Service Above Self is the new theme for 2005-06
By Pratheep Malhotra
Past President
Rotary Club
of Jomtien-Pattaya
At the Rotary District Assembly held at the Welcome
Beach Hotel in Pattaya May 13-15, 2005, Pattaya resident and past
president of the Rotary Club of Pattaya, Jin Srikasikorn was installed as
governor of District 3340 R.I.
Jin
Srikasikorn seems thrilled as PRIP Bhichai gives him his badge of office.
The beloved and highly respected Past Rotary
International President Bhichai Rattakul, who created history by becoming
the first Thai to hold the R.I. president position in the 2002-03 Rotary
year, attended to conduct not only the installation ceremonies for the
incoming district governor but also to install 7 new presidents of their
respective clubs in Chonburi for the 2005-06 year.
The presidents of the seven clubs are: Prakit
Saranpueth, Rotary Club of Phanat Nikhom; Saharath Deerakumporn, Rotary
Club of Bangsaen; Ranida Sinmongkol, Rotary Club of Laem Chabang; Pravit
Samranvanich, Rotary Club of Chonburi; Boonsueb Ek-Akh, Rotary Club of
Pattaya; Pensri Kanjanuthaisiri, Rotary Club of Sriracha; and Udomlak
Wattancheep, Rotary Club of Ban Bueng.
Outgoing
district governor Surat congratulates incoming DG Jin Srikasikorn.
The district assembly is one of the most important
functions in a Rotary year, where seminars are held for the training of
incoming presidents and the directors of all the avenues of service,
throughout the district, preparing them to take office in their respective
clubs as of July 1.
Rotary district 3340 covers the northeastern and
eastern parts of Thailand. More that 2000 Rotarians in 65 clubs actively
play their part in serving their communities.
Marwin
Green presents toys to the DG Surat on behalf of the Rotary Club of Taksin
Pattaya for distribution to underprivileged children in the district.
In his farewell speech, outgoing District Governor
Surat Buawan said, “I am 58 years old and having spent a hard year
working for Rotary as district governor, I feel very tired.”
“But,” he was quick to add, “I have never felt
happier in my life. I have been showered with so much love, not only in
Thailand but also in foreign countries.”
He reminisced about his childhood in the northeast
saying that when he was a little boy, “Rotarians built a bus shelter in
my village. So everyday when I waited for transport to take me to school I
would say a silent thank you to Rotary and promised myself that I would
become a Rotarian when I grew up.”
PDG
Prasert Chaimano presents PRIP with a souvenir to commemorate his visit to
the District Assembly.
“I love Rotary,” he said. “The more you give to
Rotary, the more you get in return. You must learn more about Rotary to be
able to understand its philosophies and that creates your love for this
great organization. Love because Rotary gives you the opportunity to
serve, to be able to take care of the less fortunate. Love because it
really teaches you the true meaning of ‘Service Above Self’.”
PDG
Noraseth…a candidate for the next Thai RI President.
In his keynote speech, Bhichai Rattakul said that he
hoped that DG Surat’s speech had been recorded. “This is what we
should give new Rotarians and potential members to listen to. I am
confident that it would instill these wonderful sentiments into their
hearts and make them want to work harder for the cause of Rotary and by
doing so to better serve others.” He also commended DG Surat for his
campaign to instill ‘Family Values’ into the hearts of Rotarians.
“Rotary should impress all of you as it has DG Surat.
Take these messages back to your clubs and tell your members of these
feelings. I believe that it is very important to all of us.”
Bhichai
Rattakul and Mayor Niran who came to the function to welcome visiting
Rotarians and their families.
PRIP Bhichai went on to say how impressed he was to
learn that there were not only English speaking clubs in this district,
but also a French speaking one too. “I must thank the Pattaya Mail
for having kept me informed all these years of the happenings here in
Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard, especially the many stories that are
published about Rotary. The publishers are to be commended for their
dedication and hard work for their service to the community.”
PDG
Premprecha Dibbayawan (2nd right) conducts a training session for the
English speaking Rotarians.
