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Twenty five years of educating the blind
Lunch was provided by the
Pattaya Memorial Hospital who treated the children to burgers and fries.
Derek Franklin
The annual Wai Khru, Teachers Day, ceremony takes place
on the last Thursday in June at the Pattaya School for the Blind. It is a
day when the students pay respect to the teaching staff who work tirelessly
to give the students the skills and knowledge they will need to be able to
live as independent life as possible.
Students present the teachers with beautiful floral
arrangements that have taken many hours, and a lot of patience to make. They
sing songs, recite the student oath and promise to be good students and
citizens in society.
This day is also called Benefactors Day, when the school
pays tribute to those people and groups who have helped the school over the
last year.
Representatives from the Thai Red Cross, Jesters Care for
Kids, Pattaya Memorial Hospital and local dignitaries were present to
receive hand made flowers from the children as a way of saying thanks.
Without the generosity of the people of Pattaya the Naklua based school
would not be able to provide the blind children with the facilities they
currently have.
The school is now in its twenty fifth year, and the
anniversary celebrations will culminate with a visit in April next year by
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn under whose patronage the
school belongs.
More than 500 students have received an education at the
school, and blind, visually impaired and multi-disability students are all
made welcome and given the chance to reach their full potential. The
generosity of its supporters will ensure that the school can continue to
welcome newcomers.
More information can be found at www.fr-ray.org or email
[email protected]
Principal of the School for
the Blind, Aurora Sribuapun, gives the welcome speech.
Students pay respect to
Ekawat Usaneepan, deputy director of Chonburi Primary Education Region 3.
Jesters Care for Kids was
represented by Woody Underwood.
Father Pattarapong Peter
Srivorakul, president of the Father Ray Foundation, receives flowers from a
blind student.
The teachers were presented
with beautiful floral arrangements.
Even the youngest children
paid their respects.
The children pay respects to
their teachers.
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Chonburi schools compete in ‘democracy quiz’
Thittirat Sritheerawiroj from
the Chonburi Public Relation Department awards one of the winners.
Students from five Chonburi schooled vied to see who knew
the most about the Thai electoral system in a province-wide “democracy
quiz.”
Three-person teams from Assumption Sriracha, Darasamut,
Nongyaisiriworawatwittaya and Phanas Pittayakan schools and two teams from
Cholkanyanukul competed June 22 for the 3,000 baht first-place prize.
Runners-up got 2,000 and 1,000 baht, respectively.
One of two teams from Cholkanyanukul finished first and
moves on to regional democracy quiz competition in Chantaburi later this
month. Darasamut School’s team finished second and Phanaspittayakan third.
The contest was organized by the Chonburi Public
Relations Department to increase youth understanding of Thai-style democracy
and the elections process. (CPRD)
Students team up to answer
questions about how democracy works in Thailand.
Children from Camillian Home Lat Krabang enjoy a day on the beach
Chatchawal Supachayanont (center), general manager of
Dusit Thani Pattaya welcomes children from Camillian Home Lat Krabang and
their chaperones to the hotel for a weekend outing on the beach.
They were also provided the opportunity to ride on a boat
when they were taken to the nearby Koh Larn, also known as Coral Island.
The kids are among those who suffer severe disabilities
or HIV/AIDS and receive specialized care and treatment at the charity home.
The event was organized by Champ Donavanik (right) of Dusit International
and friends.
Crossing the line
Derek Franklin
There was a huge cheer, as well as a big sigh of relief,
when, on the morning of Saturday 23rd June, eighteen wheelchair using
students arrived in the northern city of Nong Khai to signal the end of
Rally 1479.
Panupong Kunta was one of the
students who crossed the country from Pattaya to Nong Khai.
The Rally started forty nine days earlier on May the 7th
when the students left the Redemptorist Vocational School for People with
Disabilities in Pattaya. Each day they covered a minimum of thirty
kilometers, and no matter how busy the traffic, how heavy the rain fell or
how high the temperature reached they never stopped.
At each town they arrived the students held a workshop,
inviting local people to see for themselves just what a person with a
disability can achieve.
The workshops were also a chance for local people to
learn more about the facilities and rights that are available to people
living with a disability, and more than ten thousand came seeking advice and
to give support.
