Destination Wedding Planners Congress Sponsors a Teacher!

The 4^th Annual Destination Wedding Planners (DWP) Congress, a “by-invitation-only” luxury event, is coming to Phuket from 2^nd to 4^th of May this year! Attending the Congress are A-list wedding planners, celebrity planners & royalty specialists, alongside some of the most exquisite creative partners from around the world.

Amid all this luxury, the Congress has chosen to add a charitable component this year and has graciously chosen Phuket Has Been Good To Us as their charity of choice.

DWP Congress is our newest major supporter and Sponsor of our Senior Teacher at Rachaprachanukroh 36 School, Jerlin Balais. This sponsorship covers a full year's salary, visa and work permit fees which allow us to continue to benefit from Jerlin’s dedicated work. The sponsorship also provides each of Teacher Jerlin’s students with a practical and interactive English language education that goes beyond the classroom and supports their daily lives.

Teacher Jerlin is a Filipino national, and a graduate from the University of Santo Tomas with a degree in Bachelor of Secondary Education, majoring in School Guidance and Character Education. She started teaching in 2001 and has been teaching high school students in the Philippines and Thailand since then, and has also been involved in various non-governmental organizations. Jerlin identifies herself as both a teacher and human rights advocate and is very happy to be a part of PHBGTU and is grateful for the patronage demonstrated by DWP Congress.

Find out more about DWP Congress at their website: www.dwpcongress.com

Follow them on their Social Accounts below!

Facebook - @dwpcongress

Instagram - @dwp_congress

Twitter - @dwp_congress

Phuket Has Been Good To Us (PHBGTU) is a Thai registered children’s charity established after the 2004 Asian Tsunami destroyed all three schools we teach in. Our mission is to improve the economic opportunities and life chances of young people, by funding and implementing high quality, practical English language education in government schools in Phuket. Our goal is to help Thai youth become capable and confident English speakers so that they may secure well-paid employment. We teach English classes, for free, to over 1,200 Thai students aged 3 to 18 in three Government schools.

Our Kind Sponsor, XL Catlin

The academic year 2016/ 2017 has ended now and we are happy to send the children home after a successful year of learning. This term, we had dedicated sponsors again who made our classes possible. One of our committed supporters was XL Catlin who not only sponsored a class, but also donated a foundation vehicle!

XL Catlin’s sponsored class is Prathom (Primary) level 1 Class taught this year by Teacher Grace. As the second semester has flown by, students were engaged in the lessons and challenged to be more involved in group activities that promote cooperation and unity. The class schedule included the recognition of letters from A to Z, learning jolly phonetics, reading simple sentences, leading first conversations and counting numbers to 30 and more.

One topic that the class particularly enjoyed was “Parts of the Face”. They made creative face masks on which they drew the parts of the face we learned. Their fine-motor skills were also trained as they did the activity, and the crafts promoted retention of the lesson as well. Most of the students in this class are kinesthetic learners. They learn topics best, and remember that information when they are moving around. This is also probably due to their incredible energy at this age! It has been a challenge at times, but we have seen great progress with class behaviour since we changed the approach in teaching them the lessons and tried to incorporate movement.

The class has shown great progress this semester. They are more responsible and most of them follow the rules. The students have shown more interest in the lessons and have gained confidence in expressing themselves in front of the class.

XL Catlin’s support also includes the donation of our Foundation vehicle. The Foundation vehicle is very useful when we run extracurricular activities for residential students, including our quarterly birthday parties, and transportation of children to Saturday swimming, as well as set up for community and fundraising events. Earlier this month we used the Foundation vehicle to bring Kalim students to the cinema as a graduation present! All these activities would not have been possible without the support of XL Catlin, so a big thank-you for enabling us to enrich the lives of the children we work with!

Ride 4 Kids Fundraiser Update! -by Donna Toon

Long hours continue on the saddle for the 16 riders partaking in the Ride 4 Kids Charity event from the 6^th – 11^th March from Hua Hin to Phuket all in support of three charities on the island, Phuket Has Been Good To Us, The Good Shepherd, and Outrigger’s Share for Change.

Not for the faint hearted, the epic journey is in full swing, and the countdown till the 6^th March is rolling around fast. Individual rides and smaller sessions on the bike have been a feature for all riders for many months. Our first group ride on Friday 3^rd February was a lot of fun and the first time the riders have come together as one.

Meticulous planning for the event is being spearheaded by founders Sam and Rebecca Frith. Accommodation, support vehicles, movement of bikes and team members are all locked in, and now more intricate details are to be fine tuned. "The team is super excited," said Sam, "and things are progressing well".

The after party will be held at Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resorts, tickets are now available, so come and meet the crew and have a quiet beverage in celebration. Donations for silent auctions and raffles can be made through our facebook page. 

For more information and to make a donation to the event please visit the website www.ride4kids.co!

