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Official opening for Panyaden School
Students lead the procession to the school to
enshrine the Buddhist relics.
By Shana Kongmun
Chiang Mai is a city and province that
celebrates its Buddhist heritage and strong beliefs and that can be seen no
better than at Panyaden School in Hang Dong, opened last year, they had
their official grand opening on Tuesday, April 24, 2012 led by Taan Ajarn
Jayasaro and the abbot and monks from the local Wat as well as by the Hang
Dong District Officer, teachers, students and parents.
The Hang
Dong Nai Amphur and Head of the Or Bor Dor or Sub District Administration
Organization join the procession.
The ceremony also saw the enshrinement
of Buddhist relics in the Buddha Image that has been created at the school.
The relics were carried to the school by students and teachers and led by
four young men who very carefully kept the music in time. The ceremony was
quite lovely and many parents attended the event.
This was followed by a Dhamma talk by
Ajarn Jayasaro about the need for Buddhism in education and the important
role it plays in the development of ethics and behavior in children and
adults. The day concluded with a market held by students and staff that saw
many delicious things to eat and interesting items to buy. A highlight was
the student made solar dryer that was on display at the stand selling dried
bananas.
Panyaden School offers rigorous
academic standards but still encourages students to think and act for
themselves, to express themselves creatively and to carry out their own
behavior with mindfulness and kindness. Students are expected to learn self
responsibility along with their educational tasks. Classes are bilingual and
are taught in Thai and English. Currently the school offers up to grade 6
but expects to expand to higher grades soon. More information can be found
here:
http://www.panyaden.ac.th/.
Taan Ajarn
Jayasaro leads the Buddhist relics to enshrine them in the Buddha image at
the school.
A student
market was held after the ceremonies.
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Dog rescue organizations celebrate Earth Day
Students and volunteers join together in a
community outreach project to celebrate Earth Day on Sunday, April 22, 2012.
By Joy Huss
In a celebration of all living things,
Chiang Mai's Hand to Paw Temple Outreach and Care for Dogs Foundation joined
together at Wat Mae Ann offering assistance, care and education to the
villagers and dogs living in this small, rural hamlet.
Amidst recent
stories of the suffering of Thailand’s street and temple dogs during the
2011 floods, the horrors of thousands of dogs being rounded up for the dog
meat trade and their ongoing abandonment and overpopulation, Earth Day
serves as a reminder of all we should respect and protect. This day was
created to inspire an awareness and appreciation of Earth and all of its
inhabitants, human and nonhuman alike.
Earth Day is a
celebration of all life and a special day to inspire awareness of this
planet that we all share. It is a holiday that is dear to the hearts of
two dog rescue organizations in Chiang Mai, Thailand: Hand to Paw Temple
Outreach and the Care for Dogs Foundation
http://carefordogs.org.
Hand to Paw Temple
Outreach is a group of animal-loving, service oriented students from the
Prem Tinsulanonda International School
http://ptis.ac.th working together to promote
a sustainable, healthy dog population at six temples in their surrounding
community. The Care for Dogs Foundation is a non-profit organization and
the community’s leading rescue shelter working diligently 365 days a year to
sterilize, vaccinate, treat and care for Chiang Mai’s injured, neglected and
ill street and temple dogs. Combining their resources, staff and students
joined together to bring their services to the small rural community of Baan
Mae Ann. The event was held at the village temple, one of the six temples in
the Hand to Paw program, to provide education and awareness to local
residents about the many issues facing pet owners in Thailand.
Villagers showed up
all morning in a steady stream with their pets in the back of pick-up
trucks, sitting on motorcycles or led on foot to take advantage of Dr New’s
free veterinary service and healthcare advice, free rabies vaccines and
heartworm protection and discounted vaccines. The highlight of the day’s
event was the ‘doggie bathing station’ manned by the Hand to Paw students
who were up to their elbows in doggie shampoo, lathering, de-ticking and
grooming a multitude of dogs and puppies in all shapes and sizes.
Education materials
and discussion were also presented relaying the importance of adopting from
a shelter, the worth of pet sterilization and vaccination, and the dangers
of anti-pregnancy injections. Petitions were on-hand to be signed to bring
legislation against the dog meat trade in Thailand.
“The day was beyond
my expectations. The village elder, villagers and monks truly appreciated
what we were doing to help their dogs and community. They especially liked
the demonstrations of basic health care skills which they could now take
home with them, truly making a difference in the lives of their pets,” says
Joy Huss, founder of Hand to Paw Temple Outreach.
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Rotary International Welcomes the Month of March with Literacy
Students show off their English writing skills
at a fun month long summer camp sponsored by the Rotary Club of Chiang Mai
ThinThaiNgam.
An English Summer Camp was organized by
the Grandma Cares Partnership Program (GCPP). Past President Hope
Watcharaprecha and Rotarian Sarah-Kate Hawkins, of the Rotary Club of Chiang
Mai ThinThaiNgam, District 3360. Three rural schools partnered with GCPP,
Ban Mae Yoi, Ban Lukpan, and Sai Moon School, for a month long Summer Camp
from Mondays through Wednesdays.
March is the month of Literacy for
Rotary International. Thailand can boast that the literacy rate for their
youth is 90% (unicef.org), it is a different story when it comes to
speaking, reading, and writing English. With the deadline of 2015 for the
ASEAN integration fast approaching, Thailand's Education Ministry decreed
2012 as English Speaking Year in all schools.
Stephanie Meyer, an Ambassadorial
Scholar from the Rotary Club of Boston, USA, is sponsored through the Rotary
Club of Chiang Mai North and she has helped to teach the students English
with the cooperation of the Thai teachers and several international
volunteers in rural schools.
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