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YWCA ‘Happy Family’ project receives 100,000 baht boost
Vimolrat
Singnikorn
Srisuvit School donated 100,000 baht to fund scholarships and other
efforts of the YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya Center’s “Happy Family” project.
(L to R) Nonglak Fakrit, principal
at Srisuvit School, presents 100,000 baht to Nittaya Patimasongkroh,
chairwoman of the YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya Center and Praichit Jaetapai,
environmental committee chairwoman.
Srisuvit Principal Nonglak Fakrit, who also is the
fundraising chairwoman for the YWCA, presented the money to Chairwoman
Nittaya Patimasongkroh March 6 at the Alcazar Theater. The funds were raised
through the sale of tickets to parents of primary and secondary school
students at Srisuvit’s graduation ceremony.
The Happy Family project was begun in 1990 as a royal
merit-making effort honoring HRH Princess Sirindhorn to support
underprivileged youngsters and women. It has continued until this day.
“Education is an important way to develop the country and
schools in Pattaya and Banglamung still have some students in need of
significant educational support,” Nittaya said. The Happy Family project,
she added, gives poor students an opportunity to get a proper education.
The 100,000 baht donation will fund 10 scholarships and support the
YWCA’s school lunch program for poor students.
Youngsters line up on stage preparing to receive their
graduation certificates.
Cuts in pregnancies, drug use, violence among goals of 5-year youth program
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Reducing unplanned pregnancies and drug use, preventing
violence and bolstering support for street children and mental health
services for young people are the goals of a five-year “Pattaya Children
and Youth Quality of Life Development Plan” being drafted by City Hall,
charity groups and orphanages.
Committee Chairman Dr. Sunantha Osiri, Assistant
Professor of Pharmaceuticals from Burapha University addresses the
committee.
The goals were laid out at a March 3 technical
committee meeting at Pattaya City Hall led by Dr. Sunantha Osiri, Master
of Public Health, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceuticals from Burapha
University, and attended by representatives from the Pattaya
Redemptorist Home for Children, Father Ray Foundation, Ban Jing Jai
Orphanage and others.
“Pattaya City has a responsible network of state and
private agencies, local communities and organizations to improve the
quality of life for young people, but it requires constant work. It
should not be started then forgotten,” Sunantha said. “It must link to
other activities for education, adjust attitudes and foster life skills,
as well as provide health and social services. This requires everyone to
integrate their services.”
The plan calls for unplanned teen pregnancies to
decrease to under 10 percent of all births and young drug users in
Pattaya to comprise less than 5 percent of the population within five
years. It also calls for those under age 18 to comprise less than 10
percent of all patients hospitalized due to violence in the same time.
Finally, the committee set as goals an increase in social services
directed toward street children and youth mental health.
Asian University Electrical Engineering Department commended
by Thailand Research Fund
Faculty and students from the Asian University
Electronic Engineering Department were recently commended by Thailand
Research Fund.
Thailand Research
Fund
On March 5, 2010, the Thailand Research Fund (TRF)
announced the official results of the quality assessment of academic
research outputs in science and technology for the discipline level of
Thai higher education institutions in 2010.
There were a total of 436 disciplines from 36 Thai
higher education institutions participating in this assessment. Four
indicators with appropriate weighting were employed; i.e., the
equivalent international journal publication per faculty member (30%),
the journal impact factor per faculty member (20%), the equivalent
international journal publication per discipline (30%), and the journal
impact factor per discipline (20%).
For the discipline of electrical engineering, the
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EE) in the Faculty
of Engineering and Technology at Asian University obtained the maximum
scores for the first two indicators with the TRF Index of 4.2 and the
overall rating of 4 out of 5 scaling.
For this national academic research achievement, the
TRF will provide a maximum of 50,000 baht research funding to support
research activities in the EE department at Asian University.
United Group donates 250,000 baht to Pattaya Orphanage
(Adults, left to right) Mayuree looks on as Neville Krogh donates the
250,000 baht collected at the annual United Group in Hong Kong staff
party to Fr. Michael Weera Phangrak.
Radchada Chomjinda
Once again, at the annual staff party of the United Group
in Hong Kong, sponsor Neville Krogh led to the collection of 250,000
baht for the Pattaya Orphanage. Neville and his lovely wife Mayuree
handed over the funds on March 6.
Mayuree and Neville take time out from the presentation to visit with
the orphans.
