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Students join forces to help less-fortunate children
Students help lug water to feed the
plants.
Mark Beales
Students from a Bangkok school recently went to work in the fields as
part of a project to help underprivileged children.
Students also helped bring water to the boars.
Teachers and 17 students from the German Language School
of Bangkok lent a hand at the Huay Yai Child Protection and Development
Centre near Pattaya.
The Grade 8 youngsters, from the RIS Swiss Section of the
school, watered plants, fed pigs and helped provide tools and equipment for
the centre. They spent four days playing with the children and helping
improve their centre, while some students also went to Pattaya Orphanage for
two days.
Teacher Sabina Langrehr said the school heard about the
centre from the German ambassador, who had himself raised funds for two
homes there. Students held a charity event in January and used some of the
proceeds to help the Huay Yai youngsters.
Paul Strachan (center) interviews teachers Sabina Langrehr (left) and Thomas Ehrmann (right) for Pattaya Mail TV.
She said the students had worked hard, adding: “They were
hot, they had blisters on their hands and some slipped over, but they never,
ever complained.”
When they first arrived they realised the centre had no
tools, so a sponsor was found and the tools were put to use. They also
brought along footballs and basketballs and played with the youngsters.
Teacher Thomas Ehrmann said a barbecue was planned but
there were no grills, so the students clubbed together to buy one, and the
teachers chipped in to buy a second.
200 youngsters to sing and dance in Pattaya Young Talent contest
Contestants, organizers and judges gather to announce
the Yamaha Pattaya Young Talent competition.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Almost 200 talented youngsters will sing and dance for a
shot at professional music lessons at the second Yamaha Pattaya Young
Talent competition March 6-7 at Central Festival Pattaya Beach.
The contest, sponsored by the Yamaha Music Institute
and the Tiffany Show, will see children and teens compete in five
categories in hopes of winning the HRH Princess Soamsawalee trophy,
cash, discounts and singing lessons from Siam Kolkarn Music.
This weekend’s 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. semifinalist round
features five competition categories: Twenty children under age 12 will
sing Thai folks songs. Another twenty will compete singing modern Thai
and international songs. Seventeen age 12-18 youngsters will go head to
head for Thai folks songs while 35 will sing modern and international
songs. Twenty-two bands will also compete in the teen modern/modern
category.
In the final category, 20 teams of youngsters will
compete in the “street dance” competition, which is being held for the
first time this year.
Winners in this weekend’s round will go on to the
finals March 16-18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tiffany Theater. Tickets
are available for 100-200 baht at 038-421-700-5.
Singing winners will receive professional training
from qualified instructors at Siam Kolkarn Music School while all teams
will win a trophy, 2,000-5,000 baht each and honors from Siam Kolkarn.
Band winners will receive 10,000 baht cash and 10,000 baht in discounts
from Siam Kolkarn while runners up will receive 5,000-7,000 baht and
discounts from the school.
“This year the contest will probably be harder than
the first year, thanks to the prizes from Siam Kolkarn Music School,
which is part of the Yamaha Music Institute,” said Alisa Phanthusak,
assistant to the managing director for the Tiffany Show and the talent
competition’s organizer.
UN visits Asian University
Michelle Lee gives students and faculty
at Asian
University a wide ranging talk about the UN.
Susan Joyce
On 24 February Asian University was delighted to welcome
Michelle Lee, who recently retired from the United Nations (UN), and two
of her ex colleagues. She gave a wide ranging talk about the UN and then
answered the numerous questions from students and staff.
Michelle has worked for the UN for over thirty years,
starting as an administrator and then participating in the areas of
Peacekeeping and International Justice. She started her presentation
with a quiz, to see how much (or little) everyone knew about the UN.
Founded in 1945, there are now 192 member states and fifteen members
(including five permanent members) on the Security Council. There are
six official languages of the UN, and all documents are prepared in
these. However English and French are the working languages on a day to
day basis.
Michelle told us about some of her experiences while
working in Serbia, Cambodia, Thailand, Namibia and other parts of the
world. She admitted that sometimes the UN is more successful than
others. Clearly she found it interesting working in such a multi
cultural, multi racial, multi lingual organization, and said that
sometimes it was better to “agree to differ” with colleagues coming from
a different background. Understanding one another was essential to work
together effectively.
Dr. Viphandh Roengpithya, the university president,
thanked Michelle and her colleagues for visiting Asian University, and
looked forward to further contact in the future.
A large and diverse group pays close attention to
Michelle Lee’s presentation.
Blind athletes prepare for Surin Games
Blind students perform the Seong Kratib dance during
the opening ceremonies.
Saksiri Uraiworn
Blind athletes planning to take part in the Sports for
Students with Disabilities competition March 5-9 in Surin warmed up for
the tournament with a special Sports Day at the Redemptorist School for
the Blind.
Sight challenged athletes parade into the sports arena.
Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh and Nongprue
Mayor Mai Chaiyanit opened the Feb. 24 event also attended by Rev. Weera
Phangrak, director of the Pattaya Child Welfare Foundation, and Nittaya
Patimasongkroh, chairwoman of the Y.W.C.A. Bangkok-Pattaya Center.
Festivities started with an opening gong and
presentation of the Sports Day torch, carried by a blind runner. Musical
performances from blind students followed.
Racing towards the finish line.
The sporting event had athletes segregated into two
teams and emphasized development of movement, such as running without
assistance, skipping and participating in a relay race. An organized
cheering squad gave the athletes a morale boost and a smile, whilst
cheering in their uniforms created from recycled materials, such as
colorful plastic bags.
School Principal Aurora Sribuaphan said Sports Day
has been a regular event on the calendar since 1993 and regularly sends
students to national disabled-athletes competitions. The national games
include swimming, judo, track and field, and goal ball, an international
sport specifically for the blind. Athletes from the Redemptorist School
for the Blind have also competed in local and national marathons and
international competitions.
Cheering squads boost the morale of the competitors.
120 Chonburi youth trained as volunteer anti-drug guards
Deputy governors Sunthorn Ratanawaraha and Pornchai
Kwansakul
open the first of several planned youth camps.
Theerarak Suthathiwong
A group of 120 Chonburi young people attended a
three-day drug-prevention camp established as part of the National Guard
Youth Volunteers program.
Chonburi deputy governors Sunthorn Ratanawaraha and
Pornchai Kwansakul opened the first of several planned youth camps Feb.
23 in cooperation with the 14th Army Region. The program was for youth
ages 15-25 with good behavior and academic performance. Future camps
will take similar groups from different Chonburi districts.
Organizers said the program gives the young people
knowledge about drugs and the dangers that go with their use. As
National Guard Youth Volunteers, they’ll take an active role in
protecting their neighborhoods from drug users.
Sunthorn said illegal drug use is increasingly a
problem in Chonburi and the volunteer program is a way to directly teach
young people to abstain from drug use, but also help influence others.
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