Introduction
The Regent’s School Pattaya is proud to be working with over 30 local community partners not only in the Pattaya area but also across Thailand. This has been the strength of our Round Square programme for the last 10 years and the core of our educational philosophy of learning through service and community partnership.
The heart of the Round Square International Conference hosted by the Regent’s School last month was the Round Square Pillar, community service, and the ability of our school to be able to send out 800 delegates into the community on two different days to work and engage with amazing individuals and groups living and working on our doorstep.
This would not have been possible if the Regent’s staff and students did not already have these partnerships in place through their curriculum and extra-curricular activities and the trust and respect that make such quality learning experiences happen. Many thanks must go to both sides of this partnership for their enthusiasm and commitment over the years to community service work. We very much look forward to strengthening and expanding our community partnerships in the future as this must be the legacy of a conference of this magnitude and the responsible approach to any education that seeks to make a difference… it is only the beginning. – Paul Crouch, Round Square Director, Regents School, Pattaya.
Baan Jing Jai Children’s Home
Delegates preparing for an activity at Baan Jing Jai.
Baan Jin Jai is a Children’s Home in Pattaya with, at times, up to 60 children in their care. On the Service Days during the Round Square Conference the delegates helped to paint the two homes and the outside fences and walls of Baan Jing Jai.
In the afternoon some of the older girls from Baan Jing Jai became ‘teachers’ and taught the delegates how to make bracelets like the ones they often make to sell. It is a very time consuming art that requires an incredible amount of skill and patience. As one delegate said, “I will never again haggle for the price of a bracelet after all this work it takes. I never realised how hard it could be.”
Thanks were given to Khun Piangta, the lady who runs the great establishment and her fabulous staff and children for sharing their days with the delegates. They worked together, they smiled together and they learnt together. The homes now look bright and beautiful and as Piangta said at the end of Wednesday, “The children are so proud.”
We walk together with Baan Jing Jai Children’s Home.
Kate’s Project Trust
One of the entertaining activities at the Kate’s Project Trust sports day.
One of the children enjoying a gift from the Kate’s Project Trust.
Kate’s Project Trust works in the slum areas of Pattaya and since its inception in 2006 by Andrew McCarroll and Roisin Hall has helped hundreds of children attend school and also improved living conditions for many families.
Khun Meena from the Regent’s School Physical Education Department organized a full day of sport and activities for the children and families that Kate’s Project works with. Round Square delegates and the local families joined forces to compete together in the competitions and games which ranged from the traditional musical statues and 3 legged race to the hilarious blind folded eating and ping pong ball chop sticks race. The families and delegates had a fun filled and action packed day which they will remember for a long time.
Sunganseuhsa Piset Ket 12
– Chonburi
Sunganseuhsa Piset Ket 12 provides care for young people with disabilities between the ages of 2 and 25. The numbers have grown rapidly since it was opened just under a year ago from 12 to 43.
The school was visited by over 80 delegates on two separate days and it was clear to see that everyone had a great day. The activities involved making bricks, pendants, football goals, t-shirts and a banner.
Many of the Special Needs children and young adults were leading the delegates in the activities. It was evident that all had an insightful day and a number of the delegates are now planning to raise funds for the Center when they return back to their school.
Sunganseuhsa Piset Ket 12 group photo.
Tamar Center, Pattaya
The Tamar Center was opened in August 1999 by Project L.I.F.E. Foundation, a registered Thai foundation, that is also associated with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Thailand. The Centre aims to “Offer hope, healing and new life to bar girls and prostitutes in Pattaya”, training the girls in new skills, giving them a job and a place to live, teaching them English, and counselling them if they need it.
Making sweet and sour chicken at the Tamar Center.
The Center has a hairdressing salon on Soi 6, and a building on Third Road that holds a restaurant and bakery, a card and jewellery making shop, computer training centre and a small nursery. They also have an outreach programme in the north east of Thailand, in Isaan, where they try to tackle the problem at its source.
On both Monday and Wednesday of the Conference, 30 delegates from the Round Square Schools around the world visited the Third Road base of the Tamar Centre. There, they were divided into four groups, each of which had a Thai speaking student from the Regent’s School to help translate.
The main aim of the day was to have the students interacting with the ladies from the centre. For that, each group rotated between four different interactive activities. The Tamar Center girls taught the delegates how to cook sweet and sour chicken and make a Thai dessert. They also spent an hour trying to make cards like the Tamar girls do.
We walk together at the Tamar Center.
The most emotional activity was the question-and-answer session with four ladies from the centre. With the help of four translators, the girls told their stories and very openly answered all questions that the delegates had about their lives. In exchange, the delegates also answered questions from the Tamar ladies relating to their lives and backgrounds. Quite a few tears were shed between the two groups, and the delegates learnt a totally different side to prostitution and bar life. Many never realised the kinds of stories that could be behind this life. It was an eye-opening experience for all participants.
At the end, two schools were so moved by their experiences that they expressed interest at establishing long-term connections with the centre. And of course, Tamar bakery produce was extremely popular at the end of an emotional day.
For more information on the Tamar Centre, visit http://www.projlife.com/tamarcenter/
Guranyawet Disabled Ladies Home
Balloon fun at the Guranyawet disabled ladies home.
The ladies home is a government run residential centre for 400 ladies age 18 upwards. The ladies have a wide range of physical and mental disabilities and they reside at the home due to having no family to care for them.
The service day was organised by Victoria Wells who visits the ladies on a regular basis and is hoping to establish a sustainable partnership with the ladies home. The ladies rarely have visitors and seldom leave the home. The aim of the day was to provide them with some entertainment and to make them feel special.
The service day was fun filled with nail painting, makeovers, karaoke and dancing. One of the ladies at the home commented, “It’s so special to have visitors. I have had a great day.”
Father Ray Day Care Centre and Vocational School for Disabled
One of the many activities between the delegates and Fountain of life children.
The Fr. Ray Day Care Center provides children living in the poorest slum areas of Pattaya a place where they will be safe during the day whilst their parents are at work. The Round Square delegates had great fun playing with some of the centre’s 120 children. They made masks, played with play dough and construction toys and then helped to feed the children and put them to bed for their afternoon nap.
In the afternoon the delegates visited the Vocational school for the disabled where they learnt what it is like to live as disabled person. The school currently educates over 200 adults who all have a physical disability. Each student was either given a blindfold, a wheelchair or a pair of crutches. They then had to negotiate around the centre and out onto Soi Yume to the local shop to experiences exactly how difficult life as disabled person can be. The afternoon ended with a game of wheel chair basketball which proved to be more difficult than first expected!
Father Ray Vocational Center students and delegates playing basketball together.
We walk together with the Father Ray Vocational Center.