This contribution will go towards the replacement of
computer sets and sign language programs at the School for Deaf Computer
Lab. Our dear sponsor and his wife, Mayuree, also hosted dinner for
children on behalf of the staff at the Southern Star Hotel at the same
occasion.
Thank you very much for your continued kind support and generosity.
May God bless you and your family always.
Rolling Stone bar helps Center ‘get some satisfaction’
Norman Vernon, far right, and Steve Williams, third from left,
present more Wii-fit kits to children at the Camillian Center.
Mark Beales
Generous party-goers dug deep and helped raise funds for
an HIV/AIDS Center.
A party was held at the Rolling Stone Bar 2 in
Walking Street on February 28. A collection raised 50,000 baht for the
Camillian Center in Rayong.
Norman relaxes next to the newly tiled pool at the
Camillian Center.
Norman Vernon, who has raised funds for the center
since 2006, said the afternoon party had been a huge success, with food,
drinks and live music.
Vernon praised the bar’s owners Garry Strickleton and
his wife Noi, for helping to put on the event.
Several projects have recently been completed at the
center, costing more than 200,000 baht.
A Nintendo set with Wii-fit board are now in place, a
Christmas party was organized, and satellite TV has been paid for to
cover the next 12 months.
A swimming pool that was also created thanks to
Vernon’s fundraising has now had its walls tiled, with some relief
paintings added.
At the nearby Garden of Eden, the Latkrabang center
for the disabled and the Independent Living Center for teenagers,
several 40-inch Plasma TVs, Nintendos and Wii-fit boards are in place,
and parties have been held to entertain the residents.
Vernon said, “All the children seem to love the Wii
games. All the kids are well and happy and I personally am pleased to
have achieved all this in a very bad financial time here in Pattaya.”
Vernon also praised his friend Steve Williams for his
help in completing all the projects.
The Camillian Center cares for adults and children
with HIV/AIDS.
Vernon began helping in 2006 when he created a
“Kindness Room” for children to relax, play and watch television. In
2007 he went back to his native England to raise funds for a games room
and then went one step further and built an entire swimming pool at the
center. All the facilities have been created thanks to fundraising
Vernon did in England and in Pattaya.
Fundraisers Norman Vernon (third right, kneeling) and
Steve Williams (far right) present a Wii-fit to children at the
Camillian Center.
Garry Strickleton, Norman Vernon, Father Giovanni and
others pose with the kids from the Camillian Center during their visit
to the Rolling Stone fundraising party.
Champion’s shirt helps home for blind
Bert Elson from Tropical Bert’s presents Aurora and
the children at the blond school some of the 600kgs of pork ribs donated
by Asia West Fine Foods.
Mark Beales
A school for blind children has been given a boost -
thanks to a rare football shirt.
George Barrie’s brother-in-law played for Celtic in
the 1967 European Cup final. When his signed shirt was auctioned off in
Pattaya it raised 66,000 baht.
George visited the Redemptorist School for the Blind
in Pattaya on February 26 to hand over half of the money raised, 33,000
baht. He said his sister had visited Thailand and was so impressed with
the charity work she saw, she decided to help out by donating the shirt.
The children were served a delicious lunch during the
day.
He added: “My sister visited and saw the work the
Father Ray Foundation was doing. She was especially impressed with the
Drop-In Centre. She was then kind enough to donate this shirt, which I
didn’t even know existed. It was signed by the ‘Lisbon Lions’ and we
auctioned it at a charity night at Tropical Bert’s.”
The rest of the money raised went to various
charities.
The Lisbon Lions was the nickname given to the
victorious Scottish team, which included George’s late brother-in-law,
Bobby Murdoch. Murdoch, who also briefly managed Middleborough, won 12
caps for Scotland. He died in 2001.
The shirt auction was at Tropical Bert’s bar, which
is the official branch of the Royal British Legion and is in line for a
top award from a national UK newspaper. It is in the finals of the Daily
Telegraph’s Best of British awards, and hopes to be named as the top
social club.
Tropical Bert’s has already won the area final and is
now waiting anxiously to hear if it is the overall winner.
Bert Elson, from the bar, also visited the blind
school to make an unusual donation - 600kgs of pork ribs. The food was
donated by his meat supplier, Asia West Fine Foods.
George Barrie hands over money raised in an auction
at Tropical
Bert’s to Aurora and the children at the blind school.
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