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Jesters ‘Caring For Kids’ with shelters, schools & scholarships
Lewis Underwood
From the beginning 8 years ago when the Fountain of Life
Center was in a small cluster of shophouses on a neglected soi in North
Pattaya, the Jesters ‘Care for Kids’ has been all about shelters,
schooling and scholarships. Our incentive to first get involved in a charity
drive and the impetus to keep going has been all about giving children in
need the provision of a safe and caring environment, the chance to get
scholarships and with the goal to get an education and/or vocation in life.
 Clean
plates please at the Redemptorist School for the Blind.
Since the beginning, when the Fountain of Life Center was
our sole beneficiary, we have taken on many other beneficiaries aimed at
helping children. Yet we still find that the more we look, the more we
realize just how much more assistance is needed out there. In other words,
the work is simply never done.
Here is an overview of who we are caring for this year:
1. The Fountain of Life Center in North Pattaya is
our main beneficiary, which provides so much help for children in strife by
securing documentation (birth certificates) so they can get an identity and
fulfill the first requirement for going to a government school. As well as
being a caring environment, the Center also provides nutritious meals,
medical and dental care, basics of personal hygiene, meaningful activity and
ultimately scholarships for entering the government school system. The
Jesters provide the majority of the Center’s operational expenses and
scholarships.
It’s
follow my teacher at the Fountain of Life.
2. The Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind
in Naklua provides education for an average of 150 students and also
vocational training. We routinely provide educational aids, furnishings,
building renovation and musical instruments.
3. New! Rayong Shelter, on the premises of the
Eastern Child Welfare Protection Institute near Maptaphut, primarily
provides a refuge for abused children and young unwed mothers. We were
involved in the construction of the Shelter earlier this year along with the
Pattaya Sports Club and Pattaya International Ladies Club.
4. New! Chonburi Shelter in Banglamung is an
existing facility, but inadequate in terms of space. We and the Pattaya
International Ladies Club are assisting the Pattaya Sports Club in the
construction of a new additional shelter and canteen in August.
 Em
is the star achiever in the ‘Next Step’ program.
5. Happiness Camps are sessions organized by the
Matura Human Society in conjunction with City Hall for children attending
government schools. The goal is to improve the students’ attitudes towards
learning and getting the most from their education, including acquiring
positive outlooks and self esteem, through the medium of role-playing,
music, dance and yoga. We recently sponsored the latest 2-day session at
Nong Nooch for 90 students (13-16 years old) and 10 teachers from Koh Larn
Island, just off the coast of Pattaya.
6. New! Baan Sai Jai will be a joint venture with
BlueScope in the construction of housing for elderly people caring for their
grandchildren whose parents have died of AIDS. We are presently waiting on
the acquisition of the land in the Ban Chang area.
7. New! Khao Bai Siri School, also in the Ban
Chang vicinity, is a facility that also offers a haven to autistic children.
This project entails a building extension to provide more classroom space,
as well as the regular services of a physiotherapist. The project should get
underway by late summer.
8. Our Next Step Program is one that provides
scholarships for those with the ambition, but without the means, to pursue
higher education. Currently we are providing 8 scholarships to government
school students aspiring to go on to, or continue, their high school
education. Our star achiever of this program is Khun Em, a mechanic by
trade, who is now studying for an Engineering bachelors’ degree at a
technical university just outside Bangkok.
9. Rayong Training Center (formally referred to as
the Rayong Child and Youth Training Center) is an ongoing project helping to
maintain the Center’s highly successful organic gardening scheme. We have
also been very involved in expanding their toilet/septic tank system, and
recently a water filtration scheme for drinking water.
10. Thap Lamu and Sanga Ou Schools in the south
are two institutions we chose to help in the New Year after the devastation
of the tsunami. We were involved in Thap Lamu, located near the Khao Lak
area, in the construction of a school building, a joint venture with the
Rotary Club of Jomtien and the Sportsman Inn. The Sanga Ou School is on Koh
Lanta and we are providing a school lunch program, with PILC’s Helping
Hands, for the current school year. We hope this venture will segue into a
kitchen garden project in the near future.
