Category: School Run

The School Run project is the newest addition to Sister Joan Evans Mission. It started in 2019 and it’s goal is to sponsor good high school students on their way to getting a college degree. We work closely with 2 high schools attended mostly by Klong Toei kids. We enrol only great students that come from one of Klong Toei communities and we pay for their school fees and their uniforms while they are in high school and through their university years. We also organize monthly field trips for students to get tours of different organizations so they can start getting more understanding about how our modern world functions.

Events of School Run program take place as needed and will be listed on our site.

School Run students meeting Jul 16, 2022

Khun Art suggested and organized this meeting to mark the end of another successful semester for our School Run program.

All of our 7 recipients arrived for the meeting, even bringing baskets of gifts. May was not available to attend and Sister Cecilia was in Australia at the time so only I showed up to meet the students.

From left to right: Gam, Blue, Earn, me, Few, Platu and Art. All are posting excellent grades and participating in different programs that help other people. Few and Platu are completing their high school education while others are in their 3rd year of university.

I hope that next year we can register more students into the School Run program. Please let me know if you can help us with this program that pays tuition and book expenses for good students from the slum.

August 20, 2022
School Run meet up on Dec 30, 2020

We are closing the 2020 with one last meeting with students sponsored by the School Run project. I invited them to come to Almost Home, a co-working / baby sitting space Susan and I created on Sukhumvit Soi 44/2. We set down to re-connect and catch up since we haven’t seen them since before Covid arrived. We shared sandwiches and soft drinks and we also gave each student a New Year’s gift – a multi use face mask for these pandemic times.

The students are all doing well. Earn (Girl number 1) enrolled in Chula University, Thailand’s oldest and most respected University. She is studying cello and is actually paid for the rehearsals and performances of the University Sinphonyc Orchestra. Earn (Girl number 2) and Blue (Girl number 3) are both enrolled in another top Thai school – Bangkok University. They are both working now that the school is on winter break and can’t wait to get back to school.

Gem (Girl number 4) is studying sound engineering while also recording and performing as a drummer. One of Netflix original Thai series is featuring her music recording. Art (Boy number 3) is studying Logistics and looking for part time work. Platu (Boy number 2) and Fiew (Boy number 1) are both still in high school. Both are having good grades and looking forward to 2021 to be back on full time school attendance instead of mostly studying online from home.

From L to R: Gem (G4), Earn (G1), Art (B3), Blue (G3), Fiew (B1), Earn (G2), me, Platu (B2) and Best, our wonderful Thai volunteer that made the whole School Run possible.

Here are more photos from our Dec 30th lunch… Happy 2021 and all the best from Klong Toei!!

December 31, 2020
School Run Mar 11, 2020

A visit with T & B Media Global had 5 of our 7 students visit a modern media company for a view into it’s workings. Cynthia and Judy were there as well for a full presentation… Here are the shots.

April 13, 2020
School Run company visit Feb 27, 2020

The leadership of DB Schenker Thailand operation invited our students for an amazing walk through the Bangkok headquarters and a full on presentation of their history, operations and the services they provide. 6 of our 7 students came and with Judy, Trini and me, we were welcomed by DB Schenker Thailand CEO Dean and given a welcome that will be hard to forget.

Dean welcomed us by saying that his company’s commitment to the students from Klong Toei goes beyond the visit to assisting the young participants of our School Run program with learning how to do the job interviews one day, how to present their case, write their CV and resumes, maximize their chances of getting employment. It was inspiring and powerful and a very moving moment.

We were then presented with the company story, all the way from it’s beginnings a 140 years ago in Austria to a modern, global player that they are today. The staff from Human Resources was on hand to show us the offices and explain operations, employment opportunities and even introduce us to some of the people who work there. Most importantly, the people of DB Schenker made our students fell welcome and respected and that they too could work and prosper in a place like that. Thank you very much for your wonderful hospitality.

