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Jesters: 17 years down the road and
Caring for Kids more than ever
Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive 2014; Diamond Sponsors:
Glencore International and Canadian Jackalope Open
Meaw, who has with Down
syndrome, helps us by carrying a bag of rice from our monthly distribution
at Nongprue Municipality.
Lewis Underwood
We have come a long way since that night back in September of 1998 when we
had a pub night at Delaney’s for the benefit of the Fountain of Life Center
with one major sponsor, Chonburi Siam Steel Mill Services, which resulted in
raising a million baht.
Fast forwarding to the present, we now have two annual events, a children’s
fair and a gala party night; we have helped at least 75 different
beneficiaries; we now have a diamond sponsor category for 400,000 plus baht
donors to accompany our multiple platinum sponsors, or 100,000 plus baht
donors; and have raised over 74 million baht for children charities.
The journey has been a good one thanks to you, but then this is hardly the
time to dwell on achievements. After all, its summertime and we are already
on the clock with only 80 days left until the arrival of our events. This
year our Fair is on Sunday, September 7th, and will again be held at the
Regent’s International School Pattaya, while our Gala Party Night happens 13
days after that on Saturday, September 20th, at ‘our home’, the Amari Orchid
Pattaya.
Though we are giving more attention towards the planning of the above events
these days, our main focus and top priority is still on fund-raising.
Currently, we are pleased to publicize that you have donated 2,821,500 baht
in both cash and kind. This is a grand start but we need to keep the impetus
going.
If you are interested in joining us, there are 3 ways to make donations:
* Electronically, through PayPal: donation@care4kids .info
* Making a direct debit to ‘The Fountain of Life Center’, Krung Thai Bank,
Central Pattaya Branch, Acct# 227-1-36586-4.
* Or directly to our target charity, ‘The Good Shepherd Foundation’, Bangkok
Bank, Muang Pattaya Branch, Acct# 484-0-68306-6.
We would like to thank those major sponsors who are on board this year: Such
as: Diamond Sponsors: Glencore International and Canadian Jackalope Open;
Platinum Sponsors: Pattaya Mail, Sinto, Pattaya Sports Club, Club Nevada,
Mike Koerner, Herrod Foundation, Pat and Reg Warner, Whitehouse Condotel,
Jelly Belly Candy Company, ITT Pro Services, The Links, Chris Hogg, The
Thai, Amari Orchid Pattaya and Regent’s International School Pattaya.
For those looking for alternative ways to help, you can advertise in our
yearbook for as little as 3500 baht; at the fair you can rent a stall for
2000 baht; entertain on stage, buy event shirts and/or even donate beer for
the Jesters Beer Tent.
For the Gala Party Night, you can attend and donate an auction item or grand
raffle prize; or you can bid on an item and/or buy raffle tickets.
The proceeds from our events and donations from individuals and companies
are all for the purpose of benefiting deprived children. Though we look for
new ventures each year, we also have annual and monthly commitments to our
core projects. Such as:
* Fountain of Life Center: (our target charity) providing poor children with
shelter from abuse and access to education via scholarships to public
schools at the primary and secondary levels.
* The Next Step program: provides scholarships for tertiary education, which
has produced 12 graduates from universities to date.
* Camillian Home: provide 24/7 care for children living with HIV and
disabilities.
* Ban Jing Jai Orphanage: provide monthly food costs.
* Khao Baisri Special Education: provide in a myriad of ways, as well as
monthly basics for the disabled.
* Share Love with Friends: provide monthly rice, wheelchairs and other
essential equipment for poor families with disabled children.
* Ban Chang Hospital Outreach Program: provide school uniforms and supplies
for children without the means.
* Special Olympics Thailand (SOT): sponsor of their annual event for
handicapped athletes at Pattaya School #7.
* Kharma Foundation: provides educational aids/equipment, including
renovation of schools in marginal areas.
