Darunee Fund 
for Education in Asia
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for Education in Asia
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Darunee Newsletter No. 19 Report on a Former Scholarship Recipient: Asadaporn - report from EDF Thailand There are many poor children in Ban Tung Tae Village, Amnatcharoen Province in the Northeastern Thailand. A girl named Asadaporn was one such child. Although her family was poor, she completed high school thanks to the Darunee Scholarship program, without which she would not have even gone to junior high school. Moreover, she went on to study at a university in Bangkok, while working for a department store. It was not at all easy for a girl to live in Bangkok on her own, yet with her job, Asadaporn managed to pay for school and send some money home to her family. The economic crisis in 1997 made Asadaporn worry about the possibility of being laid-off. About that time, she received a letter from her parents asking her to come home because they were not in good health. She decided to give up college and return to her village. In order to generate a stable income back in the village, she bought 30 chickens and 400 mushrooms. After settling, Asadaporn continued to study at home whenever she had time. Eventually she transferred to the Amnatcharoen branch of the university she had been attending in Bangkok. As a majority of the villagers were poor, Asadaporn thought about starting an income generating project in the village. She taught the villagers how to run the project and, furthermore, told them people could overcome poverty with education. Asadaporn is very happy now. She found a way to improve her community. "A seed will not grow into a tree with one drop of water, but if you give it a drop of water every day, it will grow." Her belief will bear fruit in her native village. |