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Handing out help to children in need
Youngsters have fun at the sleepover.
Mark Beales
A new group for underprivileged children is proving so
popular it has had to expand.
Hand to Hand Ministries began in January with just 12
children from the Pattaya area who met once a week. As word grew about the
games and activities, numbers quickly grew and the group had to move to a
bigger room to accommodate the extra children - about 35 youngsters now
attend each time. The group is in room 225/107 in Duck Square, which is
opposite Big C on South Pattaya Road.
Every Monday and Tuesday the center is open from 4.30
p.m. - 7.30 p.m. for children aged 5-16. Youngsters can play with Lego,
dolls and cars, or try their hand at table tennis, snooker, painting,
drawing, reading and creative crafts. At 6.15 p.m. everyone shares dinner
and there is time for games and songs before closing at 7.30 p.m.
On Saturdays, Hand to Hand opens at 2 p.m. At 3 p.m.
everyone stops for a story and a craft activity which are then usually
displayed for a few weeks before being taken home. The children are then
given a snack, and play more games and sing songs before leaving at 5 p.m.
The Brotherhood, a cafe next to the group, helped out by
hosting a sleepover party and by adopting Hand to Hand as its community
service project.
The group is run by volunteer Margaret Grainger, is
completely free and relies on donations to provide all the free food, games
and activities.
Hand to Hand held a sleepover on October 22 with 50
people. The Brotherhood hosted a party with food and drinks and donated
sleeping mats for the children to be used during a pre-school day. They also
printed 150 T-shirts printed with the mission’s logo for the children.
Also in the same place, from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m.
- 4 p.m. there is a free pre-school for children under 6 years of age, where
they can come and learn in a safe and secure environment.’
There is no charge for any of the activities. Visitors are welcome to
drop by and see what takes place.
The
Brotherhood gives new T-shirts to volunteer Margaret Grainger (center).
After
all that fun, time to sleep.
Children
enjoy the sleepover at Hand in Hand.
The
children love their new T-shirts, donated by the Brotherhood Cafe.
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GIS is star struck
Jakki and Seren, Class
6W
On Tuesday 2nd November 2010, 41 Year 6 and 7 students
from Garden International School went to Bangkok on a trip to the
Planetarium and Science Centre, to help them in their science work.
Sonal
and Shilpi test their reaction speed.
It was about a two and a half hour journey, so they were
very relieved when they were greeted and taken to the planetarium almost
immediately after getting of the mini buses. In the planetarium they were
shown a large number of constellations, stars and signs of the zodiac. Also
they saw how lots of different telescopes are used and made.
Jignil Shah had this to say, “It was very exiting
learning about the person who was the first to see Jupiter through a
telescope.”
All the students were stunned when they walked into the
science museum shortly after being in the planetarium, for there were lots
of different exhibits that they could try out and diagrams they could look
at.
They also went to an aquarium where there were lots of
different fish in their different habitats, such as seahorses, clams and
clown fish. They also went to a natural history museum, where they were
shown lots of fossils and dinosaur skeletons.
All of the children hope that they can go again next
year.
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Child labor - we are all
essentially the same
Francis Calalang,
9Y
Child labor is a topic which Year 9 and some IGCSE
ESL students have been studying. It is a topic which repeats itself in
history.
Sister Joan.
“Are there other differences between you and less
privileged children?”
Sister Joan and Sister Michelle asked this question
to all of the Year 9 students during a recent presentation which they
gave when they came to the Regent’s School, Pattaya.
The sisters came from the Fountain of Life Children’s
and Women’s Center in Pattaya. They shared with us what the lives of
many children and women were like before they came to the center,
concentrating on the different forms of child labor which can be found
in and around Pattaya and some of the reasons for it.
Both sisters helped us to consider how child labor
affects the lives of children of our age, who are less fortunate than
us. In addition, they discussed with us ways in which child labor could
be tackled, not just by government, but by us as individuals.
Sister Michelle.
So, the answer to the sisters’ original question
seems to be that we are all essentially the same. However, students at
the Regent’s School have access to sufficient food, education, shelter
and a loving environment. That there are many children in our wider
community who do not have access to all of these things places them in
danger of being exploited.
Educating the wider community of this situation
appears to be a key to reducing child labor, as well as enabling the ‘at
risk’ children to gain access to sufficient food, education, shelter and
a loving environment.
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St Andrews celebrate cultural diversity
Mr Damon Parker and
Mrs Tracy King, Teachers at St Andrews
St Andrews on November 1 held their annual
International Day celebrations. On this day once a year the students,
parents and teachers are encouraged to come to school dressed in either
a national costume or a costume which represents a country. Most people
come along to represent their own nationality, but a few of the more
adventurous chose costumes from other nations.
The day started with a tour of nations with students,
teachers and parents joining their fellow countrymen and women in a
parade before all the other members of our community.
The enthusiasm was visible as the noise of anthems
filled the air and the students waited with baited breath for their turn
to represent their countries. The flag bearers carried their nation’s
flags with pride as they led the students around the hard court. The
finale was the Thai parade with the majority of students taking part.
After all countries present had been represented in
the parade students began a series of activities organised by teachers
and some parents to introduce them to some traditional national crafts,
games and past-times from countries all over the world. These included
line dancing, French boulles, making som tam, vegetable carving and many
others.
At lunch time a feast awaited everyone. Prepared by
parents and staff many traditional food items were available for
everyone to enjoy in the company of their friends, whatever their
nationality or culture. It was a fantastic day which not only showed the
true diversity of nationalities and cultures at our school, but also the
international nature of the friendships that exist within our community.
In the Secondary
School
The day started with a flurry of excitement as the
students admired each other’s attempts at national dress. After the flag
parade the students were put in groups and then went to two assigned
activities. The choice was astounding this year and they had the
opportunity to experience a new language: Arabic or Welsh; try out their
hand at a new craft: Malaysian moon kites or pumpkin carving; or
possibly do some cooking with the male members of staff: apple crumble
or pie and chips!
Then, if that wasn’t enough enjoyment for one day,
there was a house quiz with the teams being split into two and they had
to name the food and animals of countries represented and then complete
a political round of questions. The students had great fun shouting out
their answers!
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200 walk for breast cancer research
Some of
the walkers gather on stage to begin the World Pink Charity Walk to raise
funds to support patients with breast cancer at Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s
Center.
Vimolrat Singnikorn
About 200 Pattaya-area residents joined fundraisers in
three other cities in raising money for breast cancer research by taking a 4
km “World Pink Charity Walk” around the beachfront.
Pattaya City Manager Suntgorn Ratanawara kicked off the
Oct. 30 walk-a-thon at Central Festival Pattaya Beach at 6 a.m. Clad in pink
event t-shirts they purchased for 350 baht each, the men and women strolled
along Beach Road to South Road, came back along Beach Road and returned to
Central Festival to complete the loop.
Women
are taught the correct way to self examine for breast cancer.
The Pattaya march was one of four staged around the
country. Charity walkers also took to the streets in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and
Korat.
Sponsored by cosmetics maker Estee Lauder Co. the
“Talking and Sharing to Prevent and Overcome Breast Cancer” event helped
raise funds for cancer research at Queen Sirikit Hospital in Sattahip.
Big
smiles as the intrepid marchers begin their journey.
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