It is quite astonishing that a few golfers who play out of a small bar in Pattaya have achieved a near miracle. Since they opened in Soi Chaiyapoon, Peter Grey and his merry men who play golf out of The Growling Swan have donated 397,000 baht obtained by imposing small fines after each game for minor infringements like being late on the tee, forgetting some equipment, spilling your beer or, even worse, spilling someone else’s beer. The fines are placed in a trophy called D-For, which is fondly disguised as a small furry dog.
A remarkable achievement and these funds have been used to provide help to purchase sports equipment for children that have no family, funds to those living with HIV, fans and clothing to ATCC and, more recently, clean drinking water to a number of schools.
Many of the larger schools in and around Pattaya have received support from the government to build various large structures which include extensions for additional classrooms or, in one case, a roof over the playing area. But many of the small schools beyond the city limits do not receive this level of support and do not even have clean drinking water for the students. They have to look for other sources of support to provide these essential facilities.
One such school is Bann Na Wang School who have 220 children from the age of three to 12 years. This was the situation for this school for the director had to purchase water for the entire school at a cost of 2,000 baht per week, funds that could be used to purchase important items for the children.
We are all aware of the importance of drinking water for, in Thailand, we cannot live without it and most of us from outside Thailand are used to having drinking water available with just the turn of tap. This is where The Growling Swan comes in. They made funds available recently to purchase two large water filters with UV technology.
These filters have a dual purpose, for very often the school is the centre point in a small village where the children come from poor families and because there is no limit to the amount of water used, the families can top up a water container to be able to supply the rest of the family, thereby easing the pressure on their limited income.
Members of The Growling Swan received a warm welcome when they went to the school recently to officially hand over this gift to the school with the children and teachers thanking everyone for their support.
The Growling Swan are in Soi Chaiyapoon and are affiliated to Pattaya Sports Club.
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