Duang Prateep Foundation Monthly News for March 2001
 
Contact details
Address: Lock 6, Art Narong Road, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
Telephone: (66 2) 671 4045, 249 4880, 249 3553.
Fax: (66 2) 249 5254
Email: <dpf@internet.ksc.net.th>

News from the Duang Prateep Foundation

 

Duang Prateep Kindergarten receives 12 new computers

The Duang Prateep Kindergarten recently took possession of 12 new computers, increasing the total number of computers available at the kindergarten to 20. The computers were donated by Dr. Henry Strage and purchased by four students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) of Massachusetts, who were recently at the Duang Prateep Foundation for a two-month project.

The American students were at the Duang Prateep Foundation to improve the computer teaching programme at the Duang Prateep Kindergarten and to build on the work a previous group of students from WPI had carried out twelve months earlier.

The increased numbers of computers will enable children at the Duang Prateep Kindergarten to enjoy more frequent computer use than the thirty minute sessions they were having every other week in the past.

In addition to installing new computers, the American students carried out a teacher training programme, prepared a computer manual in both Thai and English and increased the range of software available to children at the school.

The American students and some Duang Prateep Kindergarten teachers visited Sriwittayapaknam School near Bangkok. The school has built up a strong computer programme over the last five years, with 150 computers and computer education programmes for children of all ages. The DPF and WPI have been able to draw on the experience of Sriwittayapaknam School in the purchase of new software.

In the first year of the computer programme at the Duang Prateep Kindergarten, the regular computer sessions for the children have proved very popular, but there has been frustration at the lack of computer time and the lack of different software. Now with more computers, new software, better trained teachers and more frequent instruction, the computer teaching programme should be even more beneficial for children at the Duang Prateep Kindergarten.

The attached file <computers.jpg> shows a WPI student left and a Duang Prateep Kindergarten teacher with children in the computer lab.

Camp for hearing impaired and guardians

Eighty-one people connected with the Special Education Project for Hearing-Impaired Children went on a two-day camp to the coast near Cha Am last month. Children, guardians and staff came together for a full programme of activities. There was plenty of time for games and to enjoy play in the sea but the camp was not all play. The two days away from home provided an opportunity to educate the guardians about the needs of hearing-impaired children and how they can best help the child’s development. The camp also helped the bonding between everyone involved in the Special Education Project, as new friendships were formed and old friendships strengthened.

Also last month, the Special Education Project was visited by Mr. Iwahama from Zaidan Hojin Tokyo Masonic Association. Mr. Iwahama and fellow members of the Tokyo Masonic Association have being giving support to the education of hearing-impaired children for many years.

The attached file <masonic.jpg> shows Mr. Iwahama being presented with a painting by children from the hearing impaired school. On the left is DPF Secretary General, Prateep Ungsongtham Hata.

Development section provides skills training for housewives and youths

The Community Development Section at the DPF arranged two special skills-training courses last month. The first course was targeted at housewives and was about how to make pla som (pickled fish) and naem (fermented sausage). Thirty-three people attended the one-day course, at which they were taught by a member of the local community. Fifteen people attended the second course which was targeted at young people. A local resident taught the youngsters about how to make khay khem (salty eggs).

There will be excitement near the end of March when the produce resulting from the training sessions will be tasted for the first time. There is a ready market for the products and successful implementation of the skills taught could provide a useful source of income for course participants.

The attached file <training.jpg> shows action at one of the skills-training sessions.

UPS donates for new school

A group from UPS Parcel Services visited the Duang Prateep Foundation last month, to donate money for a new school building at Nong Yai in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Northeast Thailand. The Duang Prateep Foundation has been supporting development projects at Nong Yai for many years. Groups from the DPF and Japanese student groups have gone to the village in the past to work on projects and finance has previously been found for the construction of a library and other activities.