If you would like to learn more about us, please go to www.care4kids.info,
www. facebook.com/jesterscare. kids and/or https://twitter
.com/JestersCare4Kid.
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St Andrews Poetry Slammers impress
in Inter-School Finals at Green Valley
The Year group winners of the Poetry Slam from St.
Andrews Green Valley and St. Andrews Sukhumvit 107 in Bangkok.
Brandon Jenvey,
English teacher
The results of the 3rd annual inter-school St Andrews Green Valley Poetry Slam
are in, and the St Andrews slammers are about as electrifying a force on stage
as they are on the sports field.
Thursday 29th May saw 20 students from St Andrews Sukhumvit 107 in Bangkok and
Green Valley gather to compete for the prestigious annual poetry slam award.
Competing students had to perform a poem in the most engaging manner using
voice, acting and props before an audience composed of hundreds of parents,
teachers and students as well as a panel of judges. Finalists had been drawn
from a hotly contested pool of talent in school heats before being chosen to
compete in the afternoon event at St Andrews Green Valley.
Pang, a year 10 student from St.
Andrews Green Valley, was the overall winner of the Slam.
Highlights included Green Valley Year 8 students Jade and
Eliza performing the iconoclastic ‘Exam Results will not decide our Fate’ as
well as Sukhumvit 107 Year 7 students Bayon Chiu with his self-written poem
‘Mechanical Monsters’. Year group winners were Year 7 Matthew McClean (Sukhumvit
107), Year 8 Seajin and Jiwon (Green Valley), Year 9 Samyak Sheth and Gao (Ray)
Ruixi (Sukhumvit 107), Year 10 Tia Magee (Green Valley).
The overall event winner was student Pang Thaworwong, Year 10 in Green Valley,
who both captivated and challenged the audiences and judges with the complex and
topical poem, ‘What kind of Asian are you?’ by Alex Dang.
Both judges and audience were bowled over by the dramatic finesse of the
entrants, and students felt it had inspired their passion for poetry. Winner
Pang said of the event, ‘The Poetry Slam was a terrific experience and a great
opportunity to express my feelings through a poem. It also developed my
confidence as a public speaker before a large audience’.
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A Night at the Zoo
GIS students enjoyed a trip to Khao Kheow Open Zoo.
Mark Beales
Students from Garden International School (GIS) got close to nature during an
overnight trip to Khao Kheow Open Zoo.
Both Year 3 classes went on a residential trip to Khao Kheow Open Zoo to
celebrate the end of their unit “You Are What You Eat”.
Yichiao, from 3LD, said: “I went on an exciting trip. I saw monkeys everywhere
and an otter drowning but then they rescued her. I saw 3 lions dancing. I fed
grass to sheep and camels and I ate ice creams. I also enjoyed the playground.
At night I saw fireflies.”
Hannah, from 3LD, added: “My favourite part at the zoo was walking up the
mountain where we learned about plants and their healing power because it was
like an adventure! I also enjoyed the night show because it was fun looking at a
tiger swim and eat pieces of meat.”
GIS is based in Ban Chang, near Pattaya.
Getting close to nature at Khao
Kheow.
Students got close to the animals
during their zoo trip.
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Young sailors learn the ropes
Students had plenty of hands-on experience during
their trip to the yacht club.
Joanna and Dev (Year 4)
Students from Garden International School (GIS) have been on a
residential trip at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in Pattaya.
When the Year 4 group arrived, they went to the junior club house for a safety
talk, then changed into their swimming clothes and put on the life jackets. They
were then put into groups to learn about the parts of the small beautiful boats
called Optimists.
Once they had all had a go on land they went sailing in the sea. Students took
turns to sail the boats and while there was a lot to remember, they all had fun.
After a brief rest they were back out on the water, learning what to do if the
boat capsizes.
The next day, they went to the nearby garden to do some eco-art with their
roommates.
GIS students enjoyed their trip to
the yacht club.
Hand to Hand taking care of children of working mothers
Exterior view of the nursery.
