Teachers beg for public support for tsunami orphans in Phang Nga

[Thaivisa News]

Phang Nga: Teachers of the School for Life, formerly Beluga School for Life, in Phang Nga pleaded for urgent public support for 131 tsunami orphans under care of the school.

Kwanta Onsuwan, a teacher said the Hanseatic S.L. Co Ltd which was formally Beluga S.L., had abruptly ended the sponsorship for the orphans on October 10.

Without financial support from the company as usual, the future of the 131 students are in limbo, Kwanta and other teachers worry.

The company reasoned that it failed to raise donations to continue the school sponsorship project.

Now, the school is taking care of 91 students from the level of kindergarten to Grade 6. The school is also sending 40 other orphans to study at the Thuang Maprao Witthaya School and shouldering their expenses.

Since all the 131 are orphans following the tsunami in 2004, without help from the school and from sponsors, they will have no future, Kwanta said.

“The company informed the school in August of the termination of sponsorship and ended it in October. It was too abrupt.,” Kwanta said.

The school is located in Tambon Thung Mapraow in Tai Muang district. It is built on the company’s plot, which is serving as a resort.

She said the government is paying Bt20 per student per day for their lunch but the kids need to eat three times a day so the school resorted to grow vegetables.

Kwanta said teachers and staffs are now working at the school without salaries because they want to help the orphans.

[cgphuket]

This is so sad. Its too bad so much money gets sent here to fund charities, that really only fund the sweetheart lifestyles of the directors and their cronies (mostly foreign). In Northern Thailand that are big, foreign funded "NGOs" that cannot show any real actions, but the management are driving 2 million baht cars between their estates and the golf clubs (no, won't name them due to slander laws, but you can do the research). Also sad that Thailand has more than a few ultra rich, but never heard of any of them ever supporting a local charity. I hope this organization gets the help they need.

[apetley]

And yet billions of baht will be donated every year to help build yet another temple building or concrete Buddha image in the name of merit making.

What better way is there to make personal merit than to actually help someone who has suffered and is more disadvantaged than most?

[Lupatria]

If they would have tracked down the donations from the international community that ended up in pockets and foreign bank accounts, this would not be necessary.

[Lupatria]

And yet billions of baht will be donated every year to help build yet another temple building or concrete Buddha image in the name of merit making.

What better way is there to make personal merit than to actually help someone who has suffered and is more disadvantaged than most?

What better way is there to make personal merit than to actually help someone who has suffered and is more disadvantaged than most?

These are real people and not imaginary friends promising simple minds good luck and lottery numbers.

[NickJ]

I used to organize people from my office in Bkk to visit and bring supplies to an orphanage outside of town. They had 500kids......aged 1 day to age 5. There was a huge chalkboard that tallied the kids ages and sex and how many were adopted ea month....it was about. 2 kids a month........That low number always stuck with me. Being told by people that it is very very hard to adopt a thai kid and that thais themselves almost never do. Really sad being an orphan in Thailand.

[Djaotchou]

If they are orphans following the 2004 Tsunami, they should be at least 10 years old and some of them are still in kindergarten???

[r136dg]

All the billions of humanitarian aid that has flowed into this country and the core of the sufferers are generously allotted 20 baht a day to eat. The real recipients of all the aid must sleep well at night.

[CindyB]

If they are orphans following the 2004 Tsunami, they should be at least 10 years old and some of them are still in kindergarten???

I agree - that would be P4. Maybe they need to re-market their advertising to garner donations for orphans (and abandoned children) in general, adding that some of their students were orphaned by the tsunami. It would sit better in the international community they approach for grants and donations.