It works... it really does.
Suchip's Story, From Photo Contest To Graduation
In 2008 on my first visit to speak with the folks on the ground for the Pattaya Street Kids Support Project (being the skeptic I can sometimes be) I was asked to judge a student photo contest. The kids had been told there would be an international photographer doing the critiques, and since I was from the USA - and happened to be handy - I was given the opportunity.
When I was taken to the school to present the modest award prizes and certificates I overheard the teacher of the short, quiet and painfully shy second runner-up "winner" tell my host that if there was nobody to sponsor Suchip that his schooling was finished, as his sister, who was barely an adult herself and was raising him alone, couldn't afford to get him through his final five years. Their mother had left them on their own some years before, and I've never heard much about the father other than he'd taken off when the kids were small.
Suchip stood silently with his head down, saying nothing, but I knew he'd heard his teacher, and if he'd been a turtle I suspect he'd have pulled completely into his shell. I'd already agreed to school fees for one more student than I'd budgeted for, but what do you say to a child in a case like this? "Sorry, kid... you'll just have to make ends meet however you can in life - I need those three extra Starbuck Mochas a month"? I can be selfish, but hearing that about a child I just couldn't turn away. Through the translator I told the teacher "He'll be paid for. Please plan on him attending and keep him on the registration rolls."
Move forward a couple of years now. Suchip was making an effort, but he was still struggling to keep up with academics in class. It wasn't any real surprise: without going into private family details he wasn't living in anything close to what you'd call a normal, healthy family environment, and it showed in his achievements at school.
When an opportunity for learning a trade became available he was steered into learning to be an electrician; an honorable trade in any country. He worked hard, and did well, despite his home life, which had taken a turn for the better after his mother came back into the picture and helped turn them into more of a real family again.
I was able to see him every year, and he soon came to accept me as his sponsor and began to open up, smile regularly and enjoy our times together. Those afternoons were wonderful, but even the birthdays and times I couldn't be there I enjoyed the pictures via email… always a treat.
After our outing and grocery run in 2012 his mother ran after me as I was getting into the car to leave. She'd knitted me a large, heavy scarf to wear because she'd heard it was cold in America. It was pink and white and quite bulky, but I thanked her and actually have worn it here at home a couple of times... just to enjoy the memory, if nothing else.
I was also invited that afternoon to attend Suchip's graduation this year. Knowing better than to risk them losing face - even though I didn't think I'd be in Thailand at the time - I told them if I was in the country that I'd be there... just let me know when. I thought that got me out of the commitment, but on the visit this Spring I was reminded that it was coming up soon, although they didn't know exactly when.
A little past 10:00 on the morning of the 21st of March my phone rang as I was sitting in my room in Bangkok after a morning walk. “Suchip's graduation is today at three in the afternoon here in Pattaya. Can you make it?" With the kind help of a friend at the charity in making some hasty plans I showered, put on the best dress clothes I'd brought along and headed out. The BTS took me to the Ekamai station, and from there it was only a block to the Eastern bus depot where luck was with me and I got one of the very last seats on a bus to Pattaya, arriving a bit after two o'clock. Paying a licensed bandit in a taxi far too much I got to the charity offices at 2:30, and Tom got us to the ceremony with just minutes to spare.
Family and friends waited outside in groups for the graduates to come out, and I bought flowers for Suchip while I waited, just as his mother and sister had. Finally, there he was: the shy boy who found it so hard to smile and could barely look the world in the eye standing there with a look of satisfaction and self-acknowledgement that made me think he might just burst at any moment.
Standing with his family and friends he held onto the folder containing his diploma as though it were a life preserver, and, in some ways it may well be just that. 14 years of schooling through a rough childhood and adolescence was quite an accomplishment for this boy who was now a man with a skill and hope for a good life ahead for himself, and, hopefully, his wife and children, if that's the path he chooses.
For my part - which really amounted to nothing more than keeping in regular contact via PSKSP, a yearly transfer or minor funds and some great times together on outings - I was able to pat him on the back, tell him he'd done a good job and I was proud of his efforts, and see him smile and say "Thank you. Thank you so very much," before excusing himself to run off and join his fellow graduates, his gown flapping about behind him… and that was it. The Thai culture isn’t as weighted with greetings and farewells as we are in the West, so who knows? With luck I’ll hear from him again one way or another, but perhaps not. Either way, I have the satisfaction of knowing he’s at least starting his adult life on a somewhat smoother path, and that’s enough for me.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again here: we can't save the world, but we can save little pieces of it. I can personally vouch for one thing... it's well worth the effort, because it works...
it really does.
Registered Charity No. 1104335
100 Years From Today
It will not matter how big your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove. But the world may be a little better because your help touched the life of one child.
