VERY HAPPY KIDS AGAIN NEAR AYUTTHAYA, THAILND
A primary school visit in Ayutthaya with Gift of Happiness Foundation 19th of March, 2014.
Report by Susanna Alatalo (Finland).
This Aid & Show giving project was made with the GOHF Director Edward Haworth and four (4) volunteers.
The GOHF-crew arrives at the premises of the small school in small village in Mae La district near the historical town of Ayutthaya at noon. Cheerful pupils welcome the freshly painted and decorated GOHF car with excited greetings in English and Thai and the smiles are wide, for GOHF is a familiar visitor in this particular school.
The school has three teachers and 71 pupils of Thai and Cambodian backgrounds. However the previous week nearly 20 pupils had to leave the school for they were children of migrant workers and the families were deported back to Cambodia last week. It is very common for poor Cambodian families to seek work and better standards of living themselves in Thailand.
The head teacher of the school gives also these children a possibility for schooling because the school has a policy of prioritizing education for poor children over anything else.
Report by Susanna Alatalo (Finland).
This Aid & Show giving project was made with the GOHF Director Edward Haworth and four (4) volunteers.
The GOHF-crew arrives at the premises of the small school in small village in Mae La district near the historical town of Ayutthaya at noon. Cheerful pupils welcome the freshly painted and decorated GOHF car with excited greetings in English and Thai and the smiles are wide, for GOHF is a familiar visitor in this particular school.
The school has three teachers and 71 pupils of Thai and Cambodian backgrounds. However the previous week nearly 20 pupils had to leave the school for they were children of migrant workers and the families were deported back to Cambodia last week. It is very common for poor Cambodian families to seek work and better standards of living themselves in Thailand.
The head teacher of the school gives also these children a possibility for schooling because the school has a policy of prioritizing education for poor children over anything else.
DONATIONS CAME FROM
BROMSGROVE INTERNATIONAL EARLY YEARS SCHOOL - LEN PENN MUSIC ACADEMY BANGKOK - HARROW INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT THAILAND & PRUDENTIAL
After unloading the GOFH – pick-up truck of donated charity goods (children’s toys, books, shoes, adult clothes, violin) the GOHF-crew places them on display on side of the stage in an open air space meant for school teaching and gatherings.
After the anticipation begins for children follow GOHF Director Mr. Eddie vanished into a small music classroom and there he stays for instead out the door arrives Clown Eckie and the show begins. The wonderful 40 min show is a superb mixture of slapstick humor, magic tricks and Clown Eckie being very foolish. Children’s faces shine with enthusiasm and joy. The excited shrills fill the whole neighborhood and attract some curios passers-by to see what happens in the school compound.
The clowns acts funny and invites several kids to assist in the show. Children get to enjoy the show but also perform on a stage themselves. The show doesn't leave anyone cold and the audience can barely hold themselves to stay off the stage. Teachers pleas for keeping a distance of the stage are left unheard as the children glue themselves as close as the stage as possible. The atmosphere is warm and even the grown-ups seem to find the little child in themselves enjoying the performance.
Eventually the show comes to an end but that’s not the end of fun: An ice-cream cart curves into the school compound. Clown Eckie has organized an icy treat for everyone to enjoy on a hot day. In minutes all the children have line up to get a sweet ending for a fun clown visit.
The visit educates the GOHF-crew too. Children and the staff show the guests how to learn by doing. The school has begun to educate the children of an environmental friendly way of building. With the help of few building workers the children and the staff make mud bricks. The brick mass is made out of mixture of soil, water and rice husks. The muddy dough in made thick by stamping in tubs placed in concrete drums. The dough is carefully evened in brick molds and the future bricks are left to dry in scorching sun for a week. The same method of making bricks was used in the past in Thailand to make bricks to build houses. Teacher Mrs. Napasamon is proud to tell that these bricks become a library building for the school. After that the compound will consist of the main building and two smaller buildings.
In late afternoon is time for goodbyes. Children wave back as the GOFH-truck back away from the school gates and continue their afternoon class and soon head home with an ancient school bus that the headmaster has bought to collect the children himself every morning to school and to take them back home in the afternoon. The ways of the two yellow vehicles depart into different directions, but to meet again in future. In the meantime the memory of this fun sunny afternoon stays in hearts and minds of many.
After the anticipation begins for children follow GOHF Director Mr. Eddie vanished into a small music classroom and there he stays for instead out the door arrives Clown Eckie and the show begins. The wonderful 40 min show is a superb mixture of slapstick humor, magic tricks and Clown Eckie being very foolish. Children’s faces shine with enthusiasm and joy. The excited shrills fill the whole neighborhood and attract some curios passers-by to see what happens in the school compound.
The clowns acts funny and invites several kids to assist in the show. Children get to enjoy the show but also perform on a stage themselves. The show doesn't leave anyone cold and the audience can barely hold themselves to stay off the stage. Teachers pleas for keeping a distance of the stage are left unheard as the children glue themselves as close as the stage as possible. The atmosphere is warm and even the grown-ups seem to find the little child in themselves enjoying the performance.
Eventually the show comes to an end but that’s not the end of fun: An ice-cream cart curves into the school compound. Clown Eckie has organized an icy treat for everyone to enjoy on a hot day. In minutes all the children have line up to get a sweet ending for a fun clown visit.
The visit educates the GOHF-crew too. Children and the staff show the guests how to learn by doing. The school has begun to educate the children of an environmental friendly way of building. With the help of few building workers the children and the staff make mud bricks. The brick mass is made out of mixture of soil, water and rice husks. The muddy dough in made thick by stamping in tubs placed in concrete drums. The dough is carefully evened in brick molds and the future bricks are left to dry in scorching sun for a week. The same method of making bricks was used in the past in Thailand to make bricks to build houses. Teacher Mrs. Napasamon is proud to tell that these bricks become a library building for the school. After that the compound will consist of the main building and two smaller buildings.
In late afternoon is time for goodbyes. Children wave back as the GOFH-truck back away from the school gates and continue their afternoon class and soon head home with an ancient school bus that the headmaster has bought to collect the children himself every morning to school and to take them back home in the afternoon. The ways of the two yellow vehicles depart into different directions, but to meet again in future. In the meantime the memory of this fun sunny afternoon stays in hearts and minds of many.
| NEXT AID & SHOW GIVING PROJECT 24-27 MARCH 2014. TO JUNGLE VILLAGES CLOSE TO NORTHERN THAI/BURMA BORDER ROOM FOR 4 MORE VOLUNTEERS! INBOX: [email protected] |  SCHOOL BUS AT WATTSAMAKAN SCHOOL You can easily help us support thousands of needy children in Thailand. |