Ratchada Bungkum Children’s Centre celebration

DPF Secretary General Prateep Ungsongtham Hata and other representatives of the Duang Prateep Foundation visited the Ratchada Bungkum community last month for a thirteenth anniversary celebration at the children’s centre. The children’s centre has been at the heart of community activities, ever since the residents were relocated to their present area after eviction in the nineteen eighties. The centre receives financial assistance from sponsors in Sweden who provide support through the Swedish charity Stiftelsen Barnmission I U-Land.

Klong Toey hit by another fire

Last month a fire broke out in the 70 Rai community of Klong Toey Slum. Sixteen houses were destroyed and forty-nine families made homeless. The fire in the 70 Rai community was the latest in a series of fires in Klong Toey Slum in recent months. The fire-fighting volunteers in each community and the fire-fighters based at the DPF have proved their worth on each occasion. Although the fires have proved devastating for those made homeless, the firefighters have been successful in preventing the fires growing into major conflagrations, which could destroy hundreds of homes.

There is more about the Duang Prateep Foundation at the end of the newsletter.

News from Thailand

Average Thai in poverty, says survey

A report by the Community Development Department issued last month stated that the average rural Thai scrapes by under the poverty line. The department surveyed every village in the country last year, excluding Bangkok and other municipalities. The average income was found to be only 15,824 baht, while the poverty line is 20,000 baht per year. Regional figures varied from an average of 20,877 baht in the central region to 11,936 baht average in the Northeast. The province with the highest per capita income was Phuket with 33,794 average, at the other extreme was Mae Hong Son with an average annual income of 5,882 baht.

Bangkok will stop providing free lunches to school children

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will stop providing free lunches, uniforms and books at schools under its jurisdiction from the start of the new school year in May. The Bangkok governor has decided that the administration should save the 1 billion baht the scheme costs and will use the money elsewhere. The funding scheme was first introduced by the previous governor and was popular with the mostly low-income families who use BMA schools. The governor’s secretary reported that the BMA would continue to help needy students based on the families’ financial status, but many parents are concerned that the support will not be distributed fairly. There is concern that many poor families, who depend on the free service for their children’s education, will be denied the support they need.

Student drug abuse rampant

Last month the National Primary Education Commission revealed the extent of the drugs problem in Thai schools when they released figures for 1999. There were more than 660,000 cases of drug-related offences by students in 1999, of which more than 80,000 involved primary school children. Authorities said they were especially concerned at the spread of drugs among primary school children.

Softer rules but tighter security for juvenile offenders

The nation’s thirty-four juvenile detention centres have passed to the control of the Justice Ministry from the Central Juvenile and Family Court. Plans under the new administration include the softening of over strict regulations and the setting of standard practices for inmates and staff. The centres house 21,000 inmates, 80% of whom are on drug charges. The ministry plans special centres to separate addicts from other criminals and provide them with rehabilitation. The new government is also concentrating on rehabilitation rather than prison for small-time drug offenders and addicts.

HIV infection rates down, except for sex workers

The latest test results show that the spread of HIV/Aids slowed last year after a dramatic increase in 1999. The latest results show that the prevalence of HIV fell among blood donors, pregnant women and men attending sexual disease clinics. However, there was an increase of HIV prevalence among brothel-based prostitutes, from 16% to 18.6%. The level of HIV infection among pregnant women fell from 1.74% in 1999 to 1.46% last year. Most experts blame the 1999 rise in infection rates on government cost-cutting measures, which drastically reduced the distribution of free condoms in 1998 and 1999. The total level of infection is put at one million among the sixty million Thais, 300,000 Thais are believed to have died of Aids already and 30,000 die each year.

Aids shame hurts accuracy of death papers

Last month the Public Health Ministry reported that at least 25% of death certificates issued in the country are not accurate because of the Aids problem. A ministry spokesperson said that a major cause of the inaccuracy in statistics is because relatives of victims of Aids-related ailments are reluctant to report the real cause of death. The study showed that tuberculosis was the major cause of death among people with AIDS.

