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GIS raises funds for Fobissea Primary Games participation
PTTCG is generously
sponsoring Fobissea. Choawanee Panpruk, Social Enterprise Manager from
PTTCG, gave 300 water bottles to Miss Lucy.
Mark Beales
A mammoth fundraising effort has helped support an
international sports event for students near Pattaya.
Swimming, goalkeeping, a sporting mufti day and a raffle
have all helped raise funds for the Group C Fobissea Primary Games, which
were held from June 5-9 at Garden International School Rayong. This
mini-Olympics saw students from Nepal, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand
compete.
Left or right? GIS students
try to beat their keeper/teacher.
A sponsored swim event was organized in GIS on May 16
from 3.30pm to 4.30pm to raise money for Fobissea. A total of 27 children
took part, who all collected sponsorship money. The most number of lengths
was done by a Year 6 student, Sang Hyun, who managed an incredible 131
lengths!
It was a big success and all the money collected went to
Fobissea funds. Money raised helped cover the costs of GIS students
representing the school at the games.
Recently there was also a fun-filled “Beat the Keeper”
competition in secondary. Held over five lunchtimes, students paid 20B for
the chance to take a penalty against our team of all-star goalkeepers.
Mr Beales, Mr Elderkamp, Miss Morris, Mr Ball, Mr Baker
and Miss Austin were the keepers who tried valiantly to save all the
penalties.
More fundraising came in the form of a raffle, which
raised thousands of baht.
MBf Taylors generously agreed to sponsor the swimming
kits and hats. We are also very grateful to the other sponsors: Fairway
Thailand, PTT Global Chemical, SCI, Crathco, Advance Media, Lawton Asia,
Elite Printer, Hydro-Tech, Union Sime Derby, Thunder Cranes (L) Ltd.,
Ruampat Rayong Hospital, Mr. Frank & Khun Su Nichols and Mr Barry Soanes.
(Right) Students swim to help
their Fobissea fund.
GIS students prepare for a
sponsored swim.
Another student in the pool to
help the Fobissea fund.
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Singsamut students flagged to start
new school year
It’s flag day at Singsamut
School when students receive their colored “flags of unity”.
Patcharapol Panrak
More than 3,000 Singsamut School students kicked off
their school year by receiving “flags of unity” they will carry throughout
their education.
Prasit Luangthong, principal of the Sattahip school,
handed out the colored flags to Matthayom 1-6 students before parents and
teachers June 4.
Flags are distributed each year, with each grade assigned
a specific color. Meant to inspire unity and honor between classmates, the
flag’s color remains the same for all pupils until graduation.
Prasit said flags are a long-standing tradition at the
school. This year’s new color for Matthayom 1 was purple. The school has a
total enrollment of 3,851 students.
Marriott spends Founder’s Day
renovating Mabprachan School
Marriott staff renovate the
dharma room at Mabprachan School.
Warunya Thongrod
The Marriott Resort & Spa celebrated its Founder’s Day by
renovating the dharma-study room and library at Mabprachan School.
Administrative Director Maethee Saenyordkhum led more
than 10 employees from the South Pattaya hotel June 5 to mark the founding
of Minor International, which operates the Marriott under lease.
Maethee said Founder’s Day activities were established to
pay back society under the motto “Spirit to Serve.”
Student Malika Wongsurin approved of the renovation,
especially the painting of old walls. She said her classmates will use the
room for mandatory prayers and meditation.
Mabprachan students pray for
prosperity for the new dharma room.
Marriott Resort & Spa Pattaya
staff pose for a group photo with children at the school.
Life just got a lot easier
Den, center, receives the
instructions for his new wheelchair.
Derek Franklin
Each morning twenty nine year old Teppitak Wisarnsad,
nicknamed Den, makes the journey from his room on Soi Yume, near Big C Xtra,
to his place of work at the Big C South Pattaya store on Sukhumvit Road.
Travelling along the streets
of Pattaya will now be much easier for Den.
Not a long journey for anyone using a car or a
motorcycle, but a wheelchair user has to face the uneven road surfaces,
large pot-holes, high pavements and the huge volume of traffic. Motorcycle
users driving on the wrong side of the road and baht buses stopping without
warning make life even more difficult for anyone using a wheelchair.
Den was born with no lower limbs and only one arm, which
means that trying to steer his wheelchair is even more difficult. Getting
across busy roads and over speed humps is almost impossible without some
sort of help.
But life has just been made easier for Den, who apart
from being born with three limbs missing was also born with a cleft palate.
He was recently presented with a brand new electric wheelchair which was
paid for by generous sponsors from the United Kingdom.
Coming from a poor family in the province of Sukhothai,
Den would never have been able to afford a wheelchair like his new one. Due
to his disability he did not start his education in grade one until he was
fifteen years of age. He graduated after grade nine and was determined to
find a job, but the employment he was offered often turned out to be too
much for him to bear.
Eventually he made the long journey to Pattaya and
arrived at the Father Ray Foundation who offered him a roof over his head
and helped him find employment in the offices at Big C.
