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Three Pattaya Orphanage students set off for Australia under the auspices of the R.O.S.E. Program
Narisa Nitikarn
Three children left Thailand on May 19 for Australia as part of a
program to further their studies arranged by the Father Ray Foundation
in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Eaglehawk in Bendigo, Australia
and the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya.
 Father
Lawrence Patin (center) and Assaraporn Yolsophn (2nd right) proudly watch
over their children who cheerfully hold on to their airline tickets,
presented by Rtn. Graham Hunt-Crowley, (left) President Max Rommel, (2nd
right) and P.E. Jan Abbink (right)
Howard Osborne, Past President of the Rotary Club of Eaglehawk explains,
“R.O.S.E. stands for Rotary Orphan Students Exchange Program and the
intention of our Rotary club is that each year the program will bring
several senior students from the Pattaya Orphanage to Bendigo for
approximately 10 to12 months, to live with local caring families and attend
an E.S.L. (English as a Second Language) course provided by a local
accredited educational facility.
He said, “It all began when an impassioned request for the program came from
the late Father Raymond Brennan who founded the Pattaya Orphanage. His
devotion to the orphans, the underprivileged, blind and handicapped, the
elderly and street kids amongst others is legendary, not only in Pattaya and
Thailand but throughout the world. His passing in August 2003 has made
Rotary only more determined to ensure that his request to send orphan
students to Australia to learn English is realized. The program will be a
tribute to his memory and works.”
Howard went on to explain, “On Track (State funded Training,
Employment & Business Solutions) is providing the internationally accredited
course free of charge to Rotary because of the international goodwill it
will engender and the humanitarian nature of the program. On Track
has suited the R.O.S.E. Program extremely well. Their personalized approach
has ensured that the students this year not only have a great command of the
English language but they will also obtain additional life skills before
they return to Thailand.
“We are proud to say that so far 5 students traveled to Bendigo during the
program inaugural year in 2004-2005 and 4 students went to Australia in
2005-2006.
“This year we have arranged to send three Thai students who are under the
care of the Father Ray Foundation to Australia where they will study English
and take part in other studies that will help them later to develop a
career.
The three are Miss Patchaporn Sae-Lee, age 18, Mr. Tonut Thongdee, 16, and
Miss Arunee Boonchuay, 16.
“There was only one small difficulty in this story of hope and happiness and
that was, this year, the Rotary Clubs were not able to get support from any
airline for the flight tickets as was the case in previous years, so members
of both the Thai and Ozzie Rotary clubs, together with kind hearted people
in the community, raised enough funds to buy the airline tickets for the 3
children.”
On May 17, President Max Rommel of the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya, along
with president elect Jan Abbink and Rotarian Graham Hunt-Crowley met with
Father Lawrence Patin, director of the Father Ray Foundation and Assaraporn
Yolsophon, director of Pattaya Orphanage to present the airplane tickets to
the kids and wish them bon voyage. The children will return to Thailand in
early March next year.
Jester’s Care for Kids presents scholarships
at Rayong Central Prison
The Jesters presenting
scholarships to the inmates’ children.
Phayom Singhara Na
Ayudhaya welcomes the Jesters group to the prison.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Last week Jester’s ‘Care for Kids’ Charity Drive led by Chairman, Lewis
‘Woody’ Underwood presented 46 scholarships, totaling 66,000 Baht to
children of prisoners at Rayong Central Prison in Nong La-lork village,
Ban Khai district, Rayong province.
 After
a hard day’s trek around the prison grounds, the elders enjoy a foot
massage, administered by the lady inmates.
CEO of the prison, Phayom Singhara Na Ayudhaya gave a warm welcome to
the group and conveyed his grateful appreciation to the club on behalf
on the prisoners. The CEO said Jester’s Care for Kids has been greatly
generous in setting up funds to support parents who are sentenced to
imprisonment at Rayong Central Prison and were facing difficulties in
fostering their children and giving them an education. Khun Phayom said
these kids are studying in schools at different levels and some were not
able to continue their education and had to drop out because their
parents were locked up in prison and were not earning any money to
support them.
Jester’s Care for Kids had a concern over this difficulty, saw it as a
potential social problem and decided to do something about it before it
got out of hand. This scholarship presentation is one of the many
charitable activities that the 2007 Jesters Charity Drive is currently
involved in. Helping needy children in the Chonburi and Rayong
communities is an important role that anyone who is able to help must
play. Currently there are over 3,000 prisoners in the cells and each has
to attend vocational lessons that fit their skills to prepare them for
when they are released and looking for work, the CEO said.
Rayong Central Prison is just two years old, set in eighty-seven rai and
with the facilities to give much needed vocational help to the men and
women serving sentences there.
PILC “I See You” Project gives kids a new outlook on life
 Ingrid
Cunliffe
The Pattaya International Ladies Club visited the Street Kids Home on
Friday May 11, to continue their fabulous “I See You” project, where we
are aiming to get as many children’s eyes tested and if needed supply
the glasses for the children that require them.
Children happily get
their eyes tested by the Smart Eye Optical team.
To date we have tested 45 children from Bang Jing Jai Orphange, with 11
needing eyeglasses, Drop in Center, 20 children were tested, with 5
requiring glasses, and the Fountain Of Life, where 50 children were
tested and 17 needing glasses.
 The
Sreet Kids home has been the largest venue that we have tackled.
We managed to secure the services of Benjapa Sornthai-thewa and team
from Smart Eye Optical in Bangkok, who came down in a bus on Friday with
all the equipment needed and 150 children from this home were tested,
with 40 needing eyeglasses.
Thanks to Benjapa and his team, it was a wonderful day and I really
could not believe how they managed this mammoth task, but it all ran
like a well-oiled machine.
PILC would also like to thank Mari and Khun Tiew, who was our contact
for this wonderful group of opticians. Thank you, Welfare Team, PILC.
Summer Camp fun
ACS students enjoy a trip
to Safari World in Bangkok.
Boxing monkeys and snow rooms were all part of an
action-packed summer camp at Assumption College Sriracha.
ACS ran several English programmes this year during its summer camp.
This included a special camp for students who wanted to prepare for one
of the Cambridge ESOL exams.
One day a week students took a break from their studies to enjoy a day
out. During these trips students visited Safari World – where they saw
boxing monkeys - and Dreamworld in Bangkok – where they were able to
experience the freezing temperatures of a snow room.
Other trips included a visit to Underwater World in Rayong and Suwan
Siam, an artificial beach in Bangkok.
Before the summer camp began, students went away for a camp in
Nakornnayok. They enjoyed abseiling, paint balling and team games as
part of their English camp.
Prathom 3 and 4 youngsters enjoyed four days of fun and educational
activities at the beautiful Royal Hills Resort.
The group spent a day at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy where
they experienced activities such as the flying fox; abseiling; paint
balling; and laser target practice.
Teachers Mr. Chris, Mr. Garth, Mr. Eric, Miss Melanie, Mr. Michael and
Mr. Andrew helped make the camp a success, with help from Thai teachers
Neng, Took, Got, Aoh, Mam and Tar. For more on ACS visit www.acs.ac.th.
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