For one thousand four hundred and seventy nine
kilometers, or 919 miles, the students overcame any problem that arose;
exhaustion, illness, mechanical breakages, punctures and the weather, and as
they crossed the finish line there were tears of joy from relatives who
where there to meet them.
Having a disability does not mean these students have no
ability. They crossed the country in a way that would seem impossible to
most and they did to inspire others. They have been watched by millions on
every national and local television news broadcasts.
They have shown that having a disability does not mean
they are disabled.
Phadungsak Sri-Phakdee,
teacher at the Vocational School, leads the cheers as they near the finish
line.
Student Sakda Khamta crosses
the finish line after 1479 kms.
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Update on Fah Sai, abandoned 3-year-old girl with
cerebral palsy: “Now everything’s coming up roses!”
Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive 2012 Sponsored by Glencore International and Canadian Jackalope Open
Lewis Underwood
Our team went up to the Camillian Home in Lat Krabang
last week, which is a residence and day-visitor center for kids living with
HIV and disabilities. However, the operative word at this facility is
‘disabled’, and that is the area of expertise of the physical therapists
resident there. Moreover, many of kids in question are only afflicted with
this burden.
Playing.
We are currently sponsoring 3 kids there; two of them
were relocated from the Camillian Social Center in Rayong circa 2008 due to
their severe disabilities: Fay, now a 9 year old girl and Tewid, a
14-year-old boy. These two children are being provided with 24/7 care
through a joint venture with the Canadian Jackalope Open.
However, the latest one, Fah Sai, an abandoned child with
cerebral palsy; she came from the Hand-to-Hand Foundation, a day-care center
in Pattaya only 3 months ago. The occasion of our latest visit there last
Wednesday was to help Fah Sai celebrate her 4th birthday.
Earlier this year, we featured her plight in the April
6th issue of the Pattaya Mail (http://pattayamail.com/975/community.shtml).
For those who might have missed it, Fah Sai was born to drug using/dealing
parents, who left her unattended lying on the floor of the drug supplier’s
house day in and day out. When both parents were incarcerated for repeat
offenses, she became completely neglected until Pai, the director of
Hand-to-Hand Foundation, came to her rescue.
Whether Fah Sai was born with cerebral palsy, or dropped
on her head and ignored during her miserable beginnings is now a moot point.
When Pai found Fah Sai, she had no use of her legs and arms, and could
hardly lift her head. She was also mostly mute, except when she was unhappy
and crying.
Eating.
At this stage, she could only drink fluids because the
muscles in her neck were never given a chance to develop. It took some time
before she could lift her head for short periods and sit up with support
that she could then be spoon-fed and swallow solid food.
Eventually, Pai realized that she could not continue the
24/7-care for Fah Sai anymore, as well as knowing that the diminutive girl
needed professional help. When she approached us with her dilemma, we, in
turn, contacted the Camillian Home staff, who were happy to admit her with
open arms. On March 23rd, we took her there and knew straight away that we
had found the place.
Fast forward to last week, and what we found was an
astonishing transformation!
We could not believe how much Fah Sai had progressed
after only 3 months!
She was now expressive, animated, smiling and full of
unabandoned laughter. She was vocal too; not only uttering some intelligible
words, but also letting out shrieks of pure joy!
Fah Sai can now sit in a chair without straps and feed
herself, as well as lift her arms to point at objects she wants. Moreover,
the staff says she has started to walk with her feet flat on the floor when
held upright by her arms.
Cake.
The finale of the visit was when we gathered in the
canteen along with staff and the rest of kids to celebrate her birthday with
cake, song and presents. Once again Fah Sai surprised us by showing she knew
how to blow out candles and tear open presents like any other kid on such an
occasion. The beauty of it all is that we know she’s going to keep
improving.
For someone who suffered most of her young tender life
and to see her now in such bliss, it touches our hearts and makes us feel
extremely good inside.
And to all of you, our gracious sponsors, who allow
children like this to have better lives, we hope you feel the same too.
After all, Fah Sai is part of our growing extended family.
A special thanks to Dieter at The Thai in Regensburg,
Germany, who helps us raise funds and has taken a special interest in Fah
Sai.
If you too would like to help special children, like Fah
Sai, please visit us at www.care4kids.info and/or
www.facebook.com/jesterscare.forkids.
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