Asian University Sports Day

GIS does well at Primary Fobissea

Asian U welcomes APEC Human Resources Development Working Group

Jesters ‘Care for Kids’ Charity Drive: Ten ways you can help

The training centre in Rayong much more than a juvenile jail

A treat for the kids as the US Navy sails into school

Asian University Sports Day

Asian University was proud to hold their yearly Intensive Academic Programme (IAP) Sports Day on June 16. The day marks the coming together of all students who are studying in the ten-week intensive programme.

Pun-Pun receives his well-earned prize from James, the director of sports.

The IAP is designed for students who wish to either brush up their English and other subjects before joining the Asian U’s full time degree programmes or those students who are planning to study elsewhere. The programme is held every year prior to the start of the full academic year which commences on August 22.

The sports day is instrumental in forming new friendships between students and staff to ensure a strong relationship for future studies. The theme for the day is fun, fun and more fun with lighthearted sports and games.

The afternoon’s activities were followed by a BBQ and this year Asian U was very happy to invite students from ‘The Redeemer College’ in Bangkok as well as Asian University’s ‘College’ students to join the fun. This year a total of one-hundred and eighty students and staff enjoyed a fulfilling and successful Sports day.

A feast of a barbecue.

Asian U style volleyball played with a water filled balloon.

A game with blindfolded students in the sports hall.

The Asian U sack race in the sports hall.

GIS does well at Primary Fobissea

Sohini Goho

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” – yes but when “play” becomes serious work for even the primary children, we know that Fobissea is round the corner! GIS has been really gearing up for the Primary Fobissea – an annual event with most of the international schools coming together for three days of games and sports, that include athletics, swimming, football and T-ball.

Each child who participated won at least one medal.

The Secondary School had their Fobissea earlier and it was held in Malaysia. In May the GIS Primary Section had their share of excitement!

The Fobissea was hosted by The Regents, Pattaya and the contingent from GIS led by Mrs. Westy performed brilliantly and won a total of 92 medals at the end of the day! Each child who participated won at least one medal. The Yr 6 boys got the gold for football.

The GIS coaches Mr. Turner and Mr. Lynch played a very important role in training our children and helping them win laurels for the school. The children had worked very hard too.

In true GIS style, our parents turned up in full force, cheering for our children and trying to boost their spirits – bringing out the best in them. Even the heat of the day could not deter the parents and their support made all the difference to the little ones in the GIS team.

So the credit for the fantastic performance of the children goes not only to them and the coaches but also to the GIS parents. Way to go GIS… keep it up!

Asian U welcomes APEC Human Resources Development Working Group

Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation, or APEC, is an international forum for facilitating economic growth, co-operation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. The 27th Meeting of the APEC Human Resource Development Working Group (HRD WG) has been taking place in Pattaya this week.

APEC delegates took time out for a group photo outside the university with students and staff.

Members of the APEC HRD WG took time out from their discussions to visit Asian U on June 23 to see the university for themselves. They were greeted by the president of the university, Dr. Viphandh Roengpithya.

As well as a tour of the university facilities, they had an opportunity to meet students and staff in an informal atmosphere. Dr. Viphandh gave the group a presentation on the future of university education, from the Asian U perspective.

APEC includes 21 member economies and amongst those who visited Asian U were senior representatives from many of these, including Australia, Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand and Taiwan.

Jesters ‘Care for Kids’ Charity Drive: Ten ways you can help

By Lewis Underwood

There are ten ways to help the Jesters ‘Care for Kids’ Charity Drive continue to help children’s charities and projects on the Eastern Seaboard and in Southern Thailand.

* Make a donation by cash, check or donate online

* Donate a Grand Raffle prize or Auction item for the Jesters Pub Night

* Advertise in our Children’s Fair Program guide.

* Rent a stall at the Fair; donate a case of beer, or just buy an event T-shirt.

All easy to do, by contacting us direct, by email, or online at our website, www.care 4kids.info - here is more detail, with website links to help you help us to help the underprivileged and needy children of Thailand.

1. Join our corporate and individual sponsorship program. This continues to be our frontline source of donations. There are 4 levels of sponsorship:

• Platinum Bt. 100,000
• Gold Bt. 50,000
• Silver Bt. 25,000
• Bronze Bt. 10,000

There are benefits associated with each level. For detailed information on the benefits go to corporate _ sponsorship@care4kids .info

2. Join our Pledge for Kids Program. An alternative program that raised over 1 million baht during its first year. Here you can donate an amount between 500 and 2000 baht a month over a 12-month period. There are 5 levels:

• Corporate Gold Pledge Bt. 2000 per month
• Corporate Silver Pledge Bt. 1000 per month
• Personal Gold Pledge Bt. 1000 per month
• Personal Silver Pledge Bt. 500 per month
• Good Samaritan Pledge a one-time only donation

For more details, pick up a brochure around town or go to: www.care4kids.info/pledge/index.htm

3. Make an Online Donation by going to our website at www.care4kids.info and clicking on the icon at the top of the homepage.

4. Donate a Grand Raffle Prize or Auction Item. We always need Grand Raffle prizes and Auction items to make the Jesters Pub Night event a huge success. Please contact us at JCD2005 @ care4kids.info for further information.

5. Advertise in our Fair Program Guide. Help us cover publication costs of our fair souvenir program by booking an advertisement. Full page color ads are 7500 baht, and half-page ads 4000 baht. Please e-mail us at JCD2005 @care4kids.info

6. Rent a stall. Stalls at our Fair are 2,500 baht for food stalls, and 1000 baht for non-food stalls on Children’s Fair Day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Please book early, as they sell out fast. Please contact us at fair_ cooridinator@care 4 kids.info to order and/or pay online.