Now the journey to work each morning will be much easier
for Den, but the car drivers and motorcycle riders of Pattaya should be more
considerate to other road users and next time you see someone using a
wheelchair, slow down and let them pass.
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Pattaya Sports Club buy
a new fish
Here is the ‘fish’. Sorry the
fridge.
William Macey
Even though many Thais speak English very well, there are
times when a mispronunciation, in all innocence, brings howls of laughter. I
was asked once whether we needed any calendar for the chicken tonight. It
should have been coriander.
On a recent visit to Baan Jing Jai, Piantah asked if
Pattaya Sports Club could provide sufficient funds to purchase a new ‘fish’
as the old one had been repaired so many times, it was on its last legs. I
did not know that fish had legs and the expression on Nigel’s face said the
same thing. What fish?
We were shown to the kitchen where the offending ‘fish’
stood, except that it was a fridge. Pattaya Sports Club readily agreed and
funds were set aside to buy a commercial fridge with a glass door. The
supplier wanted to help the orphanage and gave us a reasonable discount
which was used to buy some rice for the children.
Piantah was very happy with the new ‘fish’, especially as
the doors locked thereby keeping whatever was inside away from tiny,
exploring hands. The door would have been opened many times during the day
thereby using more electricity. That problem has now been resolved.
All this happened on Visakha Bucha Day and during the
course of the day, the children, having a day off from school, had
demolished two tubs of ice cream, were just about to tuck into some noodles
and were having a wonderful day. Although living in cramped conditions, they
are happy being part of a big family and the smiles on their faces says it
all thanks to the dedication of Piantah and her staff.
The children use different
techniques to unload the rice.
Happy days.
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Rice Aid - Musicians for Charity
Derek Franklin
Many bars and entertainment venues will be closed on
Sunday 17th June due to the local elections taking place, and the serving
and buying of alcohol is prohibited for twenty four hours.
However, there will be one venue in Pattaya where,
although alcohol will not be served, the entertainment will see many local
musicians coming together to perform for Rice Aid, which has been organised
by the Musicians 4 Charity.
The Sraan Restaurant on Thepprasit Road, opposite Soi 15
and the Decorum store and Elephant Village, is the location for the charity
concert that will raise funds which will be used to purchase rice for the
850 children and students currently living at the Father Ray Foundation.
Entrance to the event is free, though a donation of cash
or rice will be gratefully received. The music starts at 6 in the evening
and many well known local musicians will be jamming together for the
children of Pattaya.
More information can be found at
www.musicians4charity.com
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Special Cases: Caring for Disabled Kids
Flook’s family gathers around
the bike with the new sidecar.
Lewis Underwood
It’s been a year now since we have been helping Sam and
his ‘Share Love with a Friend’ Project, which assists poor families with
disabled children in our community. In cooperation with the Social Welfare
section of the Nong Prue Municipality, we hand out rice and milk to the
families on the first Saturday of each month.
Previously, Somchai had to
get around on his motorbike with his 8-year old son, Flook, strapped to his
shoulders in front of him in an infant carrier.
Despite the inconvenience of traveling with handicapped
kids, especially on two wheels, many of the families are still willing to
come out on their own to collect their monthly foodstuffs at the general
distribution point in Nong Prue.
However, there are still others with severely handicapped
children without the means to make the trip, which then requires doing
home-deliveries. Of course, we are glad to do this as it keeps us directly
connected with the kids and allows us to find other ways to help them.
In addition to the regular milk and rice-giving, there
are other ways we also help these special kids, such as, providing
wheelchairs and walking aids. Of the kids that already have them, many need
replacements due to wear and tear, or because they are too heavy and clumsy
to manhandle and/or became too small for the user.
Yet, still another way we help these families is by
improving their mobility, and capacity to collect recyclables, as well as
facilitate the transporting of their children. The easiest way to do this is
to put a sidecar on their existing motorbikes.
Recently, we furnished a family’s with such a sidecar,
which was specifically designed to transport their disabled son more easily;
in this case it also needed a canopy over it. Previously, the father,
Somchai, had to get around on his motorbike with his 8-year old son, Flook,
strapped to his shoulders in front of him in an infant carrier, which was
awkward to say the least.
Flook sits comfortably in the
new sidecar.
Because his wife is a waitress in a restaurant, he has to
take his son with him when he goes to his construction jobs. It was
difficult before, but with the new covered sidecar, Somchai now has a place
to keep his son, not only in sight, but also comfortable and protected from
the sun and rain.
Looking after kids is especially difficult for low income
families, and compounded when the children are not able to go to school or
fend for themselves. The parents often have to work long hours every day and
without any other options for child care, they must manage themselves.
Our goals for the families with special children, under
the banner of the Share Love with a Friend Projects, are not only to
distribute rice and milk every month, but also to provide wheelchairs when
needed and to modify vehicles so that they are more useful for eking out a
living and easier for transporting their special children.
If you too would like to help these special kids in our
community, please visit us at www.care4kids.info and/or
www.facebook.com/jesterscare.forkids
Please also remember that our Children’s Fair is on
Sunday, September 9th and Gala Party Night on Saturday, September 22nd
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