Three young brothers, Fapichit, Padetsuke and Lookprayatak Lengjamnong, have turned to the sport of boxing in an attempt to provide for both themselves and their handicapped parents.
The trio, the oldest of which, Fapichit, is just 12 years old, are entirely self taught and have recently been accepted to undergo the tutelage of Somchai Sampaongern at the Pet Taothan Boxing Camp in Sattahip.
The three young boxing stars strike a pose.
The three youngsters, Padetsule is 11 years old and Lookprayatak just 10, are the sons of Amnat Supabchit and Amornrat Lengchamnong. Their father is handicapped because of an accident and cannot perform any activities for daily living. He requires round the clock attention and needs to be clothed and fed as he cannot do this for himself.
Their mother is healthy physically, but has handicapped hands and feet. She cannot perform physical activities the same as other people; her left hand only has one finger, she has two toes on her left foot, and four toes on her right foot.
The family lives on RTN land and some kindhearted people to go to their house to help occasionally, just for food and milk to feed the husband and the children. They receive some amount of money from time to time, which the boys earn from boxing. It is divided for school expenses, and water and electricity for their home.
In November the brothers were called on to take part in the “Pet Taothan” child boxing program at the Ban Taothan boxing camp. The program, instigated by Narong Bunbancherdsri, the mayor of Sattahip municipality, aims to steer young children away from drug use and a life of crime and provide them with an opportunity to stay healthy and gain some discipline.
For nearly 1 year prior to this the Lengjamnong brothers struggled to find anywhere to box and as a result they weren’t able to provide for their family, which was lacking income for daily living expenses. Their mother had to borrow money at a high interest rate just to cover the bills.
The boxing program has provided these three young pugilists with an opportunity to fight and earn some extra money. This fact was appreciated by the spectators who came along to watch the boys fight in November and led to them making donations for the trio.
Narong Bunbancherdsri was able to gather more than 4,000 THB in donation money, which will go a long way to alleviate the hardship of the Lengchamnong family’s life. Both the Sattahop mayor and Somchai Sampaongern have a great deal of faith in the brothers and believe that one day they could become well-known boxing stars.
Spectators at the November boxing program in Sattahip gave generously to the Lengjamnong collection.
The brothers help to feed their handicapped father as their mother looks on.
