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It’s the little things that make a difference
Family Fun Day, Oct. 20, 2012
Children have fun on Mother’s
Day at Hand to Hand.
Over a few beers Stewart (Shenanigans), Paul (Simple
Simon) & Gary (Pexgo) decided it was time to organize a fun event with
emphasis on children to raise money for underprivileged children. It was
also decided to coincide with the event, to entertain the adults we would
have an Ashes 20/20 cricket game. This event will take place at Horseshoe
Point on Saturday 20th October.
If you would like to be involved in this special day,
which will be a yearly event, contact call Paul on 089 0962491, we are
looking for food & other marquees to be involved.
The two charities we are looking to support with the
event are Hand to Hand Foundation and Sawang Boriboon. So each week, thanks
to the wonderful support of Peter & Pattaya Mail, we feature
something about the charities & the event in the lead up to the day.
Hand to Hand is a growing ministry in Pattaya, located in
Duck Square just behind Big C on South Pattaya Road. The charity began in
January 2010 with just 6 children. By August of 2010 they had so many
children arriving that they began renting a much larger room and then on
Mother’s Day they had 65 children show up for this special occasion.
From there they never looked back. They quickly
discovered that many of the small children who were visiting the centre were
at risk because they were being left unattended in the slum whilst their
parents worked. In September 2010 they opened a preschool with 17 children
on the first day. Now they have 66 enrolled but not all of them come every
day. In September 2011 they applied for foundation status with the Thai
government and the foundation was fully approved by the end of October.
Mother’s Day this year, On Saturday, 11th August, a
special celebration was hosted to honor the mothers and grandmothers of the
children who attend Hand to Hand. They had 72 children and over 135 people
in all so it was a very busy & successful day. It was a great day for these
poor and disadvantaged families who live in the nearby slum areas.
The day began with some songs about how our mums love us.
The children then decorated a special Mother’s Day card and had the
opportunity to paint a small paper umbrella as a present for their mum. This
was a special time as many mums and grandmothers completed this activity
with the children and it was wonderful to see the bonding between them.
Later in the afternoon a special song was presented by
some of the Hand to Hand students and then everyone had the opportunity to
present their umbrella and card to their mum or grandma. The children also
prayed blessings over them and showered them with love and respect.
The end of the day was a shared meal for everyone to
enjoy. A special thanks to doctor Suraporn, Nui, Nappapan, Noi and the
Surian team for all of their generous support.
Ice cream is always a treat
for youngsters on special days like this.
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School children and teachers
given eye checks and new glasses
(From left) Lewis “Woody”
Underwood and Nittaya Patimasongkroh with two proud schoolchildren who sport
their new glasses.
Elfi Seitz
August 23 was an exciting day for many school children at
Photisampan School on Naklua Road, since technicians of B&V Optik came to
check their eyesight and those of their teachers.
Nittaya Patimasongkroh, the chairwoman of this YWCA
project, was in attendance to see that everything went smoothly. YWCA and
Jesters Care for Kids paid for the glasses while B&V Optik gave the check
ups for free.
Once the children’s eyes were checked, those that were
found to need glasses were allowed to choose their own style. Teachers were
given the same opportunity.
Nittaya said that this was the first of three such
events, the next two coming at a school yet to be named and at the
Banglamung Home for the Aged.
The teachers are happy, too,
to get new glasses.
The children are excited to
choose their new glasses.
IB students celebrate great exam results 0162!
IB students held their
Graduation Evening at the Hilton Pattaya earlier this year.
Mark Beales
IB2 students from Garden International School Rayong
(GIS) have achieved a range of excellent results following this year’s May
exams.
At GIS there were 17 IB2 students. Of these 15 took the
Diploma course and 11 were awarded the full IB Diploma.
The average points score was 29.1, an improvement on last
year and roughly in line with the world average.
Among the star students was Benjamin Huber, who gained a
total of 43 points out of 45 - GIS’s best ever score. Also worthy of mention
is Daranee Amornpansiri, a second language English speaker who scored 24
points and gained a Bilingual IB Diploma.
The two-year course is accepted at major universities
around the world. This year a new group of 17 IB1 students has just started
the Diploma course.
For more on IB and Garden, visit www.gardenrayong.com.
Jesters Care For Kids at Baan Kru Boonchoo for Special Children
Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive 2012, sponsored by Glencore International and Canadian Jackalope Open
Bernie Tuppin
On Saturday, August 18th, Lewis [Woody] Underwood and
Bernie Tuppin, representing Jesters Care For Kids, joined a large group of
dignitaries and well-wishers to celebrate the official opening of the
Special Education Centre named in honor of Kru Boonchoo Muangmaitong in
Sattahip.
