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Jesters ‘Care For Kids’ Charity Drive 2006: It’s a wrap
Lewis Underwood
The Jesters ‘Care for Kids’ Charity Drive 2006 culminated last month at our
Pub Night held at Jameson’s on Saturday, September 16th. At the end of the
evening just shy of cresting the 6 million baht mark, the hat was passed
around in order to reach a final total of 6,001,013. This fabulous result is
once again due to your generosity and kindness and on behalf of all the kids
you are caring for, we thank you immensely.
 Lasse
and Jenny Jesters Children’s Fair (Photo by Paul Shortino)
There are many ways we raise funds for the children through our events, and
Erik and Robert’s sponsored push bike marathon rides, but still the most
significant contributing factor are your corporate and individual donations
and pledges. For instance, this year alone your contributions were
responsible for 4,367,310 baht, or 73% of the total funds raised.
Over the past 9 years, through your donations and participation you have
been responsible for the Jesters Charity Drive raising over 31 million baht
that has touched and renewed the lives of countless children and young
adults on the Eastern Seaboard and Southern Thailand under the auspices of:
 Ban
Jing Jai kids at the Jesters Children’s Fair (Photo by Ning)
* Fountain of Life Center for Children in Pattaya
* Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind in Naklua
* Eastern Child Welfare Protection Institute in Huay Pong
* Happiness Camps
* Next Step Program providing scholarships for higher education
* Rayong Training Center rehabilitating and education young adults
* Our Home in Khanam Rai, Ban Chang
* Rayong Shelter
* Chonburi Shelter
* Koon Jae Boarding School in Ban Bung
* Khao Bai Sri School for the mentally impaired in Sattahip
* Ban Jing Jai orphanage
* Mercy Children’s Center
* Thap Lamu School in Phang Nga (tsunami affected)
* Sanga Ou School in Koh Lanta (school lunches)
* Sriphong Phukaoluan Foundation in Krabi (scholarship for tsunami orphan)
* Koh Phi Phi School (school lunches)
* Wat Samithitham School in Koh Lanta (school lunches)
* Crisis/emergency situations
 Jesters
Pub Night auctioneer Eddy at work (Photo by Steve Ellison)
This year over 4.1 million baht of your donations has already been allocated
and dispersed. The balance will be distributed not only to current
beneficiaries, but also to new projects for which we are continuously
looking.
Though this year’s charity drive is basically a wrap, we
have already initiated the planning for next year’s tenth annual Jesters
Care for Kids Charity Drive, which officially started on Sunday October 1.
Already promotional and event shirt designs are underway, as well as ideas
to make this gala occasion something very special indeed.
But in the meantime we would like to leave you with some memories of this
year’s most successful drive ever with 3 of the best pictures taken by our
team of photographers, Ning, Paul Shortino, and Steve Ellison.
Once again, thank you very much, on behalf of all the Jesters, both full
member and honorary, and the children, for your great compassion and
invaluable participation for this past year.
Regent’s senior students
aiming to be peer mentors
Zdenka and Alex practice their mentoring
skills.
Mrs. Walford gives some advice to the Year
12 and 13 students.
Paul. Crouch
As part of the new look Round Square Council for this academic year, the
head students and prefects have decided to coordinate a larger group of
senior students who will be peer mentors. These mentors will offer ‘drop
in’ sessions for all the students at the Pattaya Campus, during break
times and after school.
In total, including the prefects and head students, 28 Year 12 and 13
students have begun the intensive training to become a peer mentor. They
will work closely together to ensure that every student in the school
has the opportunity to feel that they can talk and discuss their issues
with someone they trust.
This is a fantastic initiative that brings new skills and experience to
our senior Round Square leaders. Many thanks must go to Ms. Walford and
Mrs. Pratt for their time, expertise and guidance. Look out for the new
peer mentor service in the coming weeks.
Royal Cliff Beach Resort
donates cash, food
to Father Ray Foundation
Panga Vathanakul (centre),
managing director of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, presents a cheque for
200,000 baht along with rice and Thai snacks to Rev. Lawrence Patin (4th
left), director of the Father Ray Foundation, while Vathanai Vathanakul,
executive director of the Resort, and others look on.
As part of its corporate social responsibility, the Royal
Cliff Beach Resort recently donated 200,000 baht along with rice and Thai
snacks to the Father Ray Foundation, which manages an orphanage, a home for
street children and 3 schools for the physically-challenged.
The donation in cash and kind will benefit as many as 750 boys and girls who
are the residents or students of the Children’s Home Foundation (Pattaya
Orphanage), the School for the Deaf Children, the Redemptorist Vocational
Training School for the Disabled, the Redemptorist School for the Blind and
the Redemptorist Home for Street Kids.
The Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s managing director, Panga Vathanakul presented
a cheque for 200,000 baht and the rice and Thai snacks to the Foundation’s
director, Rev. Lawrence Patin. The resort’s executive director, Vathanai
Vathanakul, general manager, Alexander Haeusler and other executives of the
resort were also present at the occasion.
Asian University student attends UN sponsored
seminar aimed at helping people with disabilities
Tanes Rianglaem (Nate), 3rd year BA student at
Asian University
On September 21-22, 2006 I had the opportunity to attend the Seminar on
South to South Cooperation on Disability: Development of APCD Network at
the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok. The event was hosted by
the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (UNESCAP) and Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability
(APCD). The objective of the seminar was to develop and strengthen the
network of People with Disabilities (PWDs) in the Asia and Pacific
region.
 Tanes
with Ms. Lasapan, chief of the International Support Department of APCD;
they are standing under the UN logo.
The participants from various countries, particularly in Asia and the
Pacific region, shared interesting facts, ideas and projects which have
been completed successfully. They mainly discussed how they can help one
another to develop and strengthen the network of PWDs in this region.
Many significant topics involving disability issues were also raised
during this seminar. The attending participants, they all have the same
aim, want to create a barrier-free society for PWDs from the community
level through to the global level.
It was my great chance to attend such a valuable event like this. I have
gained much experience and knowledge by sharing ideas with other young
people, especially on disability issues. Disability issues may be seen
as a serious and not pleasurable to look into. In fact, it is very
necessary to be more concerned into it.
People with disabilities represent one of the most marginalized groups
and that their rights have been routinely ignored or denied throughout
much of the world. I as a young person personally believe that we all
can make a difference for all PWDs in today’s society by helping to
promote the empowerment of PWDs and increasing people’s awareness of
disability problems and issues. To create a barrier free society for
PWDs needs everybody’s hands working on it, not just organizations that
work on disability.”
Tanes Rianglaem (Nate) was chairman of the Community Service Committee,
Asian University 2005-2006. Tanes has attended many international
conferences and seminars, particularly on social issues. Most of them
were hosted by UN agencies such as UNICEF or UNESCAP. Tanes has also
been actively participating in social work activities.
The Fobissea Music Festival at Garden International School
7th - 12th November 2006
By Andrew Watson
 Steven Gailloud is not just a pretty face, although I wondered, as I
made easy conversation with him over a pot-luck supper at GIS on a balmy
evening in Ban Chang, just how much his dashing good lucks had to do
with his recent victory in the student council elections. Actually, to
be fair, I did hear that his speech had “touched everyone’s heart”.
‘President’ Steven is definitely the sort of boy you want your daughter
to bring home. He’s respectful, polite, kind, honest, a damn good
footballer and a genuinely sweet boy; perfect leadership material, then?
 ‘President’
Steven Gailloud; he gets my vote!
When three hundred and fifty or so students and teachers from around
South East Asia descend on Ban Chang and Jomtien in six weeks time for
the Fobissea Music festival, students from GIS are going to be their
constant companions. If Steven is indicative of the kind of GIS student
who is going to be acting as an ambassador for the school, then their
guests are in for a treat.
He’s wonderfully enthusiastic about the next six weeks; he feels “great”
and “really wants to do it”. He recognises that this is an opportunity
to advertise the school; it’ll put GIS on the map at last.
The students at school share his excitement. It’s just about the first
time, he tells me, that the school have put on a big event. Steven wants
to be involved with everything. He talks of performing at the festival
despite the fact that he has only been learning the piano for six
months. When someone like Steven takes up the piano, it becomes ‘chic’
and it’s that man Shane O’Shea who is responsible for inspiring him to
learn the instrument. Finding time to practice is difficult; Steven is
in his last year of IB and admits that it’s been tough. So do the
students feel that preparations for Fobissea are on schedule?
“Time is going very fast, but Mr O’Shea reminds us of our
responsibilities and we get on with the job in hand and then move on to
the next target.”
They clearly have great faith in their Irish Maestro. Steven tells me,
“He’s a very friendly teacher. If we have any problems, whether it’s to
do with studies or friends or anything, he listens. He really motivates
me.”
I could hear music drifting down from the classrooms above us, “We have
many talented students here, like Ji Su on the violin, (watch this space
for more on Ji Su) who was our ‘musician of the year’ last year. The
festival is going to be great!”
I once met eighteen year-old Swiss/Thai Steven when filming “Beyond the
Beach” at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, where he was gaining work
experience as a chef. “I like cooking. I learned a lot there. I made
cream and chocolate cake and baked bread; it was fun”.
Somehow, I get the impression that Steven is one of those young men who
is so eager to learn, that all it takes is someone or something to light
a spark in him and he’ll go on and illuminate the world.
For further information, please email music.fest@ gardenrayong.com or
check at the GIS website; www. gardenrayong.com
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