My First Experience in Fundraising Events - by Ayia

Hi, my name is Ayia Issareeya Bhattaramark, I am 13 years old and am currently studying at Phuket International Academy in Grade 8. I’m from Bangkok but have lived in Phuket for 5 years. During these years I discovered some organizations which give opportunities to people and also animals. In the past, I donated funds and also things to these organizations, but this was my first time fundraising.  I first heard about Phuket Has Been Good To Us last year through my teacher Aj. Heidi. The reason she introduced Phuket Has Been Good To Us to me is because I wanted to do a fundraising event and donate the funds to a local organization. I chose a local organization so I can visit and see the real situation there.

The idea of doing fundraising events came to my mind when I went to a GIN conference, where international school students meet and share what they are doing or what they are planning to do at their own school. The first time I went there I saw ISB students doing a run which raised lots of funds to help cleft pallet children through Operation for Smile. This inspired me to do fundraising events for a local organization. Phuket Has Been Good To Us to me is a great foundation because the staff there give the children opportunities to do new things.

The first thing I did as a fundraising event is a traffic run. It included grades 6 - 8 at my school. It was a relay with each station having a task for that runner in the team to do. The winner gets an award which is the dessert I made with my sister. The second thing I did was baking which raised money because people liked the dessert I baked. The most recent event was me baking brownies and also cupcakes for Valentine’s Day. I have plans to do another bake sale in the future and keep in touch with Phuket Has Been Good To Us. 

Why do I like donating things to local organization?

The reason why I like to donate things to local people is because my parents have taught me the saying ‘give and take’. My parents like giving to people without expecting anything from that person. What I realize is when we give to people, even though they don’t give back, one day they will realize that we’re good people. For me I think when we do good things we don’t have to tell the world that we did something good but we just have to remind ourselves to keep doing good and don’t expect anything back from people.

Reflections of a Senior Teacher

3 years.  There is no way that I ever thought that I would be here that long.  I signed a 6 month contract- to spend a bit of time volunteering and paying off some karmic debt...but some how I couldn't walk away.

On reflection of my time here, it's the people I have met that have kept me here.  The staff, the volunteers, the interns, my "other friends".  I've watched people come and go...almost always with tears!  They have finished contracts, found love, found paying jobs, moved countries....and without exception touched my life and the lives of the children we are here to serve.

I will definitely miss the family environment we have built here at the foundation.  But mostly I will miss the kids.

The first photo posted on Facebook after arrival.  Mai and I "swimming at The Palms"

From day 1 it was obvious that they are the reason any of are here.  I especially enjoyed my time during swimming, where we got to have fun and connect with our students on a whole different level.  Although my first batch of children may have grown up and become almost adults, they still come sliding in for a quick hug when no one is looking.  

The last picture posted on facebook. Anas trying to be cool.

When I arrived 5 years ago we had 2 schools, 5 and a half teachers and 2 and a half admin staff.  We now have 3 schools, 7 teachers, over 1000 students and 4 administrators (not to mention interns and helpers galore!!).  Sometimes I  look around and can't believe how many people are involved now!

It is my strong belief that we have built a strong and dedicated teaching team and that next year it will continue to grow.  For May 2015, all of our teachers are fully qualified, they come from a variety of background and educational experiences.  I have no doubt they will build on the strong foundations their predecessors passed to them.

I wish Tina and her team all the best for the following year.  I have no doubt that I will continue to follow the progress of the Foundation and I also fully intend to be an ongoing financial supporter - because I truly believe in what we are doing here.  

“What’s normal for the spider is chaos for the fly” – by teacher Taylor

As I’m wrapping up my last few weeks in Phuket, I find myself often thinking, what will it be like when my life is “normal” again?

When I don’t walk around barefoot most of the day and can’t walk to the beach that’s five minutes away, how will I cope? I’m trading in my year and half island life for the busy city and big skyscrapers. Though it will be a great change of pace, will I ever consider it the norm?

I plan to keep on teaching, but here in Thailand I receive at least five hugs and kisses to start my morning, how could I be so silly to give that up? Will my future students like to play in my hair or give me treats just because? Or make me cards, draw pictures I hang up above my desk. I’m already feeling nostalgic for hearing “Teeeacher” 100 times a day or practicing my “Thainglish” when I pretend I know what the students say. How often do you get loved by people with names like Watermelon, Pancake, and Kitty? It’s funny as first timers in school can become overwhelmed by the chaos but for me, this is completely normal. Being in two places at once and having boogers being wiped on my skirts, all in a day’s work, I remind myself.

I won’t know what to do when schedules are more structure and I’m not living life by the “mai pen rai” mantra. I’ve adjusted and become accustomed to small town living that only has two street lights and where in almost every shop people know your name. It’s been cozy, it’s felt like home, and now it’s time to close this chapter to enter the chaotic city life. There will never be a place like this, people like I’ve met, and students that will forever be a part of me.

From all of my heart, thank you Thailand, thank you PHBGTU, and an even bigger thanks to my little monsters.