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The Pattaya Redemptorist School for blind children provides free residential schooling for poor blind children, who would otherwise receive no education. There are few schools in Thailand, which cater to the special needs of the blind. Sightless children languish in their villages or are sent to beg in the streets of Bangkok. In many instances blind children are treated similarly to the mentally impaired, with no attempt being made to educate or assist them. The Blind School has received a number of cases, where fully grown children had not been taught to walk or eat normal food.
A further complication is that in many cases blindness resulted from poor post-natal care, particularly oxygen deprivation, leaving these disabled children with additional degrees of physical and mental impairment. |
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Your donations caring for the blind
In the past, visiting the blind school was just a matter of dropping by at one’s convenience and then going to the office to see if Khun Aurora, the principal, was available. A young blind woman, Pern, was always there to greet guests and answer the phone. She was easy to find because of her penchant to sing, and her lilting melodies used to permeate the idyllic setting. Pern, the Singing Secretary, always remembered a voice and loved to chat, so there was always the obligatory socializing with her before one could get around to asking if Khun Aurora was in.
Of course things change with time: Khun Aurora now has a cell phone there is a guard at the gate to ask your business and a sighted secretary, Jaysanee, who now runs the office and is the personal assistant to Khun Aurora.
Khun Aurora claims that over 95% of the blind people in Thailand have not been given the opportunity to get an education. The Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind in Naklua is one such institution that offers education, vocational training, boarding and special caring for blind and mentally impaired children. Additionally, music, dance, sports and games are also taught and prove to be popular meaningful activities for these special children. The Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive has been supporting this worthy establishment since 2003.
Khun Aurora, the blind principal with a masters degree in special education for the visually handicapped, helped found the Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind with the late Father Ray Brennan back in 1986. They have been at their present location in Naklua on Soi 16 about a half kilometer from Wat Po off the Pattaya-Naklua Road since 1992.
Last year there were 173 registered school children at the Pattaya Redemptorist School for the Blind from 1st year kindergarten to the ninth grade, which is near their carrying capacity. The list of children waiting for spaces to open at this school is endless as well. Despite the fact that they are full, there always seems to be ‘special cases’ that need immediate assistance and are readily admitted.
Khun Aurora makes it perfectly clear that there institution is a school and the goal is to educate these people so that they are not ‘a burden on society’. While some blind students aspire to higher education, many just want a high school education so they can earn a basic living. When a student turns 18 he or she should be ready for the next step, which hopefully is finding a niche in the world of employment. It is important for the older students to move on to make room for younger candidates awaiting admittance.
She admits that there are ‘special cases’ for some young adults where mental impairment is also an issue and finding a useful place in society is unlikely. For these persons there are special homes in Bang Prakong, Papa Daeng (Samut Prakhan) and Nontaburi, where they can reside indefinitely. Still others can return to their families and qualify for special pensions from the government.
The local Disabled Persons Act requires companies of 200 employees or more to employ at least one handicapped person. She says that blind persons can work in the hotel industry answering phones, making bookings, translating languages, etc., while partially blind individuals can be porters, waiters/waitresses and/or work in laundry. She acknowledges that one of the biggest demands for blind people is in the capacity of masseurs or masseuses, who are also qualified to diagnose ailments through this art of touch.
This year the Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive has already been involved in furnishing the quarters for 10 students living independently across the street from the school named affectionately Father Ray’s Home, in memory of Father Brennan. Here they are able to experience a more sociable environment as well as taking part in household chores such as cooking, washing, cleaning, going shopping, and gardening, along with their lessons.
Our next objective at both the blind school and the new independent living home is to supply proper beds, actually bunk beds (by request) for all the students, so they no longer have to sleep atop mattresses laid out on the floor.
If you would like to see the blind school, one of our perennial beneficiaries, and I do encourage you to go for a look-see, tell the guard at the gate, you want to go see Khun Jaysanee at the office. It is easy to find as Pern is still there too, answering the phone and still singing. In the event that she is not there, she will most likely be in the classroom teaching her fellow blind students how to sing.
We have come a long way in a short time for these unfortunate people, and with your continued support we can continue the good work. Lewis Underwood |
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