WHO’S WHO

Local Personalities: Buaphan (Bua) Endonpradou

by Dr. Iain Corness

It is always pleasant to be able to write about a real success story, and Bua Endonpradou, a sales executive for the new Northshore condominium development, is undoubtedly a ‘real’ success story.

A girl from a very poor village in Korat she has lived her life with the philosophy that “You don’t get a choice where you are born - rich or poor, but you do have a chance to make your life better.” This week’s local personality item is the story of how Bua, that poor village girl, made her life better.

Bua was the sixth child born to a rice farmer and his wife. After Bua, there came another three children, making it six girls and three boys to be housed and fed from the small rice paddies.

The family home was over two kilometres from the local village school, and Bua walked there and back every day. There were no luxuries in this household like bicycles for the children. After school there was no play either, as it was into the rice fields to help with planting or harvesting for all the family members. On Sundays, it was the entire day in the paddy fields.

I asked Bua if she were a good student, to be met with, “Yes! Of course!” However, even though she showed academic promise at the village school, her schooling had to finish early. “My parents were very poor and could not send me to a good school,” said Bua.

By the time all the children became teenagers, it was obvious that they would have to join the workforce, to ease the strain on the family budget, and since one of her sisters was working in a hotel in Pattaya, Bua left Korat to come and join her.

Unfortunately, she was too young to work as a cleaner in the hotel with her sister, so the young Bua went to work in a noodle shop, serving at the tables, a job where age was not important. However, she was now in the workforce and could earn money to send some back to her parents, to help them care for the rest of her brothers and sisters. (This concept is entrenched in Thai family life, and even today, Bua will still send money home.)

When she turned 18 and was then old enough for hotel work, she joined her sister as a cleaner in the same hotel, working her way up the domestic tree to become a maid. “It’s a hard job,” said Bua, and I am sure she is correct.

However, maid Bua did not lose sight of her wish to make her life better. “I wanted to study more, so I went to the Photisampan Sunday school to finish secondary education.” This educational facility takes in the young people who have not finished their schooling, with intensive lessons every Sunday. It is not an easy way to get that necessary education, and in Bua’s case it took her four years of Sundays to get her certificate of completion. Those were also not four consecutive years, as she had to go with her sister to where the work was available. Sometimes that was not in Pattaya, but in Sattahip, where she would have to break her studies as travelling was not possible. But she never lost sight of her true goal.

In the year 2000 she secured a job as a waitress in Shenanigans in Pattaya, and she completed her schooling at Photisampan. However, that was just a stepping stone, not the final goal. She was accepted into the Aksorn College of Technology for a diploma course in Business Computing.

During the day she worked in Shenanigans, and at night she studied at Aksorn College. “This was for my future life,” said Bua, “I wanted to be better, I didn’t want to work as a waitress for ever.” After two years, the hard-working Bua received her diploma. The girl who had begun her working life serving noodles, then working as a maid and was now serving beer, had evidence of a real accomplishment, a tertiary diploma course, successfully completed.

With her qualifications it was time to leave Shenanigans, even though it was a tearful farewell, both for Bua and the other staff members. A previous employee at Shenanigans was working in a real estate office, so Bua literally moved across the street to join her in the East Coast Real Estate as a receptionist. That was in September 2004.

She had only been there a few days when the opportunity arose for her to be able to join their sales team to handle the Northshore condominium project. “Every time I am getting better,” said Bua, “and I’ve sold three condos already!”

As part of her “getting better” she wants to study English, as she feels this will help her be even more successful in her job, and in her future. Even her hobbies are tied up in this need to be better. She reads books in English, so she can better understand the language. She listens to music, especially songs where the lyrics are in English, for the same reason.

So where is the end of the rainbow for Bua Endonpradou? “At the moment I just want to be a good salesperson,” said the girl who has already sold three condos in less than a month! But this does not mean that she is turning into a hard driving career woman. She is also looking forward to having a house and a family, though there is no real boyfriend at present, “But I’m looking,” said Bua with a laugh!

I asked her if her parents were proud of her achievements. “My parents are very happy. They were sorry they didn’t have the money to give me good schooling, but now they want me to finish a degree course.”

Bua Endonpradou is a remarkable young lady. A fine testimonial to the spirit and courage of many Thai country girls. Congratulations, Bua!