Up until recently there were only two trained welfare
caseworkers for the Royal British Legion who covered the whole of
Thailand, Bert Elson based in Chonburi and Glenn Croston in Chiang Mai.
Both of these had travelled as far as Hat Yai, Udon Thani and all points
in between to visit those in need who were in hospital or housebound.
Things have now improved vastly due to a course recently held in
Pattaya.
Graham Macdonald, president of
the Royal British Legion Thailand presents a certificate of thanks to
Bert Elson for the welfare work carried out in Thailand.
In May, Bert Elson attended not only an advanced
caseworkers course in the UK but also a trainers course to enable him to
pass this on to potential caseworkers in Thailand.
Bert held his first course in August with a total of
eight students from Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Korat and Chonburi, all being
put through their paces with lectures, discussions, presentations, case
studies, role plays and of course exams.
The course covered such things as the history of the
Royal British Legion and its Welfare structure, the case working process
and planning your visit, eligibility, effective communication and
establishing need, hospital and housebound visits, statutory benefits,
vulnerable people and ending with detailed reports and forms. All this
was carried out over a two day period in the MBMG/MLG offices on South
Pattaya Road and we thank them for the use of such fine facilities.
All the candidates passed the course and in fact one
is now dealing with a case in North Thailand, we hope to spread our
wings further by training caseworkers for the likes of Phuket and other
islands, the North East and Central Thailand along with wherever there
is an ex-service community.
The Royal British Legion Thailand is open to all
members of the community and you do not need to have served in the UK
Armed Forces to become a member. You must, however, abide by our
principles, being the care of those that have served, are serving and/or
their dependents. We meet every Sunday at Tropical Bert’s on Second Road
or contact Bert for further details.
