Personal Journey and Adventures of Nina

Not All Kids Go To School The last few posts, we have talked about the amazing work that is being done at The Sangtawan School in Thailand.  Education, nourishment and emotional support for a small group of Cambodian children who would otherwise be neglected. Well, these are the neglected ones... The absolutely saddest part of this visit was to watch these kids who are not at the school, peer through the windows and hover in the doorways hoping that a small amount of teaching will make its way into their thoughts. They stare and wonder that maybe one day, they will be the chosen ones. I hope they are chosen too. Where exactly is Sangtawan School? Sangtawan School is in Khlong Hat District, Sa Kaeo, Thailand. ( 13°25'50.8"N 102°21'23.7"E) Right near the border of Cambodia and Ban Khao Din Checkpoint.  It took us a total of 4 hours to get here by bus from Bangkok. As it really is the middle of nowhere, we stayed in Sa Kaeo town and bused in

Lesson Tim e Time to get serious. This is the entire reason the school exists. With education, these kids might get jobs away from their desolate lives, away from the doldrums of watching their siblings whilst their parents work in the rice fields, from a possible life of begging or worse. With knowledge of Khmer, English and some Math, these kids are well armed to break the poverty cycle. There are three full time teachers at Sangtawan School who are wholly committed to engaging these children. The children, in return, are eager to impress. I witnessed the teachers as encompassing a happy combination of caring and fun but with the appropriate amount of firmness. Khmer Written Language I was struck by the beauty of the written Khmer language. It appears lyrical and romantic tinged with a semblance of ancientness. This is  from  Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. English Translation “ All human beings are born free and equal in dignit

Steps With Hope Desperately in need of funds to continue their support of this little school in Thailand, Founder of  Steps With Hope , Jen Spoor, hosted a Mother's Day High Tea. After her presentation, I said to Jen, "if you want to make a bigger impact, you need better photos".   So that was that and I committed to visiting the school on their next trip.   Meet The Kids If you're like us, you will want to meet the kids right away. There are about 70 children currently attending the school with three classes starting at Kindergarten age.  These children come from poor Khmer families, remnants of a recovering population that has endured one of the darkest times times in its history.  Around 3 million people slaughtered and many more terrorized by the Khmer Rouge has left a devastated people still clawing its way back to normality.  Families reside in makeshift huts just over the border in Cambodia. The children walk across the Khlong Hat borde

Despite its recent industrialisation and newfound economic success, (now the 8th largest economy in Asia), there are still pockets of people living well below a standard of living that we would find acceptable. Yet, these are the most content and happy people I have seen. People going about their lives, day to day without complaint, yet, they have so little compared to us.  It really makes you stop and wonder about a world without materialism.  \ Many of the places appeared quite homely, decorated with plants and ornaments. Some took on a more eclectic, artistic approach with life sized statues, stained glass and other works of art. Not up to Code! Nestled amongst these, many of the homes were in disrepair. I don't think they'd be up to Council code here in Oz. River Life Thailand originally settled its capital on the Chao Phraya river because of its abundance of fish and wildlife. Now it is a