Projects 2009

Cooperation between Samsara and Ministry of Education, Thailand

Since 2005 Samsara has been building dormitories, canteens, toilets and other facilities at mountain schools for children in Northwest Thailand. Samsara’s experience to date is that a growing number of children attend the schools after these facilities are completed.

The reasons for this are twofold:
1. Children who are otherwise unable to attend school, due to remoteness and distance, can now stay in the dormitories provided by Samsara.
2. Because the children’s parents participate in the building process, they become more motivated and interested in sending their children to school.

The United Nations issued a “Millennium Goal” call for Basic Education for all children throughout the world, by 2015. This target of “Universal Primary Education”, and the substandard and underdeveloped situation at the children’s mountain schools, motivated the Ministry of Education, based in Bangkok, and Samsara to initiate talks about cooperation. On the basis of their joint research in the Mae Sariang Region, the local Department of Education and Samsara, proposed a comprehensive approach to education with the aim of enhancing the participation and attendance of Hill Tribe children in the 185 schools within the region.

This comprehensive plan includes the following:
Twelve schools will be designated as Key Regional Schools; these schools will be provided with new school buildings by the Government; and will accept many children from the surrounding smaller schools. The Government also gave an undertaking to offer Middle School, on top of the existing primary school education, in these twelve Key Regional Schools.

Samsara’s undertaking is to provide the following basic facilities: dormitories; canteens with kitchen facilities; toilets; and clean drinking water installations to fully realise the potential of the schools and the investment in the future of the Hill Tribe communities. Parents will play their part too and be closely involved with all the projects. Besides the aforementioned schools, Samsara will build facilities at fifty four other smaller schools however this will be on a more limited scale.

When the talks concluded in summer 2008, the Ministry of Education had not only agreed to provide new school buildings at the twelve designated schools, “Key Regional Schools”, over the coming four years but also agreed to provide Middle School and even High School for these schools. Samsara in turn promised to make a huge effort to raise funds for the basic facilities within this time frame.

Net4Kids, a Dutch foundation, has agreed to raise funds for six of the schools over the coming three years. Donations from the Ralph Scriba Family Foundation, Los Angeles, will also be used for the twelve key schools. Other funds, raised by Samsara in the coming years, will be used primarily to provide facilities at the 54 smaller schools.

Samsara’s aspiration is to be a main contributor in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goal, “Universal Primary Education”, in this remote region of Northwest Thailand.

Completed Building Projects in 2009

Net4Kids raised 50,000 Euros for Samsara to build necessary basic facilities at two Key Schools.

Samsara has built: a canteen, a dormitory for teachers; and a dormitory for 40 students, a toilet building, clean water installation, school desks for the new school building at the Som Poi School; and constructed a canteen and a dormitory for 40 students and four teachers, a kitchen and a clean water installations at the Um Daa Nua School. These two initiatives form part of the twelve “Key Regional Schools” plan, which Samsara agreed upon with the Ministry of Education in summer 2008. The Ministry of Education has already honoured its part of the agreement with regard to the first two schools by providing new school buildings thus ensuring that two of the twelve schools are well on their way to providing children from the mountains with not only basic elementary education but Middle School education as well.

With the Net4Kids donation and some other smaller donations, Samsara met its commitments for 2009.

Foundation De Beer (Netherlands) donated 9,400 Euros for a dormitory and a shower facility.

Foundation De Beer (Netherlands) has donated to Samsara for the third time. Where bamboo sheds once functioned as dormitories, Samsara provided new facilities with the result that more and more children from poor families enlisted in High School. Samsara this year constructeda two-storey dormitory for 80 boys, including bunk beds and shower facilities at the Sang Wan Wittaya School. This school is one of few offering a High School curriculum to children from the mountains.

Private Donors from the Netherlands and the UK give 5,185 Euros towards a canteen.

These donations provided a canteen with furniture and kitchen equipment at the Um Long Luang School as the existing ramshackle canteen is dirty, unsafe and on the verge of collapse. Eighty children have their lunch there every day. The new canteen, built by the parents, was ready for use in May 2009.

Private Donation from the Netherlands fuels Solar Power Generated Energy – School TV to become a reality.

A donation of 85,000 Euros, to be provided over a four year period, will enable students at 40 isolated mountain schools to watch and participate in the National Thai “Distant Learning” School Television Programme. Thailand’s quality Distant Learning programme has twelve channels for twelve levels of primary education, Middle and High School but cannot be accessed without electricity and television sets. Most of the very remote schools have no electricity but with this generous donation Samsara can provide small solar powered installations to generate electricity - enough for two TV-sets. A Thai Royal Foundation will donate the satellite reception dishes.

Throughout 2009 Samsara installed these solar power generators and television sets in 18 schools. While this will not compensate fully for the shortage of teaching staff in the schools, it will contribute positively to the education of these Hill Tribe children.

Carl and Henrietta Herrmann Family Foundation (USA) donated $18,000 US Dollars for a canteen and dormitories.

This private foundation has donated money to Samsara for the second time. The donation has provided: a canteen and dormitory for the Mae Too Tai School; and a teachers’ dormitory at the Mae Lae School which enables larger numbers of teachers to stay at this very isolated school which commenced Middle School level education in 2009. The Donor agreed that 10% of the donation could be spent on Samsara’s Scholarship Programme.