We continue to look at other projects, but often have to make the hard
choice of deciding who we can help, based on projections of what funds the
Jesters ‘Care for Kids’ Charity Drive can raise each year. If you would
like to help us continue to help as many children as possible, please
contact us at [email protected] or visit our website, www.
care4kids.info
Education Guidance and Service for Admission to University
On Saturday, July 9, Asian University organized a workshop covering
Education Guidance and Service to Government and Private Organizations. The
workshop and seminar were held at the Novotel Bangkok, at Siam Square. The
afternoon was designed to give educators and students more information and
knowledge of the many choices available in higher education.
The
contributors were: Professor Dr. Utumporn Jamornmann, president of
Admission and Assessment Forum Council of University Presidents of
Thailand; Associate Professor Dr. Paitoon Sinlarat, Faculty of Education,
Chulalongkorn University; Ajarn Pakinai Sunthornwipart, the Guidance
Association of Thailand and Dr. Viphandh Roengpithya, president, Asian
University.
The staff at Asian U is farsighted enough to realise
that the school counsellor teachers’ role is very important to support
and encourage their pupils’ abilities. Educational guidance is essential
to maximise students’ potential.
The object of the seminar was to provide an understanding and knowledge
of higher education options, to teachers, parents and to potential
students. The afternoon focussed on the available international programs of
higher education. It was a great opportunity for the participants to
exchange experiences and attitudes.
Local students clean up Jomtien Beach for Community Work
On Thursday July 7, the college at Asian University in
Jomtien, led by Deputy Headmaster Roger Lucas, took a group of students to
Jomtien Beach to help collect rubbish and generally tidy up. Mr. Lucas
explained that it is part of the curriculum requirement for students to
complete community service to go towards their yearly assessment.
Two
students from the college pay their respects to (left stage) Panit Nilubol,
vice president of administration, and (right stage) Robert Shrubsall, dean
of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, while teachers and lecturers from the
college and Asian U look on.
The students were met by staff of the Health Department
of Pattaya City Hall who supplied plastic baskets and workers to help
collect the rubbish.
Mr. Lucas said that the students enjoyed the chance to
get away from school and to assist the local community, and they were able
to collect quite a lot of rubbish before a heavy downpour forced a rapid
return to the school busses.
During the previous month, on Thursday June 9, the
college students celebrated teacher respect day. The ceremony was presided
over by Panit Nilubol, the vice president of administration at the
University. Khun Panit opened the ceremony by lighting two candles and three
incense sticks in homage to the lord Buddha and Their Majesties the King and
Queen of Thailand.
Deputy
Headmaster, Mr. Roger Lucas leads his students in the community clean up.
The students then sang a special song expressing their
allegiance to their teachers. Next, on their knees, they approached the
teachers and presented them with a ceremonial offering of flowers. The
teachers then wished the students success in their future studies. Thursday
is typically chosen in scheduling this event, as it is considered an
auspicious day in Thai cultural tradition.
The college is an academic cooperation between Asian University and
Kasetsart University Laboratory School International Programme. The college
is coeducational with 70 boarding students at grade levels 10 and 11. It
follows the Thai national curriculum teaching most subjects in English.
Students
from the college spread out over Jomtien beach to collect rubbish
Eastern Science Park will bring R&D benefits to local industry
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The new Eastern Science Park and its role in industrial
development were discussed at a recent seminar conducted at the Royal Navy
Room of the A-One Royal Cruise Hotel. The Thailand Institute of Scientific
and Technological Research (TISTR) organized the event.
 Dr
Nonglak Pankerddee, director of the Thailand Institute of Science and
Technological Research, was the opening presenter of the seminar.
Opened by TISTR director Dr Nonglak Pankerddee, the
seminar was attended by Eastern Science Park board members, and
representatives of Eastern Seaboard industrial enterprises, the Educational
Institute, and local government.
