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Grant Pereira visits Regent’s
Mae Underwood
“Which animal would you want to help the most?” asked a
Primary student - after a silent pause Mr. Pereira replied, “Humans, humans
need saving the most.”
Mae working in the butterfly
garden.
On Tuesday the 5th of June, on World Environment Day,
Grant Pereira from the Green Volunteers and Sea Shepherd Foundation came to
visit the Regent’s School, Pattaya. He had come to establish a Butterfly
Garden, which was accomplished with the help of the Year 11 students and the
GoldFish Garden team.
Joyce and I had assisted Mr. Pereira in taking him to his
talk venues and so were able to learn more about his background and his
outlook on the world. He spoke of his battles for the environment and the
places he’s been - we couldn’t name a country that he hadn’t set foot on
before! He always made good chatter with the teachers too and his engaging
talks were filled with stories of his life as an environmentalist.
At the end of his talks he would advise us on how we
could become a better person environmentally; little adjustments to our
lives such as turning off the water as we brush our teeth, recycling all
recyclable materials and respecting animals - the little things we are
always told, at school, to do. However, as well as advice, he has given us
an idea of how great of an impact such simple actions could make. It was
amazing how easy it is to save our planet; we just lacked collaboration
throughout the globe. Moreover, it was not just about making Earth
sustainable but also to make sustainability a legacy - to hand down these
simple ideas for future generations!
His humor and honesty allowed us to feel empathy towards
environmentalists like him and towards animals. He showed us how animals
have feelings too, they can get bored or stressed out just like us. They can
communicate with us in their own ways and show affection, anger and sadness.
Students digging compost.
Mr. Pereira felt injustice towards wildlife and so, for
the last 33 years, he and his team has been standing up against governments
and large corporations on behalf of the animals and the environment. Some
posters from his campaigns can be seen on the eco notice board under the
clock tower (at the Regent’s School)!
Over the next few days we gardened together for several
hours at a time. In the beginning we asked him what we could do with the
insect-eaten plants, and along with a simple and chemical free recipe, he
told us that eaten plants were what we wanted for our new garden. This tiny
jungle-to-be was created for caterpillars and ladybugs to feast away at the
flowers and the leaves!
By the end of it all, our garden became full of many
little critters including salamanders, snails and butterflies. They had come
together to create a little community within our school grounds. We are very
proud of our new garden and hope we can enjoy gardening with Mr. Pereira
again during his next visit. We also appreciate his contribution to our
school’s leadership and environment pillar; since as well as posters and
leaflets, he has given us inspiration, motivation and a full plant nursery!
These ideas and concepts will stick with us forever, and so now, it is our
turn to share this legacy with the world!
Mr. Pereira sharing his
knowledge about seeds.
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Dhammasiri students watch Venus solar transit
Students in Sattahip gather to
watch Venus transit the sun.
Patcharapol Panrak
More than 2,000 Sattahip students were given a chance to
see a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon as they lined up to watch Venus transit
the sun in the school’s telescope.
Dhammasiri School Principal Aree Khumnungkij and teachers
Pitchyakorn Som-ngam and Samitra Weerayothin organized the June 6 event,
which was the last passing of Venus between the earth and sun for the next
105 years.
Students gathered early to view the 5-11 a.m. transit
using a telescope the school had purchased in 2009 to use with cameras for
astronomy lessons.
Science teacher Umawadee Chobsoongnern said the school
took special care, as the sun cannot be viewed with the naked eye. Students’
eyes were protected with ultraviolet filters.
IB perform The Crucible
A bewitchingperformance byan
IB student.
Mark Beales
Students from Garden International School performed
Arthur Miller’s classic play The Crucible as part of their studies.
The IB1 Literature and Performance students performed
extracts from The Crucible as part of their course studies.
The young actors spent several weeks studying Miller’s
play. They directed the extracts by themselves and the performances were a
part of their coursework. Several students and teachers were a part of the
live audience.
GIS is based in Ban Chang, Rayong - half an hour away
from Pattaya.
Garden’s IB Literature and
Performance students.
