Towards a brighter future

With plans afoot for the construction of a new school, pupils from Ban Huay Sai Kao in Nan province are eagerly looking forward to a new beginning

Chompoo Trakullertsathien

For 13-year-old Look, the loud construction noise which will pierce the rustic peace at Ban Huay Sai Kao, a remote village in Nan province, next April will be the sound of hope.

It will mean his new school will soon be finished and the overflowing classrooms will be a thing of the past.

"I can't wait much longer," said the tiny teenager dressed in a worn-out school uniform.

"We will soon have food to eat and clean water to drink ... like children in other villages who go to school."

Up until May this year, children at Ban Huay Sai Kao in Nan's Chalerm Phra Kiat district, had to walk six kilometres to the nearest school.

Although the thatch-roofed shelter built by their parents at Ban Huay Sai Kao ended the children's long walks, the school - choking with pupils and lacking many necessities - is still far from Look's dreams.

The two-room school can accommodate 60 pupils at the most. However, at present, it is full to the seams with 120 students.

Kindergarten toddlers share a room with Prathom 1 pupils, while the other is shared by Prathom 2 and Prathom 3 pupils.

The school's only two teachers run from one room to another teaching the different classes and keep things in order.

"It's quite gruelling sometimes," said soft-spoken, 32-year-old teacher Somkiat Singhakul.

"Running about, I often forget where I left off with one class," he sighed.

The school is a constant flurry of activity.

After trying to make kindergarten toddlers concentrate on their alphabet pronunciation, Somkiat swiftly moves to write the English alphabet on the blackboard for the Prathom 1 pupils' English class.

In the other room, another teacher juggles between teaching subtraction to Prathom 2 pupils and the importance of forests to the Prathom 3 class.

"The children know they must remind me where I left off and also help take care of the younger children when the teacher is not around," Somkiat added.

He voiced most concern for the kindergarten toddlers.

Apart from constant care and attention, pre-schoolers need proper grounding so that they can go on with their education.

"But we lack personnel, expertise and equipment. If we cannot give them the firm basics, I worry about its impact on their learning in the future," he said with concern.

Sharing is the key when there is not enough of anything to go around.

A group of three or four pupils are forced to share a textbook, taking it in turns to take the book home at night.

Like sardines in a can, two pupils share the same desk and chair.

"But I told the children that it's good for them to sit closely together so they can help one another with their studies and become close friends," Somkiat declared.

To make matters worse, neither the desks nor chairs actually belong to the school; they are merely borrowed from nearby schools.

"The problem is that the schools now want their desks and chairs back," Somkiat revealed. "That means our children will soon have to study on the floor."

But despite scarce resources, Somkiat explained he tries to teach the children to be thankful for what they have, given the fact that many children don't have the chance to go to school at all.

Apart from learning to share, the pupils learn from experience to be thrifty. Each child is allocated one notebook at a time, to be used for all subjects. Only used notebooks can be exchanged for a new one.

Another thriftiness lesson.

After lunch, all the children are required to brush their teeth. Queuing in 12 lines, each pupil takes it in turn receiving toothpaste from each queue's leader who carefully squeezes just the right amount onto brushes. Only when pupils turn in a totally empty tube will the teacher give them a new one.

"Older children understand that we must save for rainy days but the little ones do not. I feel bad when I cannot give them more than our strict rations," Somkiat said.

But thriftiness is better than the six kilometre walk the children used to endure.

"I was often late for school because I walked barefoot which slowed me down," recalled 11-year-old Pom. "Some of my friends who had flip-flops could walk more quickly. I asked my parents for shoes but they had no money. When my legs were in pain because of the long walk, they normally allowed me to stay off school for a day."

According to teacher Somkiat, many parents tell their children to quit school altogether.

To solve the problem, the Office of District Primary Education allowed the Ban Huay Sai Kao residents to build a school in the village.

But due to poverty, the school is only a shabby shelter and most pupils have no shoes and proper uniforms.

"Not wearing uniform violates the Education Ministry's regulations, but we have to be understanding and flexible," said Somkiat.

"Most children come to school with no lunch so they have to go without food during the day," continued Somkiat. "I didn't know how to help them so I asked the nearest temple for food. But very often, the temple only has plain rice."

To teach the children to be self-sufficient, Somkiat turned a small patch of land behind the school into a vegetable plot where cabbages, lettuces, morning glory, cow peas and pumpkins are thriving.

"The pupils find growing vegetables fun," said the teacher. "They enjoy digging up the soil, planting the seeds, watering the plot and waiting for the beautiful, delicious vegetables to appear."

The school plans to expand its vegetable plot, Somkiat continued: "But we will have to wait until we have more planting equipment to speed up the work."

When the vegetables are fully grown, the pupils are happy for it means more food, which they take turns to cook.

"Before [the vegetable plot], many of our pupils were malnourished. They were small and very thin and many were slow learners. Things are a bit better now with the school's free lunches, but many still have very little to eat at home," said Somkiat.

Apart from the vegetables they grow, occasional delicacies of canned fish and milk are donated by the Duangkaew Foundation as part of its efforts to help poor rural children.

In addition to the food and clothes donations, the foundation is also behind the building of Ban Huay Sai Kao's new school.

Captain Dr Piyoros Preeyanont, the foundation's founder, said he wants more spacious classrooms for the children which will be more conducive to learning.

Apart from four classrooms, the school - which will cost about 400,000 baht - will have a library, a recreation room, and a staff room for teachers. Eight new toilets will replace the two old ones.

Although the children are looking forward to moving into their new building, both teachers and pupils maintain they will always remember the old days. It will be hard to forget being jammed into the same classroom sharing precious desks and classroom equipment.

"Despite the new spacious school, I tell my pupils we must not lose our old spirit of sharing," said Somkiat. "For as long as we help one another, we can overcome any obstacle."

Note: Anyone wishing to support the Ban Huay Sai Kao School in Nan province can do so by contacting: The Duangkaew Foundation, The Institute of Medical Research, Somdej Phra Pin Klao Royal Thai Naval Hospital, 504 Somdej Phra Chao Taksin Road, Bukkhalo, Thon Buri. Tel/fax 876-5399.

Cash donations can be deposited in the "Scholarships for Underprivileged Children in Rural Areas" savings account, number 040-2-26886-6, at the Thai Military Bank's Somdej Phra Pin Klao Hospital branch.

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