Due to technical difficulties this post is a bit overdue, but see here an example of the effort put in to celebrate the annual Childrens Day.
The official Childrens Day is on the second Saturday of January, but it came a day early at Pasak School with a large event held, to which several local schools came to take part.
There was a big turn-out and the many food stalls and attractions were kept busy all the way through.
All the children were very patient, standing in line with their respective schools on the sports field whilst the opening ceremonies were performed.
Once all the opening announcements were finished it was time for the fun to start and the tidy lines became a stampede for the games, on offer under the various marquees and of course, the free kanom.
Throughout the morning there were various performances on the large stage close to Wat Pasak.
It really is a delight to be at such an event and see the effort made by the whole community to make a special day for the children.
In between performances by children, from all the attending schools, there were prizes given away, ranging from boxed milk to big cuddly toys to bicycles.
The dancing shows were fantastic to watch and it was obvious that all the children had put a lot of effort into practising their routines and they should all be very proud of themselves.
I’m sure also that many teachers and parents worked hard behind the scenes with the wonderful costumes worn for the performances.
From the tiny infants, excitedly giggling their way through their acts, to the older kids turning in very laudable routines, they all put in a huge effort and made a great show.
The traditional Thai dancing always holds me spellbound when performed so well.
The girls from Pasak School did a fantastic job with their lively number(watch this performance on youtube).The lead dancer for much of the routine, Best, looked very relaxed and professional and has that killer smile to top it off.And I can tell you that that smile is natural, brightens my day everytime I go to teach.
Hope you don’t mind girls, but my personal favourite was the traditional dance and drum number. In the heat of the day I think these boys deserve a medal for what was clearly quite an exhausting routine for ones so young. The lead Drum boy pulled off a wonderful flowing performance as did the mock fighting dancers with their cymbals.
All the children appeared to have a great time.
The Bouncy Castle was very popular.
In the marquees there were stands where the children could aim at targets with catapults;
knock cans down with balls;
throw hoops over bottles or roll metal balls onto targets.
There was a large marquee for the infants with lots of colouring books and lots of adults there to help and make a fuss of them.
I also saw children playing some sort of board game that looked similar to scrabble.
The kids were treated to a fly over by a motorised paraglider,(not sure if it was arranged or not).
There was so much fun and excitement to enjoy that alot of children were ready for home by 1pm as the heat got ever more intense.
It was clear that the children in this friendly community all had a wonderful time as do thousands of children throughout Thailand during this great annual event.
Personally I think this day should be adopted worldwide…cliche or not..the children are our future.
Its that time of year again where love is in the air.
The lady Jennifer, made a generous donation;in honor of her father; to The Stratton ABC Foundation, in the process and although a refund was offered she wouldnt hear of it, and I’m glad to report that she is now in contact with the correct John.
So despite my health I have a busy week this week to ensure all is in order for our application for official Foundation status so that we can get that in early next week. Once that is done we can start to concentrate on the important job of fund raising and setting up the first home.
