While no longer part of Thamsamakee Temple, Pattaya School No. 6 raised 282,575 baht to fix a collapsed ceiling and other expenses with a modified robes-donation event.
School director Ms. Sataporn Lawiroj and Wat Thamsamakee Temple Abbot Phra Acharn Paisanjariyakorn together organized the school’s annual open house and a call for cash donations – not monk’s robes – in the “tod phapa for education” fundraiser.
Tod Phapa traditionally is a way for Buddhists to make merit by donating robes to monks, but has morphed over the years to include everything from candles to cash. That School No. 6 – the former temple school now a Pattaya public facility – is perhaps the biggest twist on the ceremony.
The money will be used to repair a ceiling that collapsed in a classroom and fund the purchase of new instruments and uniforms for the marching band.
City Councilman Banlue Kullavanijaya opened the March 13 open house, which saw 1,185 kindergarten through ninth-grade students show off academic, art and science projects.
