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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

🎄🎅🎄⛄🎅🎄🔔🎅🎄🍰🎅🎄🌟🎅🎄👼🎄🎅🎄⛄🎅🎄 

Hello everyone and welcome to the end of year blog.

Very big thanks for the amazing donations which Odet has received this year.

Odet has been able to add four more students to the numbers it is assisting which now stands at 19. They range in age from primary school level to university, and in background from city to remote rural areas. 

One thing they share is a desire to continue at school despite the considerable difficulties they face. 

Cher lives alone with his aunt in a remote Karen region of Kanchanaburi State and walks a number of miles to school everyday. He is currently in his fourth year of high school.

Kare lives with his mother and two younger sisters in rural Kanchanaburi. His mother supports the family in her daily income. 

Pichamon 14 and Maprang 11 both live in the Pilok border region of Kanchanaburi. Their homes and school is accessible only by boat. As with many children in this area neither of them have nationality or citizenship status and are confined to living in the border region. 

THE NATION

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Poor Thai households earning as little as 34 baht/day post-Covid-19

Educational opportunities for Thai children from poor families are falling, a recent study has found, with extremely low-income families with school-aged children earning just 1,039 baht per month on average, or 34 baht per day in 2023.

This rate is way below the earnings of poor households under the international poverty standard of US$ 2.15 or around 80 baht per day, said Kraiyos Patrawart, managing director of the Equitable Education Fund (EEF), which conducted the study.

He added that this number reflects a drop from the 2019 statistics, before the Covid-19 pandemic, in which the poorest Thai families with school-aged children were earning 1,250 baht per month.

“The Thai economy has yet to fully recover across all sectors post-pandemic while inflation is still high,” he said. “These factors have accelerated the educational inequality among Thai children.”

He said that children from poor families are already struggling to go to school as they have little or no allowance for transport and food.

“Without assistance from the authorities, these children could become a lost generation, unable to access proper education and miss the opportunity to maximise their potential,” he said.

“Despite the government’s 15 years free-education scheme, these children are still having trouble staying in school due to family expenses, no food and transport allowance, lack of homes or having to move due to parents’ jobs,” he added.

 

Hello again everyone! Welcome to a new Odet blog. 

Grades are in from the previous school year, and a new term is underway.   

Channapon (9), studying at a temple school in Nakorn Pathom, has managed to pass his exams and enrolled for another year. 

Two boys Dew (16), and Few (16) of Bo Ploi, a rural region of Kanchanaburi province, have done well to complete lower high-school in difficult circumstances and have both chosen to find work in their hometown. 

Not (left) has now finished his third year of high school, while Nem (centre) has just started her first year of primary school in Nonthburi district. Mon (right) has completed her second year of primary school with top marks.

Mon holds up her 2nd year school report showing very good scores!

Nam has now entered 2nd year of high school in the rural area of Sisawat having passed all subjects.

Nong Pin (behind), also of Sisawat has done very well with her recent school grades

Sisawat district of Kanchanaburi is largely a rain forest area where villagers are mostly farmers or day labourers.

 

Hello everyone, school's out for Summer! It looks like being a long hot one, with the occasional thunderstorm. School reports aren't out yet but we are hoping for good results as in previous years. 

Sadly Nong Maysa  has dropped out of the programme for personal reasons. She has been replaced by Nam, a boy from the same village in Sisawat district, who is being raised by a single mother.

 Nam has just completed year 1 of high school.

Nong Noon, also from Sisawat, was recently abandoned by her mother and continues to be assisted by Odet. She is also assisted by the forest temple of Pra Ajahn Saen the abbot who along with Mae Nahng, a nun of the temple, continues to oversee funds of Odet to students being assisted. 

Tee Lek, of Kanchanaburi, has just completed his second year of high school and will continue with Year Three next term after the break. He lives with his mother and older brother Boy who is still confined to a wheelchair and has just returned from a short stay in hospital. Tee Lek says he enjoys study and is looking forward to next term. Results of this term arent in yet but he thinks he did ok!