The Ralph Scriba Family Foundation (USA) donated $100,000 US Dollars for new buildings and facilities at several mountain schools.

This private foundation, based in Los Angeles, which has previously donated so much to Samsara, is happy with the results and impressed by both the low overhead costs of 3% and the participation of the stake-holders in the projects at ground level.

With this donation many projects came to fruition: a teachers’ dormitory, toilet facilities, canteen furniture and a students’ dormitory at the Mae Chaang School; a teachers’ dormitory and bunk beds for a students’ dormitory at the Sang Wan Wittaya School; a canteen at the Chao Poo Luang School; a canteen for the Long Phe Wittaya School; a students’ dormitory and teachers’ dormitory at the Huay Haag Mai Tai School; a teachers’ dormitory and a toilet building at the Duu Laa Peu School; and 113 school desks for the Baan Naa Doi School. Furthermore, furniture and schoolbooks were delivered to a number of smaller schools. The Foundation agreed that 10% of the donation could be spent on Samsara’s Scholarship Programme.

Ralph Scriba Family Foundation (USA) donated a further $50,000 US Dollars for various facilities at mountain schools.

Samsara was delighted to receive a further donation of $50,000 US Dollars from the Ralph Scriba Family Foundation. The following projects were completed by May 2009: school benches for the Som Poi and the Um Daa Nua Schools; a place to wash and dry their clothes at the Sang Wan Wittaya School; the renovation of two old buildings into a primary school and a study-centre for children to do their homework, an improved drainage system and schoolbooks for the new Middle School level at the Um Daan Nua School.

Further projects completed at the end of 2009 are: furniture for a boys’ dormitory and a two-room study-centre for pupils to do their homework, at the Sang Wan Wittaya School; a new canteen at the Nong Muan School; a children’s dormitory, including furniture, at the Mae Lae School; and furthermore, a number of smaller projects in many other schools will be realized from this donation. The Ralph Scriba Family Foundation agreed that 10% of the donation could be spent on Samsara’s Scholarship Programme.

‘Students for Children’ (Netherlands) raised 3,459 Euros for Samsara.

‘Students for Children’ is a students’ organisation, based in the Netherlands, with the aim of supporting educational projects for disadvantaged children. It was through Samsara’s website that this organisation became aware of the charitable work being done by Samsara in Thailand.

The donation has been spent on toilet facilities, a concrete rainwater collection tank, a clean water installation, new kitchen with equipment and a protection wall for the Mae Naa Chaang Nua , the Mae Too Tai schools.

Jan & Oscar Foundation (Switzerland) donated 110,000 Thai Baht to the Long Phe Wittaya School.

This is the third donation from the Jan & Oscar Foundation (Switzerland) to Samsara. A new toilet facility and a rainwater-collection tank was built at the Long Phe Wittaya School.

Rooftop Party Charity Event in Chiang Mai, Thailand raises 336,400 Thai Baht for Samsara.

The ‘Rooftop Party’ Charity Event organised annually by the residents of Chiang Mai aims to raise funds for active non-governmental organisations in Chiang Mai - the horrific Tsunami of Christmas 2004 initiated their activities. In January 2009, the charity event was organised for the fifth consecutive year and Samsara was chosen as one of the beneficiaries. The donation was used as follows: ten tables with benches for the canteen at Som Poi School; and for ten bunk beds, 53 mattresses and bedding, 25 wardrobes and eight teachers’ beds at the Um Daa Nua School.

Rotary Club ‘Amsterdam West’ (Netherlands) donates 3,337 Euro to Samsara.

After visiting some of Samsara's projects, two members of the Amsterdam West Rotary Club took the initiative in raising funds at their club and got matching funds from other Rotary Clubs in Amsterdam. The money was raised for a rainwater collection tank and a clean water installation for the Um Long Luang School, as the school had no access to drinking water in the dry season. Another school, visited by the Rotarians, which also benefited from the donation, was the Taa Thaa Fang School that received a new toilet building and a fully equipped kitchen.

Donation from the US by Dough Stevens for a canteen at the Khun Mae La School.

The parents of the children built as volunteers the canteen and they were invited for the opening ceremony. They were very proud of the result. The children now have a safe, clean and dry place to have their meals at school.

130 Children will have the possibility of Higher Education through Samsara’s Scholarship Program by May 2009

Ten students are continuing their High School education for a second year, thanks to the generosity of the Lloyd George Asia Foundation, Hong Kong. These Scholarships will support the students throughout the six-year period of High School.

Another ten students received Vocational Education for a period of five years thanks to a private donor from the Netherlands. Two Australian women, who volunteered as teachers at a number of schools in Mae Sariang, are very active in scholarship fund raising in their native country. In 2009, 28 students received their generous support.

Samsara spends 10% of the donations from American Private Foundations on scholarships and with this money 36 students are sponsored for a period of three years. Private donations from the Netherlands, Germany and Thailand make it possible for a further 38 students to continue their education.

Samsara Foundation wishes to express grateful thanks and heartfelt gratitude to all Donors, Foundations and Individuals for the generous donations received over the last years. With this money Samsara realized and completed projects at remote mountain schools and improved conditions in these schools dramatically.

Due to your continuing support and financial help, so many children from the Hill Tribes in Northwest Thailand are enabled to finish school and with Samsara’s Scholarship Programme even the poorest children have the opportunity to complete their education.