabulary that I wasn’t overly surprised when I thought she told me
that ‘IOUD’ played ‘Ba-Rock’ music. Actually she said simply, ‘Rock’
music but an imaginative fusion of different genres is just the kind of
inventiveness that’s all over the place at GIS.
Erika’s been playing the drums for one and a half years; inspired by a
music video of a drummer throwing his drumsticks around all over the
place. “That looks cool!” she thought. How’s the choir? “Great! We’ve
got lots of new students. We’re singing baroque, (not again!) and
classical.”
Will this Phillipino/German girl feel nervous, I teased, when the time
comes to perform her solo piece in front of 2,000 people at the
Alangkarn theatre? She wasn’t buying it; “I don’t think I’ll be doing a
solo piece!”
For further information, please email music.fest@ gardenrayong.com or
check at the GIS website; www. gardenrayong.com
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