Jesters Care for Kids has been assisting the development
of this facility since 2005 when they supplied playground equipment for a
small group of disabled children at Khao Baisri School. These special
children, mainly autistic, afflicted with Down’s syndrome or cerebral palsy,
were in the care of Boonchoo and she had only one small classroom. She
explained how she had started with only five special children at first but
this had soon grown and the demand was increasing to the point where she had
to put some of them up in her own home.
In 2006, Jesters agreed to expand their facilities and
fund the conversion of some pre-existing buildings into classrooms and build
additional toilets. This ended up being a temporary fix as there were more
children coming in as day visitors. Boonchoo’s intention then was to
establish a larger centre on land she owned nearby.
When the Jesters were approached to aid in the
construction of classrooms, it was explained to her that they could not
commit to such a project on privately owned land. Boonchoo had a solution to
this problem, which was to donate her land to the District 12 Education
Department. Jesters were then able to assist in converting the salas into
classrooms.
Kru. Boonchu poses with
Bernie at Khao Baisri.
Jesters, with the help of major sponsors such as The
Herrod Foundation, agreed to fund the construction of a new building to
include a kindergarten, therapy room, storage room and toilet block. With
this project completed in 2009, student numbers have grown to more than 30
special children, about half living on site, and the teachers and therapists
were supplied by District 12.
As student numbers continued to increase, costs escalated
and the Jesters decided to donate B10,000 per month to assist with food
supply, and recently agreed to fund dental treatment for all students.
It was at this time that a generous sponsor donated
another rai of land adjoining to the existing buildings and planning begun
for more classrooms and meeting rooms. Jesters Care for Kids were among many
organizations, such as the Pattaya Sports Club, and other businesses that
donated to this project, which took almost two years to complete. The
facility now cares for 57 special needs children, 27 of whom live on site
with dedicated and professional staff attending to them.
It has been quite a journey to this point and the Jesters
Care For Kids with many others have been privileged to have been along for
the ride. Saturday’s ceremony was a testimony to what one person with a
dream can achieve, with determination, perseverance, confidence and self
sacrifice.
Khun Boonchoo has made this all happen!
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HRH Princess Sirindhorn to honor
School No. 5 for health program
Jeerasak Jitsom, director of
Pattaya School No. 5, welcomes the committee to his school.
Warunya Thongrod
HRH Princess Sirindhorn will honor Pattaya School No. 5
in October for its outstanding health-promotion program.
Public Health Ministry specialist Chonakan
Khamnuankijcharoen announced Aug. 22 that the Pattaya school earned a
diamond-level health assessment from Chonburi and Banglamung’s public-health
office.
(L to R) Pisunee Teechuen,
Nattakan Khonthun, Supanee Sreehuahae and Pakorn Saensa-ad, stand at their
booth to present their works to the Diamond Level Health Assessment
committee.
Principal Jeerasak Jitsom and Pattaya Public Health
Department Director Wannaporn Jamjumrus welcomed Chonakan and ministry
bureaucrats to the school with a stage performance by students.
The diamond-level designation was awarded after the
school won a gold medal in school health for three straight years; for
allowing students to participate in health programs; and the overall health
of the student population. The school was also commended for implementing
ministry policies successfully.
To reward the school, HRH Princess Sirindhorn will
present officials with a plaque in October.
“I believe in the importance of students’ health,”
Jeerasak said. “Therefore, apart from teaching academics, children must be
encouraged to have a healthy physique and mindset for education. I have
sponsored the developments of children’s health by allowing the children
themselves to lead the health-related operations and have received
sponsorships from private and public organizations.”
As for the assessment, he said, “I believe it is a vital
boost for schools in Pattaya to give importance to students’ health, which
will only bring good for the students.”
Students from Pattaya School
No. 5 perform a welcome dance for the committee.
Wannaporn Jamjumrus, director of Pattaya Public Health
office stated, “Pattaya City has policies to support and encourage good
health for youths and citizens. We have sponsored Pattaya School #5, leading
doctors from Pattaya Hospital for dental check-ups and introducing
sanitation procedures. I am very happy that Pattaya School #5 has passed the
assessment at the diamond level. It would be productive if other schools in
Pattaya follow suit for the benefits of our youths.”
Pattaya School #5 will be receiving their plaque from HRH Princess
Sirindhorn on October 22 at the Miracle Grand Hotel, Bangkok, and a
provincial plaque on September 11 at Chonkalyanukul School.
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