Partnership with the Farmer Community School

Project Profile:

FCS works to educate children in poor rural areas of northeast Thailand. Please contact willy@omprakash.org or Theerada Namhai at wtheerada@yahoo.com if you are interested in supporting this effort.

Partnership History:

FCS has been an Omprakash partner since September, 2007. We are working to find them volunteers, but have not yet succeeded.

Need for Volunteers:
As demonstrated by the emails pasted below, Ms. Theerada Namhai, director of FCS, is very eager to receive volunteers. Please consider serving this organization.

Several emails from P’Lam, the director of FCS, are found below:

From: Theerada Namhai [mailto:wtheerada@yahoo.com]
 Sent: Thu 9/13/2007 8:25 PM
 To: William Oppenheim
 Subject: Re: Farmer Community School  

 

 

Hi Willy
Thank you for your replying, i went through your website this afternoon that is great heart for all of you. I appreciate the way you do for others and okay i will tell you more about the school.
FCS is located in Maha Sarakham province that is the northeast region of Thailand where is the poorest people living. In my village didnt have school, we had it before but for about 15 years ago that we have to send the chidren to others school. The community is small that about 70 households. We are farmer but we are friendly people.
I am most acknowledge if volunteer can work with my project and we can help each other in many ways. The volunteer can not speak Thai is okay for me, we have to learn how to love and take care others by heart and i believe the process of learning can make us more closely.
We are living in the remote area, we didnt have tap water but we have rain water to drink and canal water to clean and bath. If volunteer can live in the village it would be great for us. We will have food to eat and home to stay/sleep and the area to play together because the volunteer can be a person who can create the area of learning with the community also. The main task of volunteer would be English teacher but the way of teaching here is in action.
We will create the community as a classroom and use community knowledge as course meterials and farmer as community resources/assets.
We have small amouth of money but we can fully support the volunteer because she/he will be a new member of our family. Pls come to be our family and learn how to express our belife and happiness to others to have a better life. If the volunteer want to build the house for living together pls come to my village, if volunteer want to learn how to grow rice pls come to my village, if volunteer want to do vetable garden pls come to my village and the volunteer has to transfer all of community activities to English. We can from each other from baby level untill the highest level if we can.
I have sent some pictures to you and pls ask me for more information that you needed.
Warm Regards
P’Lam
School Address
Ms. Theerada Namhai
Farmer Community School
40 M. 14 Nongsang Tambon
Wapeepathum District
Maha Sarakham Province
44120, Thailand
Mobile (0066) 81546-0-252

_________________________________________________

From: Theerada Namhai [mailto:wtheerada@yahoo.com]
 Sent: Thu 9/13/2007 8:25 PM
 To: William Oppenheim
 Subject: Re: Farmer Community School

Hi Willy
I am so happy to get your email, i thought Bennet already forgot. Thank for helping of Bennet also. Now i am in Canada and have another two weeks to go. I would like to say thank you for your appreciate my school. Farmer Community School where is farmer’s children can play and do activities in the preocess of learning together. the ideas of school is to use the community assets for learning together among children and their parent. My first strategy, i have began with the group of children to be extended to whole community late. when i have managed the group of children for learning by doing is not just the normal respondsibility that was the critical issue that we need to work out of it. Right now the farmer does not like their kids to be a farmer anymore that make children in the community are not appreciate their root. That the reason of FCS try to create the activities that children can appreciate themseleve, love to be live in community, love to be a member of the farmer family. I want the English speaking volunteer for learning together interms of culture and also to teach children to use English as the normal thing. We can design English in all of activities that children can respect their community and also can learn how to speak English at the same time.
I will send you about the history of FCS but i am not sure that paper can make you understand more because my writing is too poor. Anyway, pls give comments and suggestions to me, i would be very appreciate of that. Looking forward to have a chance to work with your organization.
Warm Regards
P’Lam
****My school have no building, no big space, we use community as classroom and the farmer as teacher and my home as the office, the temble as the meeting room and doing activities, the rice farm as practicing, forest as the classroom also. we need a lot of help actually.
About:
Youth driven Community Development  

