Our “Thai teachers” project continues to be very successful. Our initial teachers moved on and have made careers for themselves in the Thai public education system. They were a wonderful trio and while we were sad to see them go, we are also happy to see them doing so well. Any school should be delighted to have them.
Last year, we hired two new teaching graduates to continue the help given to our younger kids with Thai literacy and basic mathematics. They rotate between Jan & Oscar and St. Patrick’s houses each evening from about 5.30 to 7pm. Of late, our numbers are dominated by children aged under 12 so this help is much-needed and very welcome. But because of the larger numbers in each session, the teachers feel better working together each lesson. The two young women are from the area so have a good understanding of the needs of Isan grade school children. They even practise meditation with the children before each lesson, which results in calmer and more grounded students. It took them a while to develop relationships with the kids but they now have a very impressive understanding of each child’s needs. As new children arrive, the range of education and literacy can vary dramatically and the teachers also understand the need for patience with some of the newcomers. Most importantly, the children really like them and love their lessons.
On Saturdays, they work with some of the older boys and girls from Sarnelli House and Our Lady of Refuge Houses and every morning is spent with the four or five toddlers not yet attending kindergarten. And of late, they having been helping one of our boys who cannot go to school for a couple of months after breaking his hip in a superhero inspired accident! So the teachers have very full weeks and deserve their free day on Sunday. Meetings with Brian and Kate take place once a month, with a summary of each child’s progress (or otherwise!) We are very grateful to Leon and Henriette Castermans and Stichting Vrienden von Sarnelli in the Netherlands for sponsoring this program.