Burapha University is playing the lead educational role
in the Science Park project. Mrs Prapaisri Somchai, a senior instructor at
the Science Park, said that the concept is to help bring the results of
science and technological research to industry and business along the
Eastern Seaboard.
To date, TISTR has been active in all parts of Thailand except for the
east, which with its high concentration of industry is one of the areas that
would benefit most from scientific research and development.
New classrooms and sports centre for Pattaya School #2
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Pattaya School #2’s new building and multi-purpose
sports facility was formally opened on July 16, with Mayor Niran
Wattanasartsathorn presiding over the ceremony. Constructed under a 27
million baht budget, work had begun on the four-storey, 18-room school
building and the associated sports building last year.
The two
buildings were constructed under a combined budget of 27 million baht.
Mayor Niran said that the number of pupils attending
schools in Pattaya City is growing every year, and that classroom facilities
are continually stretched. City hall is attempting to budget for a new
school building every year to provide extra learning and recreational
facilities.
The budget for Pattaya School #2’s new classroom
building was 14 million baht, and in addition to the classrooms there is a
sound lab. A fund has been created to develop the school library and to
equip the building with 10 computers so students can use the internet. The
multi-purpose sports building cost 13 million baht, and its facilities are
open to other organisations outside of school hours.
The school teaches from kindergarten to secondary level 2, and level 3 is
scheduled for the next school year. Principal is Kasem Chimjew. The school
currently has 1,777 students.
Mayor
Niran Wattanasartsathorn (centre), Chonburi MP Chanyuth Hengtrakul (left),
and Banlue Kulawanit, chairman of the Pattaya School 2 education committee,
press the button to open the building.
The Big Draw Art Exhibition
The main
hall displayed many works of art.
St. Andrews International School, Bangna Campus held
“The Big Draw” art exhibition at their premises recently.
Men and women have created art throughout our history for
a variety of reasons and purposes. Some individual artists have achieved
greatness and fame whilst some of us have participated at various levels of
interest and every day, we all make aesthetic judgements. For many the last
act of making art was at school but all of us live in a very visual society
with its own culture and global communication.
The children at St. Andrews International School, Bangna Campus have
looked at the work or an individual piece of work by a recognised “Big
Artist” who has attained recognition worldwide, such as Paul Klee, Gustav
Klimt, Henri Matisse, Sidney Nolan, Henri Rousseau and Andy Warhol. Our own
“Little Artists” work shows some of their interpretations of what they
have studied.
As the
children looked on in delight, the Head of St. Andrews International School,
Bangna Campus began the event with his opening sketch.
There’s a word for it, as students gather
for annual crossword competition
Suchada Tupchai
The Eastern AMET Crossword Game and Famous Mottoes
Championship No 5 took place on July 9 at Pacific Park in Sriracha, with
vice-governor of Chonburi Wirawit Wiwattanvanich presiding over the opening.
Vice-governor
of Chonburi Wirawit Wiwattanvanich (centre left) and Amnuay Ploysaeng-Ngam
(centre right), president of the Thailand AMET Crossword Games and Famous
Mottoes Club start the official play.
Amongst those attending were Amnuay Ploysaeng-Ngam,
president of the Thailand AMET Crossword Games and Famous Mottoes Club, and
Chanjira Sermsrap, activity and marketing manager of Pacific Park, along
with over 2,000 student representatives from the central and eastern parts
of Thailand.
Amnuay said the competition supports and encourages Thai,
English, and mathematics skills, and learning at all student levels. The
event marked the 20th anniversary of the Thailand Crossword, which has been
held continuously since 1986.
The Eastern AMET Crossword Game and Famous Mottoes
Championship is held annually. This year was the fifth. The activity is now
held in schools throughout the country, and there are competitions between
the schools and universities.
The competition was organised in cooperation with the Ministry of
Education and Pacific Park. It was divided into three types: English
crosswords, AMET numerical calculations, and Thai famous mottoes. The winner
received an honorary trophy and a scholarship before continuing on to the
country and international competitions.
Students
concentrate during the competition.
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