Eva Johnson
The entire three floor building is buzzing with activity
when I arrive; women learning all about hairdressing, sewing, massage,
computer skills, English, German, Thai; new girls who are there to register;
volunteers in the kitchen preparing lunch. I am met by Mary Pierce, who has
been kind enough to help a newcomer like me (four months in Pattaya doesn’t
exactly qualify me as an expert on NGO’s here).
Sister
Supaporn (left) and Mary Pierce (right) greet the author upon arrival at the
Fountain of Life Women’s Center.
As we look for Sister Supaporn, who runs the Fountain of
Life Women’s Center, I am amazed how popular these classes must be - almost
every room we pass seems full until the last chair. Also, I am struck by the
concentration these women put in to the learning process, worlds apart from
the unruly high school class I once used to sub. This is serious business, I
can tell - as well as a lot of fun.
When we finally find Sister Supaporn it turns out she has
a problem with the roof and guttering that needs fixing and the contractor
has just arrived. Mary rapidly suggests that we have a foot massage in the
meantime.
“The women need practice and the Center is happy for the
donation we give. They ask for fifty baht for half an hour of massage, I
usually give them a hundred,” says Mary and within minutes we are
comfortably seated getting our feet pampered with oil and tiger balm and
surrounded by the friendly curious faces of the twenty or so women taking
part in the class. “Anyone can come here for massage, or a haircut,”
continues Mary, “and if you need some piece of clothing fixed, you can get
that done here too. You don’t have to call or make an appointment or
anything, you can just come.”
“One person is of more value than the whole world,” says
Sister Supaporn, quoting St. Mary Euphrasia, who in 1835 founded the Sisters
of Charity of the Good Shepherd, today mostly known as the Good Shepherd
Sisters. “She also said: Don’t let the poor wait for you. And, the first
thing one should ask is: Have you eaten? It is as simple as that.”
I get the point: essentials first. A philosophy I like.
We are sitting in the quiet of her office, the roof issue
has been dealt with for the moment, and she explains, nicely but firmly, why
she so often has turned down requests from reporters and television teams
who want to come and visit the Center.
“My responsibility is to the women only. I would like
this to be like a second home to them. I want them to feel safe, and not to
be exploited here as well,” she says and underlines that many women prefer
the Fountain of Life Center to the Social Welfare equivalent. “We have a
trust in their own will to bring about changes in their lives.”
The Sisters of the Good Shepherd are devoted to helping
marginalized people and today consist of around four thousand nuns who
manage centers all over the world. Just in Thailand, there are centers
located in Bangkok, Nong Khai, Phuket, Chiang Rai and Pattaya, all
affiliated, but individually funded by different sponsors. The Fountain of
Life Women’s Center in Pattaya was founded in 1989 (and Sister Supaporn has
worked here since 1997).
“We began by helping marginalized women,” she says, “and
as we worked with them we saw the need to work with children as well.”
Today the Children’s Center and the Women’s Center in
Pattaya are actually one and the same organisation, with one administration
team and joint staff meetings, as well as training. The only thing they do
not share is the funding.
“People tend to be more prone to donate to children. It
doesn’t matter how often we point out that these women also have children,
whose lives are affected by how their mothers live - helping these women is
helping the children too - most people won’t see it this way.”
Interestingly enough, the Center’s main sponsor is the
Thai Children’s trust (former Pattaya Orphanage Fund) - so someone must have
understood the logic of this.
The Center works on a drop-in basis with classes in the
mornings and in the afternoons. In one single day there will be between
three and four hundred women visiting. During 2009, 2282 individuals
registered at the Center, of which 48% had Primary School education or
lower.
The length of each course varies depending on the
subject, level and prior skills of the participant. On completing the
curriculum everyone will receive a certificate, which will enable them to
get a job.
“We used to not do this, but people in town were selling
certificates to women who had been to our classes for 3000-4000 baht, so we
changed our view on this,” says the Sister and adds that most who attend
massage, computer and hair dressing classes do find jobs after receiving
their certificates.
“And even if someone is not a great learner and does not
show much interest, she is always welcome to hang around,” she continues,
pointing out that it is better if they are at the Center than doing
something more destructive elsewhere. “Everyone can come here for as long as
they want, if only just to talk and meet people. Many of them live in
extremely small rooms, which they share with two or three others - often
there will barely be floor enough for all of them to sleep side by side - so
they come here to get some space.”
Suddenly a Thai voice echoes through the loudspeakers.
The time is 11.15 a.m., and, like every day at this hour, it is time for
prayer. Sister Supaporn turns off the light, and everyone in the house does
the same.
“We do this to raise awareness of global warming and the
immense amounts of energy being used,” she explains.
Silence settles throughout the building. Prayer time
consists of five minutes of Buddhist practice of spreading compassion to
others, followed by a minute Bible reading in Thai.
“We work with interfaith,” says the Sister once the
lights are on again. “The women are Buddhist, we are Catholic, but we
embrace Buddhism, just as Buddhism is open to other religions. In the end we
all believe in the same creation, the same God.”
Outside the office women scurry toward the kitchen for
the 20 baht lunch. Most of them, I am told, have come here from the poorest
areas of Thailand in the North and North East, hoping to improve their
economic situation and be able to support their families back home. Sadly,
reality seldom turns out this way, and many find themselves stuck in a dire
situation, without money and too ashamed to go home.
The Fountain of Life believes that empowerment and
awareness is essential for these women if they are to change their present
situation. They therefore invite speakers from Thai authorities, such as the
Foreign Ministry, Immigration and the Thai legal system, to talk about legal
rights and how to deal with different aspects of the system.
Also, they ask representatives from foreign embassies to
come and inform the women about what can happen and how it might become if
they decide to follow their farang partner to his country.
Moreover, the Fountain of Life organises sex education
where doctors are invited to speak about everything from HIV and venereal
disease, to self esteem and their rights as women.
Each week there is a talk on pro-life which includes
contraception and prevention of pregnancy, and every day there are several
recreational activities, such as, for example, painting, exercise groups and
classes in self-defence (if one can call this recreational).
Another important aspect is that of official or
unofficial counselling. Everyone is offered to speak to a counsellor, but
often people like to be more spontaneous.
“That is why we train all our staff in counselling,”
Sister Supaporn says, “it is more likely that it will be the cook who at the
end of the day will be given the most confidence.”
So how would Sister Supaporn like to summarize the work
being done at the Center?
“All in all we have a very holistic approach to the work
we do,” she says. “It is our firm belief that each and every woman
inherently possesses energy, power and awareness. Our task is to help them
develop these skills.”
I leave the Center thinking that in the end it all
amounts to one big gigantic problem of inequality; between countries, social
classes and gender. These women are situated at the very lowest steps of all
these ladders. Thus, my hat off (if I had one) to the Fountain of Life for
working so hard for the good and well being of this so often forgotten and
stigmatized group of individuals.
As was quoted earlier:
One person is of more value than the whole world.
A sentence worth digesting, slowly and meticulously.
Benji
now keeps his lesson notes on his netbook.