A tense moment in The
Crucible.
Pattaya Sports Club discovers Khun Ja at A.T.C.C.
The house is nearly finished.
William Macey
It is an unfortunate fact that Pattaya has become a
destination for some unsavoury activity particularly concerning child abuse
in all its forms. Various agencies record a worrying increase in the
physical abuse of impoverished and homeless children who come to Pattaya
from the poor areas of Northern Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma and Laos.
Efforts are constantly made both nationally and internationally to combat
this worldwide problem, but here in Pattaya, one remarkable man has devoted
23 years of his life protecting children from abuse.
Ja was with the Father Ray Foundation for 15 years before
breaking away to establish his own centre which is now known as the Child
Protection Development Centre. No longer with them, he is continuing his
mission by starting the Antihuman Trafficking and Child Abuse Centre
(A.T.C.C.) in an isolated area of Nongprue.
He has 17 children, between the age of 3 and 19, resident
at the moment and is in contact with many children in Pattaya, helps them in
any way he can on a regular basis and looks forward to the day when he will
have sufficient funds to bring them to the centre. He has a team headed by
Thor and over the years, he has acquired and maintained close contact with
the local police and those from many countries including Germany, Austria,
UK and many others including the famous FBI.
Within the centre he has also introduced the Child
Protection and Development Lifeskill Centre to instill in the children
certain skills which include building, gardening, cooking and for the girls
sewing, knitting, hairdressing and baking. The sleeping areas that you see
in the photographs have been built by his volunteers and helped by the
children, both girls and boys, bringing them together as a group developing
a team spirit that can only help them in the future.
Pattaya Sports Club provided funds for the most recent
house and toilets and will remain in close contact with Ja at the A.T.C.C.
in the future.
Funds, volunteers, supplies and food are difficult to
come by, so if anyone reading this report can help in any way, please
contact William at Pattaya Sports Club - 0861522754.
It is now finished.
They now have toilets and
showers.
Ja and Thor.
The crops are doing nicely.
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A new mission for Women With a Mission
They need your help
Simon Carey
Pattaya, with all it bars and entertainment venues has
another side for the people, both Thais and farangs, who live in and around
this city. There are many good people out in the community doing remarkable
things to improve the life of the under-privileged and often ignored parts
of our society. Tucked away in an isolated location off Highway 331 near
Sattahip is Baan Khao Bai Sri. Few will have heard of it, let alone visited.
It is a centre for handicapped children. Children with
Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other related disabilities. KBS
Special Education Center is managed by founder Boon Choo, a selfless Thai
woman who has dedicated her life to helping these children in need whose
families struggle to provide the necessary care. Boon Choo, together with
four other teachers, cares for fifty children of which twenty-three require
full-time board.
The school is reasonably well equipped and there is
support for most of the basics such as buildings, meals and general running
costs, although improvements can always be made. While the children’s
scholastic requirements are mostly met, special therapy for their
disabilities is largely lacking. Some specialized equipment has been donated
to the school, but no-one is trained to use it.
Women With a Mission has identified that the school is in
direct need of assistance from a trained Physical Therapist. Someone to
train the staff in use of equipment, and to train them in therapeutic
exercises that can be applied to these seriously handicapped children.
Exercises that can help the children improve the control of their body
movement, and ultimately, improve their quality of life.
Physical therapists are limited in number in Thailand,
but WWM is currently conducting a search both inside and outside the
country. As an alternative to a Thai physio, they are also looking for a
volunteer therapist from overseas who could conduct some short-term training
for staff and local volunteers. Previously, a member of PILC and a trained
physio spent some time with the centre and made remarkable progress.
Unfortunately she has now been transferred and has left a gap that WWM are
hoping to fill.
Through networking and communication through their
friends, sponsors and supporters, WWM are hoping to find someone to fill
this need. If any of our reader’s can be of any assistance, or wish to help
in any way, then WWM would be very pleased to hear from them. To contact WWM
please visit their website for details www.mywwm.org or [email protected] or
contact: Rosanne Diamente at 081-865-0714 or Kylie Grimmer at 087-482-3520.
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