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Garbage for eggs teaches
students value of recycling
From right: Apple Thamcharoen
(YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya committee), Malee Paeseng (Level 2 Educator at School
#7), Nittaya Patimasongkroh (chairwoman of the YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya Center),
Visa Chimdee (YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya committee), Naulnooch Phetchawee (YWCA
Bangkok-Pattaya PR committee), Dutduen Rungwettiwon (activities chairwoman
for YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya Center), and School 7 students attend the “1st
recyclables exchanged for eggs” event in the Nong Phangkhae community.
Narisa Nitikarn
A project in which recyclable goods have been exchanged for eggs has been
carried out by Pattaya School No 7 and the Nong Phangkhae Community, and
organized by the YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya Center.
 YWCA
Bangkok-Pattaya Chairwoman Nittaya Patimasongkroh (left) asks, “Do you have
more crates to exchange for eggs?”
The exchange took place at Nong Phangkhae Community Office on January 26,
with YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya chairwoman Nittaya Patimasongkroh present.
Nittaya said that items such as paper, paper boxes, newspaper, bottles and
cans all have a value, and that the project was carried out to educate
pupils that recycling garbage has a practical use as well as being
environmentally sound.
Twenty-three packs of eggs, each pack with 30 eggs, were ready to be
exchanged for recyclable produce. Many people brought along recyclables for
exchange, and the project was so successful the intention now is to hold it
in a series of communities.
The YWCA has been working for a while with School No 7 on environmental
conservation, and in December presented two bicycles to students who scored
the highest number of points during the recyclable goods program. This month
will see the presentation of two more bicycles for scores accrued during
January.
Educator Malee Paeseng said that the pupils were taught the value of the
items being recycled; for example, cans are worth 50 satang each, and paper
and plastic bottles are 10 baht per kilogram. On this basis, one egg is
being given for each 2 baht in value of recyclable materials. Goods
collected are passed on to a buyer.
School No 7 has set each Tuesday and Friday, from 7 to 8 a.m. and 2 to 5 pm.
as the times the recycle bank is open to the public.
Bring in your recyclables to
exchange for eggs.
Tiger cubs a hit with the pupils of Wat Manorom during Zoo Outreach program
A porcupine quill is so
sharp.
Don’t eat my fingers.
Narisa Nitikarn
Two tiger cubs that had been born at Khao Kheow Open Zoo were the
favorite attraction when hundreds of pupils from Wat Manorom School
visited the zoo on January 30.
The visit, the second in the zoo’s Outreach program, was co-arranged by
Khao Kheow and the Esso oil refinery in Sriracha.
Pupils from Wat Manorom School, which is located in Laem Chabang, were
hosted by zoo director Suriya Saengpong and Esso’s public relations
manager Pirot Sasiwongpakdee, and accompanied by school director
Mangkorn Pliansamai.
The children were able to see Siberian tiger cubs, jaguar cubs, bearcat
cubs, porcupines, pythons, and other exotic forms of wildlife, all in a
natural environment. The 50-day-old Siberian tiger cubs and the
30-day-old jaguar cubs attracted the most interest.
The youngsters were also thrilled to be let up close to the bearcat
cubs, especially when the keeper said the cubs were naturally dangerous
to humans, but had been fed and trained so that they could be approached
without danger.
Pirot said that the first Outreach program had been arranged for Laem
Chabang School, and was considered a great success. Wat Manorom School
was therefore chosen as the second school. He said that initially the
program is aimed at schools in the Laem Chabang area, where the Esso
refinery is located, but there are plans to later extend to other areas.
The children are quite
taken in by the Siberian tiger cub.
Central Pattaya Chumchon holds
grand opening for Reading Center
Mayoral advisor Ittipol
Khunplome (back row, center) and the community at Chumchon Pattaya Klang
celebrate the grand opening of their new reading center.
Sukanya Seaton
On Thursday January 18 at 9 a.m., the reading center in Chumchon Pattaya
Klang had its grand opening. Ittipol Khunplome, adviser to the mayor of
Pattaya City, had the honour of cutting the ribbon for the chumchon (slum)
and student center for extracurricular education.
He gave an introduction and spoke to the people about the importance of
extra education. He was welcomed by the leader of the chumchon area, Saaed
Phobmrong and the teacher of extracurricular education, Prakid Inthawond,
who is the host and leader of this project.
We would like to thank everyone for their cooperation. We hope in time the
reading center will become of great use for the students and the people
living in the area.
One man with a purpose provides
disabled students with a bigger picture
Video editing opens new world for the disabled
Paul Strachan
The Redemptorist Vocational School for the Disabled works with, and
educates, people with a wide range of disabilities.
For many students life holds limited prospects, with their disabilities
regarded as a huge obstacle.
 Stephen
Yan, who has been in the business for thirty years in North America, found
that this was the most challenging job he has ever had.
Recently Stephen Yan, a man with a wealth of knowledge in front of and
behind the camera decided it was time to share his knowledge and set up a
video-editing suite that would give the students experience in the exciting
world of visual media.
Stephen Yan first came to the School for the Disabled in September last
year, and saw that the students and staff there faced many challenges.
