Dear Friends, thank you for supporting Odet throughout the year. 

Very Merry Christmas to everyone. 

Odet has recently begun supporting two more students from Sisawat, a rural region in the north of Kanchanaburi state. They are two sisters, Saitarn (5) in the middle, and Suwanna (11) on the left. They are standing behind the temple pick-up that brings them to school. 

 

Odet has recently begun assisting some new new students.

Jaen is the youngest of four sisters from a rural region of Kanchanaburi. Now she is in her second year of a Teacher's Education degree at Rajabhat University. 

Jahntana (55) is the sole care giver to four children in a small single room in Nonthaburi. She takes the oldest three ten kilometers on a motor bike each morning, and home in the evening. The youngest is 2 years old. The others are Pornpawit (14), in his second year of high school; Kanyarat (8), still in primary school; and Tanyaporn (4), now in kindergarten. 

Odet has recently begun a funding programme to assist with rising school transportation costs to 52 students in Sisawat, a rural region of Kanchanaburi. The transportation from village to school recently increased dramatically due to an increased cost of fuel. This would potentially result in a number of students not being able to travel every day.

The good news is the worst of the pandemic seems to be over and most of Thailand's 35,000 schools have returned to normal classes. It should make a huge difference to levels of education, especially among low-income groups who have had little or no access to computers and the internet. 

Susueh, who had previously been supported by Odet during his teacher training has also had good news. He managed to find work teaching at a temple school. He was teaching online from home during the pandemic.

And now that schools have reopened he is teaching onsite. Susueh has also just received his full Thai citizenship papers. This allows him to apply for permanent govt. teaching jobs. He is now hopeful of getting an assistant teachers position at a govt. school. 

Odet continues to support the children in the forest region to the north of Kanchanaburi. Funds for these students are sent to a local forest monk Pra Ajahn Saen, who ensures that it reaches the families. 

A recent story in the Bangkok Post highlights some of the problems faced during the pandemic:

Covid dropouts

The Equitable Education Fund (EEF) found the number of poor students has increased as a result of Covid-19. It found there were 900,000 students living in very poor families as their parents earn less than 1,200 baht a month before the pandemic. That number then jumped to 1.2 million.

The EEF survey also showed that many primary school students upcountry decided to drop out to help support their families.

The poverty they face forces them to become informal workers even though they haven't reached working age, excluding them from state control and social security protection.

These children can barely overcome poverty. Many skip school to work with their parents. Many kids are left with no choice but to drop out. We need both the public and private sector to help provide educational opportunities so they can have a better life.

Bangkok Post 31 March

 Hello everyone. Happy New Year.

Thailand is still struggling with covid but there are signs that the numbers are going down so let's hope for an end to it in 2022.

Odet has recently added four young students to its numbers. They live in a remote forest region to the north of Kanchanaburi state. They will be attending their local primary school regularly 

Mook is 11 and lives with her mother and two siblings. They live in a general goods store. 

Maisa is 11 years old.

Seen here sorting flowers for the temple. 

Aum is 11 and lives with his mother. They have no home but his mother takes day jobs cutting grass. 

                                                                                              

Noon lives with her parents, both currently without an income.