Our Children
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Regent’s Secondary Student Guild remains Bronze Sponsors of Jester’s Fair

A week in the life of ‘Caring For Kids’

Regent’s Secondary Student Guild remains Bronze Sponsors of Jester’s Fair

Chairperson Angela hands over their donation to the Jesters Care for Kids
to Woody in front of the Secondary Student Guild 2007 - 2008.

Paul Crouch
Another academic year draws to an end and the Regent’s Secondary Student Guild, ably led by Chairperson Angela and her executive team, have had a very productive year. Every week’s meeting and agenda has been full of proactive items that have not only been discussed and reviewed but actioned through a very effective body of students.
The Guild has been responsible for social events at Halloween, Valentine’s and the recent Swim Challenge. They have raised large amounts of funds to support environmental initiatives, RS major projects and to sponsor Ban Jing Jai students to participate in Regent’s Drama Festivals. The Student Guild has been an avid supporter of the AIDS awareness campaign before Christmas and the Amnesty International plastic bottle and baby milk drives. Only recently did the Guild initiate the support and collection of food and water for the people of Burma who have been made homeless by Cyclone Nargis and ensured the delivery of all the goods through World Vision in Bangkok.
One community event that the Guild always likes to support is the Jester’s Care for Kids Charity Drive that happens in Pattaya, at Diana Driving Range, every year in September. For the 6th year in a row now, the Guild have become Bronze Sponsors of this hugely successful event, and welcomed Woody to attend one of their final meetings of the year to present the money.
Woody talked about the aims of the Charity Drive and how support from groups like the Regent’s School is very important as it not only provides financial support but also creates partnerships for interaction and learning. The Guild are very much looking forward to running their penalty shootout stall again this September and raising even more funds for all the projects that the Fair supports.
Finally, this year’s Student Guild would like to thank Mrs. Brown, Mrs. McCoy, and Mrs. Robertson for all their hard work and kind support of Student Guild events. Their bacon butties were an especially big hit!


A week in the life of ‘Caring For Kids’

Lewis Underwood
This week we decided to go informal and simply report about the goings-on of a typical week in the life of caring for kids.
Urn, a stricken child: Lately we have been trying to figure out the best way to help Urn, a diminutive 7-year old girl who suffers from a congenital liver problem. She lives with her grandparents in a slum near Central Pattaya; a 3-sided hovel open in the front to the elements and a small motorcycle repair shop.

Urn and her granny in their hovel

Her liver condition distends her belly uncomfortably, yellows her eyes and makes her skin itch incessantly. Had she had the opportunity to undergo surgery when younger, the present condition probably could have been averted. As it is now, it is simply a question of time before it shortens her time here on this earth.
One of the few joys she has in life, besides having her granny scratch her hard-to-reach spots, is spending time at the Fountain of Life, where she is able to play and be around other kids.
We thought the best way to make Urn comfortable during the interim was to find her a cleaner place to live, as in an apartment preferably close to the Center. We found such a place we considered ideal for the granny, mother and child, but, then things began to get difficult.
Firstly, six members of Urn’s extended family wanted to make the move with her, which was impossible due to limited capacity at the apartments. It became a moot point though when the family told us they did not want to move from the area where they were now.
We then asked Urn’s family to look for an apartment on their own, closer to where they resided, but they resisted that too. They just wanted to stay put next to their small motorbike workshop.
So Plan C was simply offering to buy a new mattress with change of covers for their current living situation. If they comply with this option, we just have to hope that they won’t try to sell it.
Once again the lesson learned is reinforced: Sometimes you think you know what is best for people, but no matter how badly you want to help, it simply will not work if they do not want it.
Ban Jing Jai: Though we make weekly visits to BJJ on Tuesdays to check on progress, assess their needs and offer guidance, last week was the first Tuesday of the month, which is when we also go over the bills for food costs from the previous month. It is also the day when we advance them 30,000 baht to cover the food costs for the new month in support of the 55 children and 8 staffers at this small orphanage.
Over the last 4 months we found that 30,000 baht was more than sufficient to cover the food. When there was money left over though, we asked them to just carry the balance over to the next month. Since this became more the norm than the exception, we have now agreed to also cover their monthly utilities, which was almost 10,000 baht for the 3 residences in April. After all, every little bit helps.
The Regent’s Secondary Student Guild: The secondary students have once again become a Bronze Sponsor (10,000 baht) and last Thursday, we visited the school for their weekly meeting to talk about the Jesters charity drive and thank them for their kind donation. This is the 6th consecutive year that they have made this donation. The students and staff have always been supportive of our charity drive, not only with cash donations, but also by helping us at the Children’s Fair selling children’s raffle ticket books on the day and providing entertainment on the stage.
The school also has a generous policy of inviting children from the Fountain of Life Center, Ban Jing Jai and Mercy Center, which are also our beneficiaries, for special events and celebrations. They have also been involved in charitable projects in the South since the 2004 tsunami with school lunch programs on Koh Phi Phi, where they are now constructing a community center.
It is good for young people to get involved in charity not just by donating funds, but also by volunteering their time to help those less fortunate.
Potisan High School: We also visited this school of 2000 students near Wat Po in Naklua. A math teacher invited us to come have a look and see if we could help them. Initially she was vague about her needs, which had us a little wary. But contrary to expectations, the teacher had an education program on discs and needed a basic computer and monitor to use as visual aids to improve her teaching methods for her 45 students. We were only too happy to agree to help here. It really is nice when something this small is so straightforward with a huge benefit for the kids.
New begging letter: We just produced our 4th corporate letter soliciting donations from companies and individuals in the community ahead of our rapidly approaching September events this year. If you would like to see this latest edition and donate to our cause, please visit our website: www.care4kids.info
Fair stalls: Bookings for stalls are already being submitted for our annual Children’s Fair coming your way on Sunday, September 14 at the Diana Garden Resort and Driving Range in North Pattaya. Things are starting to move fast, so book your stall(s) now. It is easy to do merely by visiting our website.
More news next week.