Bhichai spoke about Rotary’s greatest project, the
‘Polio Plus’. This project, to which Rotary has donated more than
US$600 million, is a worldwide effort to eradicate polio from the face of
the earth by the year 2005, when Rotary celebrates its 100
th
anniversary. “It is quite disappointing that we cannot announce this
achievement as we had planned to do at the Rotary International Convention
in Chicago USA later this month. The reasons being that polio is still
rampant in Nigeria and the sad part about this is that the people there
refuse to accept the vaccine for their children because it comes from a
middle eastern country.
DG
Surat celebrates his birthday with his wife Sukalya.
“But we must not be disheartened. There are other
worthwhile projects that we have to undertake. Because of the violence and
conflicts in many parts of the world today, Rotarians are united in their
campaign to find ways to resolve conflicts.
Children
perform during the evening festivities.
To that end Rotary International now has a program to
give ‘Conflict Resolution Study’ scholarships to people from all over
the world who will travel to study centers that are set up in many
countries. I am very proud to say that one center is set up at the
Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.”
In closing, PRIP Bhichai introduced PDG Noraseth Pathamanand and
announced that he is a director elect of Rotary International and hoped
that one day he would become the second Thai to be elected as president of
Rotary International.
Pattaya’s 5 Rotary Clubs stage their first combined event
Elfi Seitz
The five Rotary Clubs of Pattaya held their first
combined fellowship party on Friday, May 6, staging the event at the
gardens of the Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa.
DGE
Jin Srikasikorn presided over the function.
Peter Malhotra, double ex-president of the Rotary Club
Jomtien Pattaya, was MC, well supported by Martin Brands, president of the
Rotary Club Eastern Seaboard, who welcomed all guests including guest of
honour the incoming Rotary governor of District 3340, Jin Srikasikorn, and
past district governor Premprecha Dibbayawan.
All five presidents were called on stage to present to
members of their own choice awards as the “Outstanding Rotarian of the
year.” President Susiree Charnchaileart of the Rotary Club of Pattaya
named Donald MacLaughlan, a long-time member of the Thai language club,
who had helped a lot in communicating with the other clubs.
President
Martin Brands congratulates Marlies Fritz.
President of the Rotary Club Taksin Pattaya Stefan
Heynert, who was the initiator of this combined fellowship party, honoured
his founding president Peter Thorand for all the good work and deeds he
has done.
Martin Brands, the founding president of Rotary Club
Eastern Seaboard chose Marliese Fritz. Even though Marliese is not a
long-time member of this new club, she has proved a true Rotarian by her
tireless help for the tsunami-devastated people in the South of Thailand.
The founding president of the youngest club in town,
Nic Demet of the Rotary Club Marina Pattaya, gave his certificate to
Philipe Meunier.
PDG
Premprecha Dibbayawan presents Peter Malhotra with his award.
Judy Hoppe, president of the Rotary Club Jomtien
Pattaya had chosen Peter Malhotra and he received his award in the absence
of Judy from Premprecha Dibbayawan.
Martin Brands presented a speech on Rotary
International’s 100th birthday this year. He gave a brief history of
this foundation, which was established by Paul Harris and a small number
of friends in 1905. Now the organisation has more than 1.2 million members
in 31,000 clubs in 166 countries. His Majesty the King is the patron of
Rotary in Thailand.
Philippe
Meunier (left) receives his award from President Nic Demet.
“All Rotary achievements show the hard work of
Rotarians all over the world. The five clubs in Pattaya alone have
achieved in total the sum of 30 million baht. We all can be proud, and
feeling this way we will continue our hard work and keep following our
dreams,” he said.
Incoming governor Jin Srikasikorn had the honour to
“pin” the newest member of the Rotary Club Eastern Seaboard,
Hans-Peter Mack.
A group of boys from the Boys Home entertained with a
hilltribe dance and Mr Tuxedo and his charming partner amazed all the
guests with their magic-show. Heinz Minten from Holland did this as well,
by showing magic tricks at the tables.
An auction followed, at which each club provided two different items,
bringing in more funds.
President
Susiree Chanchailert presents Don MacLaughlan with his award.
Peter
Thorand (right) is recognized by President Stefan Heynert.
Children
and a magic show formed part of the entertainment.
On May 22, four students from the Pattaya Orphanage
boarded Thai Airways flight TG 993 bound for Bendigo Australia, beginning
what will be for them the opportunity of a lifetime.
