We are a Belgian Thai non-profit working with schools and communities in Isaan.
Isaan is home to one third of Thailand's population and faces persistent rural poverty.
Scholarships for bright students, volunteer English support, and IT classes in rural schools.
Fund Isaan has been supporting Bo with a scholarship since 2016. Bo was abandoned by her parents and lived with her grandparents, small farmers. Bo went to secondary school in Prasat. She was a very bright student. After secondary school Bo decided to study Accounting at Prasat Industrial and Community Eduation College.
We first met Tao in 2015. He was abandoned by his parents and raised by his disabled grandmother, who lived in a wooden shed with no floors. When it rained they had to retreat to a litle wooden platform because the entire shed would flood. Tao was going to secondary school in Ban Thanong. We were afraid that even with our help Tao would not make it through secondary school, but he surprised us big time!
Fund Isaan met Pepsi in 2017 when he was in his fourth year of secondary school. His parents had a small farm. To make ends meet Pepsi's mother sold cold drinks in a small cart in front of the local school. Pepsi has one older brother, who was, at that time, studying for a high certificate in Mechanics. Two students following full time education was very challenging, not to say impossible, for his parents.
Pang is the oldest of two children. Her parents divorced long ago. Pang lived with her grandparents. Her father rarely supported her. Her mother worked on the small farm and outside the rice season as a day laborer in Bangkok (making approx. 300 baht/day). When we met Pang, back in 2017, she was in year 2 of secondary school.
Piat's parents are small farmers. When we first met them they had three children all attending school. Piat was the oldest and about to finish her secondary school. Her parents could not afford sending her to higher education. Piat on the other hand wanted to continue her studies at Sangkha Industrial and Community College and obtain a high certificate in Accounting. Fund Isaan supported by Mr. and Mrs.
We met Eun for the first time in 2016. When she was in her fourth year of secondary school in Prasat. Eun had two siblings. One older sister was already studying at university. Her parents, small rice farmers, had to take a loan to pay for her studies. They could not effort a second child going to higher education. Yet Eun was a bright young girl and dreamed of becoming a language teacher.