March 6, 2020
School Run company visit Jan 22, 2020

Thank you May and Theresa for organizing a fantastic visit to another organization. Milos, Theresa and Janna met with the 4 students from our School Run program and we went to the 28th floor of Q House Lumpini tower to visit Madcoenergi – a oil exploration and production company.

We were given a full presentation with a video of the installation of one of their Oil Rigs.

The Madcoenergi staff was on hand to explain what they do, how they do it and answer any of our questions. Our School Run students got a great intro into how things work in the Oil business, how important the Oil is to our daily life, how important it was in the development of Thailand… The staff showed us around the office too to give our young guests an idea of what the daily work looks like… A great visit all around.

January 26, 2020
School Run company visit Dec 12, 2019

May organized another great company visit for students in our School Run project. We met on Thu afternoon to get a tour of Bumrungrad International Hospital. A boy and two girl students couldn’t make it but two girls and two boys did and along Carmen, Janna and Milos had a most detailed and exiting tour of this phenomenal Thai company.

Carmen, Platu, Art, Earn, Janna, Blue, K. Kim and K. Pagaa in Welcome Center

Khun Kim and Khun Pagaa were our amazing tour guides, showing us the Welcome Center, one of the Clinics of the Hospital, a standard hospital room (each includes a full bathroom and a kitchen, and is a size of a small luxury apartment) and other facilities. Our tour ended with a hour long Q&A about the hospital history, staff, jobs and approximate salaries, even the benefits the employees get. We felt like there was no question unanswered and left feeling so impressed by the Bumrungrad Way of doing things.

December 14, 2019
School Run extra event, Nov 29, 2019

May suggested and then organized to take our School Run students on a theater event. Along with Janna, Michelle, Ange, Trini, David and Judy they went to see a performance of the Peel the Limelight theater troupe. The two students who are interested in pursuing careers in performing arts were naturally delighted but everyone had a chance to discover a part of the world of live performance that they rarely had any exposure to before. Great job May and our group of adults dedicated to these young Thais…

December 1, 2019
School Run tuition day

This Sat, Nov 9th was the due date for school fees for the students of PatumKonga School for boys. All three of our boys showed up to thank us and one even brought his dad along.

Fiew with his dad who works as a security guard in Bangkok Port

Each boy received 3200 baht (about US$100) for their semester fees, Nov 2019 to Apr 2020. We purchased uniforms for them 4 months ago and the girls in the School Run program will have their fees due on Dec 1.

PatumKonga School is located on Sukhumvit, between Soi 40 and Soi 42. It was amazing to get a look into Thai education and facilities and everyone you meet is so friendly and helpful.

November 10, 2019
School Run company visit Nov 7, 2019

This was the first in the series of monthly events we are organizing for the students we support in the School Run project. Every month we will take them to another organization and show them how people come together to offer a service or a product and what it takes for a young person from Klong Toei to join that world.

May has taken upon herself to organize these School Run events and she delivered an amazing evening with 137 Pillars Serviced Suites and Residences. The top management was there to welcome our students and they were given a tour and a Q and A session along with refreshments and lots of positive energy.

November 10, 2019
Code Run in the making…

We met today at Central Embassy Starbucks to start creating the curriculum for a new program – the Code Run. It will give high school students from Klong Toei a way to learn English and internet page programing (coding) at a same time. Programs that combine teaching English and coding exist elsewhere but this one will be offered for free to all students in Klong Toei that would like to start working with computers.

Cynthia and Ben were testing our School Run participants on their English and computer skills

To start creating the curriculum, we needed to find out the level of computer and English competency of our target students so we invited the participants of Sister Joan’s School Run project to meet us for a tea and a chat.

Ben and Cynthia, the two people creating this unique curriculum interviewed each student individually while the rest of us hung out and talked about the opportunities for these young people.

All four girls and two of the three boys from the School Run project came to help

Shannon, May, Trini and Michelle joined this unique session and made everything perfect. We met at noon and finished by 1 and before you knew it, everyone rushed back to their busy lives…

October 15, 2019