Family appeals for help after disabled schoolgirl wins calligraphy contest

By Boonpim Baiya 
The Nation

 

 

The family of a disable schoolgirl, who writes using her foot and has won a prize in a national-level Thai writing and calligraphy contest, has urged related agencies and kind-hearted people to provide help.

 

Mathayom 3 student Thikhamporn Mendoza, 17, from Laplae Sriwittaya School in Uttaradit’s Laplae district spends her free time helping her family to earn extra income to cover her father’s medical expenses related to his oral cancer, family members have said.

 

Thikhamporn, who was born with a nerve abnormality disfiguring her arm and leg bones, is one of three children of the half-Thai, half-Filipino Apollo Mendoza and his Thai wife Khunkrit Mendoza, who is a weekend market vendor. 

 

Despite the disability that makes her unable to walk or write with her hand, Thikhamporn is mobile in her wheelchair and uses her right foot to write. She can write beautifully in both Thai and English, her teachers said, leading her to be selected to represent the school at a recent Thai writing and calligraphy contest. 

 

She won the second runner-up prize. 

 

She is also good at painting with her works also receiving awards, while she receives a GPA of 3.0 or greater every semester, teachers said.

 

Thikhamporn said she was lucky to have a caring and loving family so that she did no feel discouraged or inferior due to her disability, while her school also was supportive and did not view her physical challenge as a problem. 

 

When she has free time, she copies student assignments into report books for payment and sells keychains she makes at the market with her mother and on her online page “Meso Kores Dir” to earn extra income for her father’s medical bills and to save for her education. 

 

She said she wanted to become a computer programmer and product designer. 

 

The girl and her family urged kindhearted people to buy the key chains or provide other assistance. 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-13

Good luck to Thikhamporn.  We all have our talents, it's just identifying them and working hard on them.   

Amazing girl.

Makes me think the problems I (think) I have in life are rather trivial.

Good luck to her. 

16 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

The girl and her family urged kindhearted people to buy the key chains or provide other assistance. 

I would if I could find her online webpage.

one smart young lady and well done to her coping with what life has thrown at 

her. Hmmm looking at the photo i hope she is not copying.

What a fantastic girl.  Lucky for her, her she is talented.  If she can learn algebra and some trig, she can learn how to program. 

Good luck.

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Abbot grants scholarship to disabled calligraphy prodigy

By Boonpim Baiya 
The Nation

 

 

The abbot of Wat Phra Thaen Si La At in Uttaradit’s Laplae district has granted a scholarship of Bt5,000 a year for a disabled schoolgirl who recently won a prize writing with her foot in a national-level Thai writing and calligraphy contest. The scholarship is valid until Thikhamporn Mendoza, 17, graduates from Mathayom 6.

The ceremony, in which abbot Phra Winai Sathorn granted Thikhamporn the scholarship and gave the Mathayom 3 student stationery and learning materials, was held on Wednesday at Laplae Sriwittaya School.

 

The scholarship followed news reports that Thikhamporn, who uses her right foot to write gracefully in both Thai and English, had won the calligraphy prize as well as and obtained good grades every semester.

 

The reports also detailed how Thikhamporn spent her free time earning money to help cover her half-Thai, half-Filipino father’s medical expenses related to oral cancer.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30331666

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-15

5'000 THB/year?
Whouw - This is truly worth a ceremony ...

3 hours ago, rebo said:

5'000 THB/year?
Whouw - This is truly worth a ceremony ...

Yes it is compared to the many TVF posters who can do the same with foot in mouth for bugger all payment!

6 hours ago, rebo said:

5'000 THB/year?
Whouw - This is truly worth a ceremony ...

I geuss its better than nothing, but in the scheme or 'scams' of monk/temple business it is nothing..Best of luck to this lady..