At first he was bewildered, wondering how he could manage to teach the
students, because many are so severely handicapped. Some have fingers
missing, and one student has no right arm: how, Stephen wondered, could he
teach a student with no right arm to operate a right-handed camera, or
students with missing fingers how to manipulate delicate equipment?
 (l-r)
Mongkol Kaewrat, Paisan Khontan and Kamprai Saiyasat are now filming,
editing and preparing productions for the Tourism Authority in Thailand and
with Stephen Yan’s help they are all now focused on a brighter and better
future.
Stephen doesn’t speak Thai and the students have only a limited amount of
English, so he uses an electronic dictionary and sign language to
communicate. He found that he had to repeat himself many times before the
students fully understood what he was trying to say. Something that would
normally take five minutes to teach became amazingly complicated.
Stephen found that he had to have a lot of patience, which was something he
had lacked in the past. However, the students’ willingness to learn made him
more understanding, and he began to feel more at ease with himself, and to
realize he could do what he had set out to do.
For the student who has only a left arm, Stephen came up with a way to
operate the camera, teaching the student how to hold the camera, how to
stabilize it, how to open the viewfinder, and of course how to hit that
all-important record button.
Stephen found Thailand couldn’t provide the latest equipment that he needed,
so he went back to Canada and bought three cameras that could be operated by
his disabled students. Now they can do all that is necessary for video
editing in the broadcasting world.
Stephen has been in the business for thirty years in North America and found
that this was the most challenging job he has ever had. He says it was a
great challenge to get the equipment, and get a dedicated room including a
green screen. But now they have a production room that they can share and
where they can learn every day and do the various projects.
So far they have done forty projects and traveled as far as Suphanburi in
the North of Thailand to film the disabled sports event.
Stephens’s goal is to do something for the community so that they can work
together and understand each other, and build awareness of the variety of
life in Pattaya.
This is believed to be the only production training course for handicapped
people in the world.
After just three months the students have learnt a lot and Stephen was
amazed at how they have progressed.
His passion for educating and helping is clear and he believes that there is
a great future for his students. He says they can work at studios or
production houses, or even, given the developments in editing software, open
their own small business and undertake work on a contract basis. The work
potential, he says, is very broad: everything from TV and movies to music
videos and training films.
Surasit Duangapaiwong, a student at the Redemptorist Vocational School for
the Disabled said that he previously worked for a small salary and felt his
life was going nowhere. Then one day he heard about the school so he applied
to join.
This improved his life. Then Stephen came along, and Surasit went along to
find out what it was all about. At first, the work was difficult, as he had
never touched this kind of equipment before.
Now he loves it, so much so he has bought his own camera.
He knows that many challenges still lie ahead but now he has the confidence
to develop his life and get a good job, and therefore to look after his
family.
Another student, Monkol Kaewrat, who has severe disabilities, said that his
life had no direction but since he joined the video editing program he feels
he has a purpose.
He also heard about the foreign man teaching at the school and decided to
apply for the course.
Now these students are filming, editing and preparing productions for the
Tourism Authority in Thailand and with Stephen Yan’s help they are all now
focused on a brighter and better future.
A date for your diary: “Thailand’s Future In Colour”-
PILC and Gallery Opium, Pattaya
Exhibition of Children’s Art, Saturday 28th April 2007
Local children will be hard at
work, creating their best art to go up in Gallery Opium in April.
Elaine Poole, PILC
The Gallery Opium, Thepprasit Road, Pattaya, has kindly offered its gallery
space, expertise and services to help the Pattaya International Ladies Club
(PILC) organize a special exhibition of children’s artwork.
The artwork will be produced by underprivileged children from five different
schools or centers that the PILC support and work with, namely Ban Jing Jai
Street Kids Home; Fountain of Life; the Mercy Centre; Wat Nong Ket Noi
School and the Drop In Centre. The children will have about four weeks to
complete their work. This will be the gallery’s first exhibition of artwork
created by local children.
At the beginning of March the works will be given to Gallery Opium for
judging. Alan Kirkland-Roath of Gallery Opium, and Liam O’Keefe of Liam’s
Gallery, both of whom are very active in the local art scene in Pattaya,
have already agreed to act as two of the judges. The judges will select
approximately 40 pieces of work they consider outstanding. These will be
framed and exhibited on the evening of 28th April.
There will be four categories, under 6 years old; 6 to 9 years; 10 to 13
years and 14-17 years. The artists of the two best works in each category
will be awarded first and second prizes, and there will be an “honorable
mention” third prize. The winning child artists will also be invited to
attend the opening of the exhibition to receive the prizes. Television and
press reporters will be there to record the presentations.
All artworks exhibited will all be available for purchase on the night with
all proceeds going directly to charity.
It is hoped that the children will be inspired to express themselves and
create some interesting work. The chance to have their work exhibited at a
major art gallery; be on television and in the press, the possibility of
being awarded a prize and someone buying their work should be a great boost
to their confidence and self-esteem.
PILC are very grateful to Alan Kirkland-Roath and Linda Lyen of Gallery
Opium for kindly offering to hold this exhibition and for all their help in
organizing the event.
This should be a very interesting and stimulating project for the children
and the exhibition opening on Saturday 28th April is sure to be enjoyable.
So put the date in your diary and come along on the night, see the lovely
works the children have produced and if you like one, make the donation and
take it home! Maybe one day the artist will be famous - who knows?
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