Yerin Yoon
Hand to Hand works in many different areas of ministry such as prisons,
Pattaya slums, and pre-school centers. Recently, the foundation has begun
embracing the youngest group of people they have ever reached a hand to. Hand to
Hand has started up a nursery school to take of care of babies, while their
mothers work during the day. At the moment, there are four babies at the nursery
who belong to very young mothers that do not have access to help from their
extended families.
One mother is currently attending university and has no assistance to look after
her child. In order to prevent her from having to stop receiving education and
dropping out of college, Hand to Hand has offered to take in her baby as a means
to both help the mother and her infant. Another has successfully found a job at
Big C but could not start work until recently because there was no one to care
for her 3 month old baby. If it weren’t for Hand to Hand, she would have had to
give up her child to be cared for in a children’s home or orphanage. As she
loves her son very much, this was a distress for the members of the Hand to Hand
to hear, so they decided to care for the baby while the mother works.
These are two of the babies
napping in one of the rooms at the nursery. The nets keep the flies away, and
the fan keeps them comfortably cool.
There are countless numbers of children in orphanages all
around the world who do have a living mother or father. Their parents give their
children away solely because they cannot adequately care for them. The goal of
Hand to Hand is to provide these families with the necessary support so that
their children can not, and will not be abandoned in these orphanages or homes.
Hand to Hand provides support through free pre-schooling, food for families and
slum communities, hospital care, a scholarship, and now, a nursery.
The nursery opened on the 8th of June 2014 with very limited resources. If you
have any unused baby items including clothes, strollers, cribs, bottles, or even
pampers, please contact the Hand to Hand foundation at
[email protected].
These are the four babies that are
currently at the nursery. There are more to come, so any and all donations are
fully appreciated!
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Christmas comes early
for Baan Jing Jai
Thanks to Aood Siriluk (center, back) Christmas
arrived early at Baan Jing Jai.
George Jackson
On Sunday 8th June the scribe and one of the owners of CS Coffee and beer bar
Aood Siriluk went to the Baan Jing Jai orphanage to hand out to the children
lots of toys, blankets, school bags shoes and many other things to help the
kids.
Aood explained that she and her husband Matt, who is back in England on
business, felt they wanted to do something to help.
The kids were over the moon and thought it was Christmas! Everyone at the
orphanage thanked Aood for her generous and kind gifts.
Cai is all smiles with this big
bag of toys.
450 Pattaya students encouraged to ‘Open a Book, Open the World’
Deputy Mayor Wattana Chantanawaranon cuts the ribbon
to officially open the event.
Urasin Khantaraphan
About 450 Pattaya students were encouraged to read at the Pattaya
Library’s “Open a Book, Open the World” event.
Deputy Mayor Wattana Chantanawaranon opened the weeklong reading campaign June 5
with students from 11 Pattaya public schools and Sawang Boriboon, Tantrarak,
Ratchapradit Wittaya and Satit Udomseuksa schools at the Youth Sports Center on
Thepprasit Soi 7.
Country-music star Klae Taidin
speaks to the children about leading a life according to H.M. the King’s
sufficiency economy philosophy.
Wattana said the campaign is part of a nine-year government
push begun in 2009 to improve literacy. He said the National Statistics Office
showed that average Thais read only 39 minutes per day, or two to five books per
year, while neighboring countries read 10 times more.
Supranee Jinda, deputy director of the Pattaya Education Department, said
reading is critical for life and that the new campaign gives kids a chance to
participate in knowledge-dissemination activities and encourages them to join in
library activities regularly.
Pattaya students are being
encouraged to read.
The students also heard from country-music star Klae Taidin,
who spoke about his success from leading a life according to H.M. the King’s
sufficiency economy philosophy.
In addition to music, Klae works to encourage youths to stay away from drugs and
all vices by starting football teams, teaching music and doing activities with
them like his own father did. He also holds free training sessions for people on
how to make soap and toothpaste that he uses in his sufficient lifestyle.
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