€60,000 (US$81,000) matching fund for 11 dormitories
Donations from friends of Samsara, the Dito and de Beer Foundations from the Netherlands, and a school in Amsterdam were matched by the Wild Geese Foundation, the Netherlands. Samsara has built eleven dormitories, seven water cleaning installations and three cement water collecting tanks at 15 schools in the mountains of Mae Sariang. Ten schools received schoolbooks and five schools received furniture for their school facilities.
The Department of Education for the three districts where Samsara is active supports the foundation by transporting some of the materials and by providing a vehicle for the project monitoring visits. During the many opening ceremonies Samsara officially handed over the completed facilities to the Department of Education and the directors of the schools. Parents who volunteered with the construction of the facilities were invited to the opening ceremonies and a special lunch.
Eight orphans can go to school during ten years
Samsara began its work in Thailand in cooperation with Rotary Club of Chiang Mai-South by providing scholarships to eight orphans in Chiang Mai whose parents had died of AIDS. Samsara guaranteed these students that they could attend school for ten years. The scholarships enable them to continue living in the same village with their grandparents or other family member or neighbour so that they would not have to stay in an orphanage. They are all doing well.
Samsara also takes them on an annual outing. This year they went on a rafting trip.
Private donations from the US for clean water facilities.
The €5,100 (US$7,000) donations from the Scriba and Tooley families from Los Angeles meant a lot to Samsara. It enabled Samsara to build twelve water-cleaning installations at twelve schools. This means twelve PVC tanks, twelve water purification machines, twelve sinks with five taps and twelve tank holders and the necessary piping.
Donation for educational equipment for children with special needs.
The Hansje Sillevis Foundation in the Netherlands donated €12,500 (US$17,000) to the School for the Blind in Chiang Mai for hearing aids, wheelchairs, Braille books and teaching materials for autistic children attending regular mountain schools in Mae Sariang. There are no schools for special needs children in the mountains.
Scholarships for 35 children
Each year Samsara raises funds for students that have parents with low income. In 2006, 35 children received scholarships from Samsara. Some are attending middle or high school and some are attending vocational school. Twice a year we contact the schools about the students’ academic results, and communicate the results to scholarship donors. A scholarship for a period of three years costs €395 (US$525.00) for middle and high school students and €710 (US$950) for vocational school students.
Dutch Embassy donates funds for school canteens
The Dutch Embassy donated €9,800 (US$13,300) to Samsara for the construction of two school canteens at the Mae Loei and Um Lo Saka schools. It also provided furniture for four school canteens (the two new ones and two existing ones). Samsara’s policy is to provide school facilities with all the necessary furniture and equipment for the new facilities because a dormitory without mattresses or a canteen without tables means that children still sleep and eat on concrete floors.
Gala fundraising for dormitory in Muang Keud, Chiang Mai
FERC, the foundation under which Samsara carries out its projects, organises an annual gala fundraising event. This year funds were raised for a dormitory at the Muang Keud School, 40 km North of Chiang Mai. Samsara executed this project. In the past, parents could only afford send one child to this school because transportation was too costly. With this dormitory 50 more children can go to school. They can now board at school dormitory and do not have to pay for transportation.
Rooftop fundraising party in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai community organises an annual “Rooftop Fundraising Party”. In 2006 Samara was one of the foundations that received money from the funds raised. With the addition of funds from private donors, Samsara was able to build three dormitories, two water installations and furniture for the canteen at the Mae Taa Laa school in Samoeng District, 80 km Northwest of Chiang Mai. This school is attended by the children from the Hmong community.
$5,000 donation for a dormitory and a clean water facility.
The Scriba family from Los Angeles donated €3,700 (US$5,000) for a dormitory at Huay Singh School. This included showers, toilets, cupboards, bunk beds, bedding and a water purification installation. Every year more children go to Huay Singh School. This school is situated at the end of the valley and needs to accommodate the children from those mountain villages where there are no schools. This school was willing to accept the children but there were not enough sleeping facilities.
The ‘Rotary Club Calgary Centennial’ donates school facilities.
At the Baan Dong School 240 children had to share two dirty toilets, and had to eat their meals in shifts due to lack of tables. From this donation of €1500 (US$2030) Samsara reconstructed the toilets and delivered four sets of tables and benches.
In 2006 the Samsara Foundation received €139,552 (6,419,214 baht; US$188,800)
in donations, which were spent on the above-mentioned projects.
We would like to thank all donors for their kind donations.