“Going home” to respect my life’s root is the powerful thing to me. My life’s root is located in the local community. People in my community are my relatives, my sisters-brothers, my aunts-uncles, my nephews-nieces, my grandmothers-fathers and my friends. We have been living together but I was gone away form them for long time. When I found nothing can make me happier as going home to make thing difference. That my answer to begin with the Farmer Community School which is to enlightening people but is not just teaching.
In October, 2006 after graduation of my Master degree, I decided to go back home. My decision was working at home but I was unable to know how to begin. I worked for civil-society sector for 8 years before I went to study. When I stayed at home, the eyes of person who have been working for development field got easily to understand the movement of community. It was likely showing a sad movie. People are inadequate to get enough food to eat, not earn enough money to spend and never enough things to survive because they never found the life-sufficiency in the world of capitalism context. The relationship among people has been changing. People do not believe themselves but they respect other people who have a lot of money. The meaning of life is also changing from respected each other to esteemed money and material. Therefore, the middle age people go out to the town for earning money. They spend small time for taking care their family. School is the safety place to put their children. On another hand, the education system is has limited of taking care of children. Many of them have retired from school ahead of time because they were incapable to follow the school regulations. Other problems for their children are addicting drug, quarrelling, fighting, and gambling. That was suffering movie in the local villages.
In November, 2006 I began with gathered a group of children who wanted to study English. I got eight students of thirty (12 – 18 years old) children in community, that the first strategy to make their parent agree with my movement to make thing better. I spent the night time to teach them and they were enjoyed learning together.
In January, 2007 I extended to other children in three villages. I got student about fifty and they were variegation from kindergarten to high-school level. I needed assistant and a bigger area to play with them. The first thing that I did was talked to my parent about the ideas and activities that will be happened. My family was the most powerful to create my opportunity. My mother was the first helper. She prepared food, water, place and other supplies for me and she also play a role of building the public relation with children’s parent.
I had changed the time of teaching from night to a day-time. I have to separate children to two groups and make appointment with them in the different date. I still was teaching them for free because I expected for other things to cooperate. My target population was their parents and empower as whole community.
In March, 2007 my sister had long vacation (she is a teacher) about two months. She became my assistant and she had done as professional teaching. She set up the system for her students (5 – 12 years old), she call “Ten baht school”. Everyday student has to pay 10 baht for 3 hours and that money for their cookies, candy and other supplies. At this time my family fully of helping me to create more activities.
In April, 2007 I started with the new strategy by bringing children to the outside activities. I had gathered children from six villages to have the environment camp. The outside resources has been supported from Maha Sarakham university by sending the student to be the camp volunteer, other staff form NGO sectors to be a manager of camping, and financial support for camp supplies. The community leaders were shared their responsibility to be a resource person and managed the camp together. After camping I have been sharing the ideas with the community leaders and creating more activities. I had asked the Thai Volunteer Service for a volunteer who want to work with a group of children. At this time, a group of children has been to other places to exchange their experiences. In the Songkran Day which is the new year of local people. A group of children had prepared the gift for the elder people in community. That was the first activity that a group of children had created and made it by themselves. The encouragement had been made to their parent and to other members in community.
In May, 2007 I had invited by a group of Esan Scholars to join their training which was out of charge for my students. I have brought fifteen of children and four of farmers to that training. After training was a grateful thing happened with the group of children. There were change their behavior and became an active group activity in community. I have been supporting the fog rising to create other development opportunities. Taking care of their fog can increase the responsibility of individual behavior. Fortunately I had got the funding support from Rajabat Maha Sarakham University at this time. My school now has known as the place for farmer’s children to learn in action. The educational concept is transferring the local knowledge, community practice and community belief to children. The curriculum is mainly make children learning by doing with every kind of activities.

“Going home” is not just repaying the family and community but it is the way to fulfill my dream. To caring my dream and work out it I have to share and get to know other visions to create our opportunity together. On the way to correct people dream it has to enlighten the happiness to get more opportunities. Learning by doing is philosophy of Farmer Community School which believes on equality of people. We will learn more if we are happy that is community driven to get more life happiness from our assets.