Dedicated SEEDS’ consultants have been working for many years with key partners in Southeast
Asia in the field of socio-economic development and education. But its number of consultants are
still small and so much more could be done as we desire to engage in effective partnerships in this
global world.
In a quiet and secluded place in South Thailand, surrounded by locally grown lemons, cashew nuts, and paddy fields, stood a farmhouse owned by the head of the village. It was a haven for children seeking adventure and fun.
The library is reaching into new communities as people from other neighborhoods visit and tell their friends about it. Last month a woman and her five daughters started coming to the library regularly and now they bring their friends with them. They play games and take books home to read.
Untreated tuberculosis kills nearly half of its victims in five years. The other half is left to suffer disabling symptoms, spreading the disease to as many as fifteen more people every year. Loved ones in the family are often the first to be infected.
A local Malay friend in South Thailand told me about her social project for the following Saturday. She likes helping people in need, even though she’s also not wealthy. Her plan was to visit 11 needy families in a district about 50 km away from town. She said compared to families in her own community, they are more needy. Then a thought came to my mind. We still had lots of donated second-hand-clothes at the foundation office. We wanted to give out most of them to needy families in a village near the office. But we could also give some of the clothes to these families.
Cerdas Literasi or Smart Literacy (formerly known as I Love Reading) is one of the programs of a SEEDS’ partner, Pendar Pagi Foundation (YPP). Smart Literacy aims to assist communities, elementary schools and kindergartens to cultivate a culture of reading in children. This program equips teaching staff with child-friendly and effective training methods and teaching materials, like colourful picture books.
In Thailand, the hot season and school summer holidays are traditionally from mid-March to mid-May.
This year’s hot season was one of the hottest every experienced throughout Thailand, including the southern region. Children from families with middle to high income families often have the chance to travel or attend tuition classes during the summer holiday, whereas children from low-income families often are left at home to their own devices as parents and families need to work.
SEEDS partner Yayasan Tunas Aksara (YTA) has partnered with local education departments and local business PT. Kalimantan Prima Persada (PT.KPP) to train more than 75 teachers from 12 schools in three provinces in Kalimantan as part of the ‘Kalimantan Loves Reading’ project.
This partnership, now in its second year, builds on a previous pilot program run in three local schools. Following promising test results for students taught with the Saya Suka Membaca compared to pupils in control schools for the pilot program, PT. KPP and local officials were keen to expand the program into new schools.
The Perahu Nusantara Foundation is on a mission to build environmental awareness in coastal communities and to have fun at the same time!
Children’s youth clubs that teach environmental awareness are becoming a popular way of educating young people about the importance of protecting the planet. These clubs provide a platform for children to learn about various environmental issues that affect the world around them and encourage them to take action and make a difference in their community.
One of my friends, who is a professor from the university, always complains that many of her students have low motivation in studying, and it’s difficult to get them to attend classes and hand in assessments.
However, one day I joined the Korean Day in the university and I was so impressed with how the students prepared all the booths by themselves to introduce Korean culture to others, such as Korean letters, traditional games and Korean dances.