Kittisak “Kit” Hiranrat, Paeng Surasri, Saranya
“Koi” Udomsri and Lakana “Na” Poolcharoen are this year’s
participants in the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya assisted and Rotary
Club of Eaglehawk (Australia) sponsored Rotary Orphan Students Exchange
(R.O.S.E.) program. They will spend 12 months living with local caring
families in Bendigo Australia and attending an E.S.L. (English Second
Language) course provided by a local accredited educational facility.
Father
Banchong Chaiyara, director of Father Ray’s foundation, is photographed
with the children. Front line from left: Kittisak Hiranrat (Kit), Saichon
Suklonlua (Chon), Father Banchong, Ornkamon Kulasutthichai (Tukta), Lalita
Paokhan (Boo). Back line from left: Paeng Surasri (Paeng), Saranya Udomsri
(Koi), Lakana Poolcharoen (Na) and Atthapon Samarnpak (Pol).
“Giving the orphan students an opportunity to learn
English in an English speaking country is the primary reason for the
program,” said Howard Osborne, international service director for the
Rotary Club of Eaglehawk. “This will be an opportunity that they would
never otherwise experience and on return to Thailand they will be assured
of extremely good employment prospects or further education.
“An impassioned request for the program came from the
late Father Ray Brennan who founded the Pattaya Orphanage. His devotion to
the orphans, the underprivileged, blind and handicapped, elderly and
street kids is legendary not only in Pattaya and Thailand but throughout
the world. His passing in August 2003 has made Rotary only more determined
to ensure his request to send orphan students to Australia to learn
English is realized. The program will be a tribute to his memory and
works,” Osborne said.
Audrie
gives some motherly advice to her childeren.
This is the second year of the program, which
organizers hope will continue indefinitely. Saichon Suklonluea, Orn-kamon
Kulsuttichai, Lalita Paokhua, Atthaphol Samarnpark and Sulawan Buranansan
were the “pioneer” orphans last year, and all five returned to
Thailand not only better at speaking English, but also filled with stories
of their experiences.
Saichon related how he had “experienced another
culture, met new friends, tried new food, and learned about living amongst
foreign people.” However, this wasn’t completely without certain
challenges, as he said he “had some language problems at the beginning,
but adapted and learned.”
Orn-kamon told of her “good memories about the
teachers, students, and Rotary members who took care of her.” She said
the town she stayed in was clean and the people were very kind. Her main
problem, she said, was in being homesick, but she solved that by listening
to music.
Thai
Airways has been very supportive of the program and has provided
complimentary tickets for the 4 students again this year.
Lalita said, “It seems that (the families she stayed
with) care very much about how others feel, including requiring us to say
goodnight before going to bed. They were very firm, which showed how much
they cared about my wellbeing ... Travel taught me how important it is to
learn other languages.”
Atthaphol said he very much enjoyed the experience, and
now has “both Thai and foreign close friends.”
This year’s group of students all agreed that they
are very excited. This will be their first air journey, and their first
time overseas.
The children were chosen because of their calm nature
and their scholastic results were good. They have all taken an ESL
(English as a Second Language) course to support their language abilities.
Once the students arrive in Australia, ‘On Track’
(State funded Training, Employment & Business Solutions) will be
providing the internationally accredited course free of charge to Rotary
because of the international goodwill it will engender and the
humanitarian nature of the program. “On Track has suited the R.O.S.E.
Program extremely well,” Howard Osborne said. “Their personalized
approach has ensured that the students this year not only have a great
command of the English language but they have also obtained additional
life skills before they return to Thailand.”
He went on to say that, “Thai Airways has been very
generous and supportive of the program, and has promised complimentary
tickets for the 4 students again this year.”
Father Banchong Chaiyara, who has generously taken over
the program from the late Father Brennan, said, “Last year I had a
chance to visit (the children in Australia). I was very surprised by the
changes in them. They were growing up and their English was better. I
think that this was a good opportunity for them to have new experiences
and to see a new culture, which is direct learning for them.”
As these students leave on their journey of a lifetime, undoubtedly
this experience will be a positive influence on their young lives and one
they will long remember, and hopefully will be one that will give them a
better understanding and perspective of life.
