Community spirit

Phra Samai Jintakhosako

CHILDREN: Buddhist temples can be more than a spiritual shelter. Wat Bang Sai Kai in Thon Buri is also a safe haven for needy children and the heart of the local community


Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan

Four-year-old Orm was raped and killed by a neighbour while her mother went out to work and left her at home alone in a Bangkok's slum.

Nueng became addicted to glue at the age of six. His labourer parents were always moving from one construction site to another and, without proper care, the little boy slipped into a gang of older children who took drugs.

Then there's Tor, aged two, who was crushed to death by a truck. Accompanying his mother with her vending cart, the toddler stumbled and fell on the road as she was busy selling somtam.

Horrible as these stories may sound, they are examples of what can happen to children from low-income families in the City of Angels. While their parents are out making a living, some kids are left unattended while others have to stay in unsafe places.

And all too often, many end up like Orm, Nueng and Tor.

There are not enough places in state day care centres and private-run nurseries are unaffordable to many working parents. However, the life of underprivileged kids does not have to be that miserable.

As the effort of monks at Wat Bang Sai Kai in Thon Buri district has shown, the Sangha's initiative together with the collaboration of local people can create a safe haven where poor slum children can grow physically and mentally.

"Well-off working parents can afford nurseries and kindergartens. But the impoverished, especially migrant workers, have very few choices," said Phra Samai Jintakhosako, a senior monk at Wat Bang Sai Kai.

If these workers cannot ask their relatives in rural villages to help them out, they have to leave their children alone or with neighbours. But moral degradation and community breakdown, the monk pointed out, have made this alternative rather risky.

"Bringing kids to the workplace may not be a safe option either considering places like construction sites or footpaths," the activist monk added.

The community itself, with the Buddhist temple as the centre, he strongly believes, should take care of the children of working parents.

In 1986, Phra Samai led a group of monks, lay people and student volunteers to set up a day care centre in Wat Bang Sai Kai's compound.

"Our aim is to provide safe shelter, healthy food, basic education and moral support for pre-school kids from low-income families," he said.

Named "Saeng Thien," which means candlelight in English, the centre has been a guiding light in the lives of nearly 1,000 children from Thon Buri slums throughout the past 12 years.

With only a 2,500 baht donation at the start, the group built a simple one-storey building themselves which later became classrooms, and sleeping and dining areas for pre-school kids in the Wat Bang Sai Kai Community from Monday to Friday.

Phra Samai and student volunteers from the adjacent Rajabhat Institute Bansomdej Chao Phraya campus took turns taking care of the children in the first years. Then some unemployed women in the community were recruited to assist as more and more youngsters, aged from two to five, attended the day care centre.

"By word of mouth, we soon had kids coming from other nearby slum communities. The number of children here grew very quickly," said the monk, adding that from 15 at the beginning, they are currently looking after 120 kids each day.

Apart from the free-of-charge child-minding service which has made the centre popular with local residents, activities important for child development are also part of its daily schedule. And every child has a chance to participate.

"We put the kids into three classes according to their age. Those around two or three years old will attend Kindergarten One. Those of four to five years old will go to Kindergarten Two and Three, respectively," explained teacher Kanya Ratanaruk.

Under the close watch of nannies, children in the lowest class are allowed to play freely. Meanwhile, those in Kindergarten Two and Three learn how to read and write and prepare themselves for primary school.

Parents send their kids to the day care centre as early as 6:30 a.m. Most of them are low-income earners like construction labourers, factory workers and street vendors. The kids stay in the centre until their fathers or mothers pick them up at around 3 or 4 p.m.

The Wat Bang Sai Kai day care centre became possible because of public donations resulting from the tireless efforts of Phra Samai to promote his group's activities through the media. Also in 1989, the late Princess Mother and HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana donated a large sum of money to the Saeng Thien group.

"In that year, Saeng Thien was officially registered as a foundation. Then, we expanded to several more activities related to underprivileged children of all ages," recalled the outgoing monk.

Apart from the day care centre, the Saeng Thien group runs weekend dhamma classes for primary and secondary school students from slum communities. They also provide scholarships for students in need, from primary to college and university levels.

Currently, most of the day care centre's volunteer staff are also recipients of its scholarships. They look after children during the day and attend evening college classes.

