Introducing Earn and Pangpon

You may well be aware of the long standing alliance we have with Mae Kok River Resort in the Mae Ai District of Chang Mai Province, Northern Thailand. Last year, our Sixth Form Students raised $10,000 to fund building work at Ban Pong Hai School. Fundraising is currently underway for our seventh Sixth Form Community Service Trip to the hills of Thailand and the Burmese border.  In addition, we are delighted to announce that St Christopher’s has undertaken to sponsor the education of two students in Mae Ai; one boy and one girl, for a period of three years. These students, featured below, would otherwise be unable to finish their schooling due to financial restrictions.

Patharawan (nickname Earn – 14 years old)

Unfortunately, her father died when she was young and her mother works in Chang Mai, a good distance from Mae Ai. She lives with her grandma and has just enrolled in Matthayom 1 in Mae-ai. It is about 10 kilometers from her house; a distance she must pay to travel every day. St Christopher’s will be funding her transport, enrollment and school fees, uniform and shoes, as well as her daily  lunch and snacks. In her future, Earn dreams of becoming a nurse; we hope we can help her on her way.

Athigul  Tamkoontod (nickname Pangpon – 13 years old)

Pangpon is regarded as a caring and diligent young man. Last year, he helped take part in a Christmas Card project; the finished cards were then sold at a Christmas Fair, by a school in the UK. The proceeds from the sale came back to Mae Kok River Village Project to support his friend Jai Muang. Pangpon lives in Huay Nam Yen village with his father, mother and sister. His parents are hill farmers; they are very poor and would be unable to support him through school without the assistance of the Mae Kok River Village Project. With the financial assistance from St Christopher’s, Pangpon is going to study in Thaton school. We will help provide: registration costs, sports kit, national costume, school uniform, Boy Scout uniform, shoes and socks, school bag, lunch and his school bus fare.

How can you help? Sponsorship is approximately BD300 per year, per student. If you are interested in contributing to sponsoring a student through business or personal means please contact Kirsty McKay –  kirsty.mckay@st-chris.net, Rob Stephenson – Robert.stephenson@st-chris.net or Sam Bicknell – Sam.Bicknell@st-chris.net