Bangkok joins clean air plan

Bangkok is one of six cities in east Asia which have signed up to a clean air programme initiated by the World Bank. Bangkok will set up a specific unit to look at air quality management. The initiative will involve environmental agencies, private companies, academics and the public. Similar schemes have already been launched by the World Bank in other parts of the world.

___________

The article below appeared in the Bangkok Post newspaper of the 13th of February. The article remains the copyright of the Bangkok Post and cannot be reproduced in any form without the permission of the Bangkok Post.

Alive and kicking
At the Niwattana New Life Project for boys,
the drug war is being fought one soul-and
body-at a time
Wanphen Sreshthaputra
In the remote countryside of southern Chumphon province, among the
forests, coffee plants, rubber trees and ponds which comprise the 39
hectares of the Duang Prateep Foundation's rehabilitation centre, a
handful of boys, mostly about 16 years old, are engaged in the titanic
struggle to overcome their drug addictions.
They are battling mostly in silence and without gradual drying-out periods
or chemical substitutes or medicines, operating on the strength of will with
the help of peers, tutors and Mother Nature: a rural environment, fresh
water and physical exercise.
The battle is being fought with their own bodies and souls, which have
been thoroughly enslaved to narcotic substances, mostly amphetamines,
sometimes for years on end.
"I keep thinking about it. This feeling of being under the influence of drugs
is haunting me," said Somkiat, 18 years old, a handsome face with sad
brown eyes.
"This feeling can be very stressful sometimes. I try and overcome it by
going a bit overboard, doing everything full tilt, speaking very loudly,
exercising like mad. It's very difficult to forget it."
Somkiat's main concern is to get rid of his amphetamine addiction in
order to support his family: a little sister, an ageing mother who farms for
a living, and a paralysed father.
"Those who have never had to deal with this problem are lucky. But for
those who are fighting drug addiction like me, I want to tell them to
always forge ahead, to never lose hope. I want them to know that drugs
are destroying their future and putting their lives in danger."
Like Somkiat, a native of Uttaradit province and a resident at the centre
for the last one-and-a-half years, some 90 teenagers from all over
Thailand are currently involved in the Duang Prateep Foundation's
Niwattana New Life Project for boys, established in 1986.
Each of them has a tragic story to share of the slow descent into the hell
of drug addiction: "I had a weakness for having fun," said one; "my heart
is my soft spot," said another; "I am too emotionally unstable," or "I
wanted to have the energy to study in the daytime and work at night," or
"I wanted to stay awake later at night"-each offered their reasons for
becoming addicted.
The young boys are enrolled in the project for a minimum of three years,
the time needed to cut short all kinds of bad habits and addictions and, in
short, start a new life. If the parents can afford it, the monthly fee is 3,000
baht; if not, the foundation calls on private donations to cover expenses,
or the Ministry of Non-Formal Education, various schools and the local
community.
During the three-year period, the young boys may attend the local school
on a regular basis, and if not much academically inclined they can
undertake a programme which contains vocational training and
agricultural work mixed with a bit of conventional schooling.
The recovering addicts also have the opportunity to build links with the
local community by taking part in construction projects and various other
projects under way in the neighbouring village.
Their daily routine includes self-development activities, group activities
such as language studies, computer studies, and optional educational
studies as well as practical agriculture and sports. Supplementary
activities such as meditation, watching videos, training and discussions are
also on the agenda. They also help with the upkeep of the centre itself.
The success rate of the Niwattana New Life Project, according to the
residents, seems to be about 70 to 80 percent, which ranks this
rehabilitation centre amongst the most efficient and sought-after
programmes in the country. Indeed, there is a waiting-list of around 400.
For many of these young boys, this was the end of the road: many said
they fared badly in other rehabilitation centres, hospitals and temples.
"I have undergone treatment for drug addiction in numerous places, but
unsuccessfully-four times at Thanyarak Hospital, once for a one-month
treatment programme at Tham Krabok temple some 10 years ago,