Children play in the grounds of Wat Bang Sai Kai day care centre in Thon Buri. With low-income parents unable to afford child care, the temple is meeting an urgent community need and, at the same time, giving basic education and moral support. --Pictures by YINGYONG UN-ANONGRAK

"I grew up in Wat Bang Sai Kai community. I've had a Saeng Thien scholarship since I was in secondary school. I graduated three years ago, and have since been working here as a volunteer teacher," said Kanya Ratanarak, 20, who is now studying part-time to be a science teacher at Rajabhat Institute Ban Somdej campus.

"I'm glad I can help at the centre. It's a way to show my gratitude to Saeng Thien," she added.

Kanya will graduate in two years and she wants to pursue a career in her field of study. But she plans to continue participating in the activities of Saeng Thien.

"I belong to this community. Kids around here are like my younger sisters and brothers," she beamed.

Kanya and her bright future is one success story of the Saeng Thien group.

"Apart from better opportunities in education, I also hope we can instill a love of the local area in these kids. That's why I'm very happy if the children we used to support come back and do volunteer work for their own communities," Phra Samai said.

One key factor in the group's success lies in the emphasis on dhamma teaching.

"I believe it will be more effective to groom children with dhamma when they are still young," he said.

The day care centre, therefore, puts morality as one of its first priorities.

Each morning Phra Samai leads the kids in meditation and talks to them about dhamma. With his gags and humorous teaching techniques, he makes the lessons fun for the youngsters.

"If you tease, hit and scratch your friends, you have the ghost's hand. If you're obedient to teachers, eat your lunch and sleep in the afternoon, you have the Angel's hand," recited three-year-old Tuk-ta.

Throughout the past decade, over 2,000 underprivileged children have participated in programmes organised by the Saeng Thien group.

Now, instead of a thatch-roofed shack, they have a two-storey concrete building to provide better service for the children. Around 20 volunteer staff run the day care centre.

However, demand always exceeds supply, and more and more parents want to send their kids to the centre.

"We have our limit at 120 children a day, but sometimes we take 150. This is because if we didn't accept the kids, their parents have no idea where and how to look after them. Although it might be a bit crowded here, it's better than leaving the kids unattended," Kanya said.

In recent years, the Saeng Thien group has asked parents to help the centre by paying five baht a day for their children's lunch and snacks.

"That amount does not cover the real expenses. It costs approximately 14 baht a day per child. The surplus is paid by public donations," explained Phra Samai.

Like everywhere else in this fair land, the economic crisis has hit the Saeng Thien group.

"Recently, I started feeling like our 'light' is spluttering," the monk explained.

Early this year, the group's saving account dwindled to only 716 baht, a far cry from 110,000 baht needed to run its operation each month.

Donations, he said, started plummeting last year as the economic crunch became apparent. From January to May this year, therefore, the group scaled down its projects and concentrated on only two; namely, the day care centre and the orphanage, which is home to five children.

"It was the first time since we began our work that there was no summer dhamma camp for children. However, such a decision made it possible for us to accumulate money and provide tuition fees for students whose academic semester has just begun in mid-May," the monk revealed.

Juggling the limited budget is tiresome work, Phra Samai admitted. But it's worth doing when considering future of these underprivileged children.

"Many monks nowadays tend to overlook the plight of poor people who live beyond the temple walls," he said, adding that too often, poverty, poor sanitation, crime, drugs and all kinds of dukkha (suffering) happen right next to the temple compound.

"It doesn't matter how many elegant ubosot there are in a temple if the surrounding people are unhappy, he said.

"Temples should play a role as a shelter for people in the community. We need to make the temple and Buddhism part of their everyday lives."

INFO FOR DONATIONS:

-Name of organisation: Saeng Thien Group Foundation

-Address: 547 Wat Bang Sai Kai, Itsaraphap Road, Soi 15 (Soi Witthayalai Kru Ban Somdej), Thon Buri, Bangkok 10600

-Contact person: Phra Samai Jintakhosako

-Tel: 465-6165, 472-4212

-Savings account name: Saeng Thien Group Foundation

-Savings account number: 126-036-1512

-Bank name and branch: Bangkok Bank, Charoen Paas branch

Note: Apart from money donations, children's books and toys are also welcome. You can also visit the day care centre to play with the kids or treat them to lunch and snacks.