Wat Suwan Khirikhet

This is a temple in Karon. The munks there are running a school on ideal basis. It's headmaster - Mr. Prasert Nganvongpanit (nickname Duck) - is a nice person, who seems to be loved by his staff and the pupils. There are 180 pupils in the school in the ages 6-11 years (classes 1-6).

I visited the school together with my wife Karin, Sidsel Svestad and Mantana Pornsiripithak (Noi) when Sidsel handed over some computers from the Norwegian Teptida Foundation.

Above the headmaster with his staff.

Above left some of the children in a data lesson. Right: children during a lesson. When I asked them what kind of lesson they were in, they all rose and said in chorus: 'Geography'. Everywhere in the school we met happy pupils. Two exceptions, however, made us distressed. There were two children who could not keep their eyes open during their lessons, because they were not sleeping night time. Their parents forced them to sell flowers in the restaurants and the bars. The head master told us that their father used the money for whisky. Below the children with me, my wife, the teacher, the head master and Sidsel:

There are nothing we cn do for this children, the head master told us, but here in this school they get love at least.

Waiting for Loy Kratong (Thai festival) the head master asked us to come to the market place in Karon. He wanted to give us a flower arrangement with lights mounted on a floating pillow. So we did and put the beatiful thing into the water among thousands of other similar ones:

Today - 8th of  Februari 2006 - I got an e-mail from the director: 

"Last week Noi and Sidsel J. Svestad went to my school and have 2 programs for the students:

1. gave money about 10,000 baht for buying socks and tooth brushes {I please Noi to buy from Big C or Lotus}

2. gave the students' E:mail address in Norway for the students in Phuket to contact together."

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