7. Donate a Children’s Raffle Prize or help us sell raffle tickets on Children’s Fair Day. Please contact us at children_raffle @care4 kids.info for further details.

8. Donate Beer. Donate a case of beer, or 700 baht equivalent, to the Jesters Beer Tent. Your donated beer will be sold at 50 baht per can, which increases your original donation from 700 to 1200 baht. In 2004, beer sales generated over 200,000 baht. Please contact us at beer [email protected] to order and/or pay online, or for more details.

9. Sell or buy our merchandise and buy Grand Raffle tickets for Pub Night. Buy our annual event T-shirt (300 baht, or 2 for 500 baht), or help us sell GR ticket books (50 baht per ticket or 12 tickets (1 book) for 500 baht). T-shirts can be bought at the Viking Beachcomber on Soi Pattayaland 2, Jameson’s in North Pattaya, and Tahitian Queen on Beach Road, or help us by selling them from your own establishment. They are also for sale at the Jesterwear stall on Children’s Fair Day, or you can purchase online. Please contact us at [email protected] for further details.

10. Help us promote our Charity Drive and attend our events. You can help by displaying our stickers and posters, by wearing our Event T-shirt, and visiting our website. Come to our Jesters Children’s Fair at the Diana Garden Resort and Driving Range on Sunday, September 11th and, six days later, our Jesters Pub Night at Jameson’s Irish Pub on Saturday September 17th. Enjoy both events knowing that you are helping underprivileged & needy kids on the Eastern Seaboard. Please contact us at stickers@ care4kids.info for further details.

It is never too early to get on board with the Jesters ‘Care for Kids’ Charity Drive. In fact, because we now have ongoing projects that require year-round funding, as well as an inclination to look at new projects at the beginning of the year, we appreciate early commitments whenever possible. Getting sponsorship before our September events also helps us plan which projects to consider, and how many to take on for the current year. However, no matter when you choose to join us, your participation and support is always appreciated.

The training centre in Rayong much more than a juvenile jail

Helle Rantsén
Welfare chairperson of PILC and RLC
Project coordinator for Jesters Care for kids

In the outskirts of Rayong there is a big housing center for juvenile offenders, young men and women in the age group of 12 to 22 years old. You would not notice this institution, where 500 young men and 40 young girls live, when just driving past it. The plan is to give these young people some work training before they are sent back into society again. The problem is that there are not enough workshops for all the young persons to attend.

The students pay close attention to their English teachers, and big improvements are noticed quickly.

A few years ago the PILC/RLC (Pattaya International Ladies Club and Rayong Ladies Circle) started a bakery project for the girls. The girls bake all sorts of goodies for sale in the surrounding farang society and when they leave the training centre they will receive a salary for all their hard work. The time spent in the bakery also provides them with important work training.

A half year ago the PILC started an art workshop. The PILC pays for the salary of an art teacher to make sure students there receive the best professional supervision. In this art shop the young men hand carve flip flops, which are then sold to the local society, the farang society and exported to Denmark and Canada. At the same time a plastic cutter machine with a computer has now made it possible for the young men to print out stickers for advisements used in different hotels and other businesses. These young men will also receive a salary when they leave the training centre, plus an understanding of working together with others and taking pride in their work.

The training centre in Rayong is the only training centre in Thailand where some of the young people actually receive a salary when they leave, due to great support from the RLC, PILC and Jesters Care for Kids, and the customers of course.

The Jesters Care for Kids and RLC are also involved at the training centre. 1 year ago the first team started an organic gardening course where they learn how to farm the land and produces organic vegetables sold at local restaurants and hotels. On July 1, the 5th team of young men and women will start their training, knowing that after 3 months they will have knowledge about gardening for later use. The gardening project has the full support of the Jesters Care for Kids and RLC.

We all know how important education is and it can be very useful to learn how to speak English. Therefore, a group of women from RLC has visited the training centre every week for the past 8 months to teach English. The group is normally spilt up into 3 classes where different levels of English are taught. All pupils pay attention and really enjoy learning. Big improvements are noticeable very quickly.

If any other club or organisation would like to visit the training centre, perhaps bringing a new idea for a workshop, they are most welcome for a special grand tour.

A treat for the kids as the US Navy sails into school

Wednesday June 22 was a big day for the children of Mabprachan School, when they were visited by men and women of the visiting ships of the US Navy, namely from the USS Rodney M Davis, the USS Paul Hamilton, the USS Salvor, and the USS Fort McHenry.

The US Navy personnel all came down from Sattahip where their ships are presently moored, along with members of the Rotary Club of Taksin-Pattaya and staff members of the Pattaya Marriott Resort & Spa.

This was just a fun visit for the children and visitors to enjoy themselves. They played soccer and other games together to work off surplus energy and to build up an appetite for a special meal!

Many of the sailors have children of their own and have not been with their families for a long time, so this was as much a treat for the sailors as it was the kids. There was great excitement as the visitors provided a delicious lunch, with soft drinks and plenty of ice cream for all the 87 children at the school.

Checking out the computers at the school.

The visitors provided a delicious lunch, with soft drinks and plenty of ice cream for all the 87 children at the school.

Mmmm... this looks good.

Many of the sailors have children of their own and have not been with their families for a long time, so this was as much a treat for the sailors as it was the kids.

Sailors from the USS Rodney M Davis, USS Paul Hamilton, USS Salvor, and Fort McHenry visited Mabprachan School.