Duang Prateep Foundation
The Origins of The Duang Prateep Foundation
Prateep Ungsongtham had spent only four years at primary school but
this was enough to show her education could transform lives. As a 12
year old worker she began to save from her meagre wages to pay for
secondary education at night school. She was awarded a place at a
college of education and, since there were no schools for the slum
children, she decided to open one herself at her home in the slum.
She soon found that much of her time was spent helping the children
and their families cope with the conditions of slum life rather than
formal teaching. Her prime educational concern was giving these
deprieved families some belief in themselves and hope for the
future.
When they were threatened with eviction, Prateep's neighbors asked her
to put their case to the landowner, the government, and the news
media. This was to be the first, unexpected step in a career of
public service on behalf of the urban poor. It was to bring Prateep
the Magsayay and Rockefeller awards that enabled her to establish the
Duang Prateep Foundation, and it has gained her the trust of both the
slum people and the government.
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