World Kindness Day

World Kindness Day

To commemorate World Kindness Day, Nov 13, here are a few stories of generosity to restore your faith in humanity and hopefully inspire us all to be kinder to one another. Warning: you may go aww while reading these stories.

A wedding gift for all

If you need music for your big day but are also concerned about copyright issues, opt for the entire catalogue by Prapas Cholsaranon.

In August 2015, the songwriter and film director announced via a Facebook post that any soon-to-wed couples are welcome to use songs he penned on their wedding ceremony for free. He made the announcement after many couples had slid into his DMs asking for permission to use his music in a video presentation or play it in the ceremony.

Prapas, who solely owns copyrights to all of his songs, said he didn't know what other songwriters would do in this situation, but for him, he "gladly allowed free use of his music on the wedding day without charging a baht".

He said it's so joyous that couples loved each other so much that they announced that they wanted to share a life together before relatives and friends who were there to congratulate them. The use of his music at the wedding obviously wasn't for a commercial purpose, he explained, so he didn't object to it (wedding pun intended). He added that he was more than happy to know that his music would make the wedding day more memorable for the couples, their families and guests.

Anonymous donator

Remember our peak panic period over Miss Rona a few months ago? It wasn't pleasant to live through but, at the same time, it warmed my cynical heart to see so many people had taken it upon themselves to help others who are less fortunate than them. There are countless stories of generosity, a few of which I already wrote about, but this story of anonymous donator deserves a belated shoutout, too.

On April 20, Kaijae Pimpraphat shared a story and a picture of a masked man handing out cash via her Facebook. He stood near Yanhee Hospital while giving B500 banknotes to any passersby. Kaijae approached the man who also offered her money but she told him about a group of five to six homeless uncles who had been staying at a nearby canal. The mysterious man quickly withdrew cash from an ATM and gave it to them.

She didn't get around to ask the donator for his name and only learned that he lived in the neighbourhood. She insisted he was there alone and no one was filming his good deed.

Luxe school lunch

Thai school lunch hasn't had the best reputation. Every time they make it in the headlines, it's because they look paltry and unappetising. I had my fair share of lukewarm lunches during my Prathom years, which were eons ago. However, thanks to a teacher and many generous donors, children at state-run Ban Phet Nam Phueng School in Uthai Thani got to enjoy free and nutritious lunches.

Teacher Pattamaporn Nopparat was inspired to luxe up student lunches following many home visits. She noticed how the parents had to get up early in the morning for work and didn't have time to prepare proper breakfast for their kids. So, for her, lunch may be the only chance for many of these children to have good food in a day.

The allocated budget of B20 per head per day from the local administrative organisation is limiting so she first sought support from friends and family who donated money or ingredients before donations from people outside her immediate circle come in. With more budget, she gets to be creative and more sophisticated about the lunch menu for the kids, serving the likes of salmon, hamburgers and fruit tarts. She once served a full Korean set featuring bibimbap, kimchi soup, fried chicken and dongchimi on the same compartment tray.

Some of these dishes are a novelty for the children and she uses them as an opportunity to teach that they can't always expect that everything will be to their liking and, just like unfamiliar food, they need to learn to appreciate them. Her story went viral in September. I'm sending her a virtual hug.

Pornchai Sereemongkonpol

Guru section Editor

Guru section Editor

Email : pornchais@bangkokpost.co.th

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