costing 3,000 baht, plus another course of 21 days somewhere else.
Each time I felt it was too short, and I tended to get addicted to the other
drugs I was given as a substitute," explains Wanchai, a 24-year-old from
Samut Sakhon, a former heroin addict who is now a teacher's assistant at
the Chumphon centre.
"The good thing about this project is that there are plenty of activities,
things to do. Many gain confidence and self-esteem by learning new
skills, doing things themselves, mending things, doing physical exercise,"
said Wanchai, wearing a loose white T-shirt with the word "Nirvana" in
big letters.
"I want this project to be an example for the government to follow. They
should support community work all the more since people have begun to
realise that other types of rehabilitation programmes don't work," said
Khru Prateep, now known as Senator Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, the
famous figure behind the Duang Prateep Foundation.
While driving down the bumpy road leading to the rehabilitation centre,
she said, "This type of programme, with links to the local community, is a
more appropriate way of dealing with drug addiction. It is also much
more economical-our government is spending billions of baht on
drug-related issues."
Senator Prateep enumerated, at length, the various budget items related
to the drug scourge.
One thing is certain: the curse of drugs is spreading through all sectors of
society, affecting more than 1 million people (casual users and addicts) in
Thailand, according to a study commissioned by the Narcotics Control
Board.
Another recent study on this multibillion-baht business showed that over
70 percent of drug addicts in Thailand are no longer from broken families
as before, and the drug of choice is amphetamine, claiming 90 percent of
total addictions.
The Duang Prateep Foundation had a ringside seat for the turn of the
tide. Conceived at first as a way to rescue children from the Khlong Toey
slum communities, the New Life Project residents coming from slum
communities now number less than 15 percent, about 10 of the 90
current residents. The majority are now from middle and upper class
families.
"The kids are all sent by their parents. Sometimes the parents had even
sworn they would only send them here as a last resort. But other
methods failed, and they would sometimes come to me with tears in their
eyes, hopeless. We have kids from all over Thailand, and all types of
communities, even the Muslim community."
The senator added: "For sure, many middle-class families are suffering.
Sometimes parents put too much pressure on their children and have too
many expectations. The kids might not feel up to handling those
expectations and may become frustrated for not being appreciated. It
might also happen that because of over-protection, kids feel they can
never think for themselves and make their own decisions, leading to poor
self-esteem. Gathered in the centre's main hall on that rainy day late last
month with Senator Prateep were other honourable guests such as Dr
Sandro Calvani, a representative from the United Nations International
Drug Control Programme, and Nanda Krairiksh and Kayoko Mizuta
from United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia and
the Pacific. The gathering offered the recovering addicts a rare
opportunity to try and make sense of the big picture.
At the request of some of the youths, Dr Calvani painted a broad picture
of the situation in the region, explaining, for example, that Laos, Vietnam
and Cambodia had, to a certain extent, eliminated the circulation of
heroin and amphetamines in their countries, but had much to do regarding
the consumption of marijuana. The situation in Burma, ranked the second
largest producer of opium in the world as well as the number one
producer of amphetamines, is extremely serious.
"People within communities have to change-they have to realise that
drugs are destroying our young people," Dr Calvani said. "We need
mobilisation within civil society, as if we had decided to stage a
revolution, or as Thai people did to bring about the new constitution-all
joining hands together. Drugs are not just the problem of the government,
or of the Prateep Foundation alone. It's much more than that.
"Drugs are a symptom of a sick society, where only money, sex and
power rule," he added. "We need to rebuild values and learn how to earn
happiness by serving, giving to others, rebuilding people's self-respect."
The young listeners could only agree with such elevated words and goals,
but still dared to make a few small requests: less crowded rooms, divided
bathrooms, better sports equipment, an electrical generator and some
means of transportation ...
Whatever one might say, it is first and foremost on their young shoulders
that this gigantic struggle against drugs is being fought.