Focus

Before the summer ended where I would be returning back to the United States, I made it my goal to collaborate with the principal, teachers, and students so that we could generate a list of utilities that were necessary to the student’s academic environment and the facilities that needed to be renovated. The Thai students spoke of the need for athletics and art classes, the teachers commented on the lack of working computers and television sets, and the principal desperately longed for a school car. In doing this, the faculty could then begin to formulate concrete plans for raising funds for their school. There were three distinct plans that we created. The first was to continue the fundraising efforts that the school was already participating in, such as bake sales during the numerous Thai festivals held in the town throughout the year. The second plan focused on how agriculture may provide beneficial solutions to the school’s financial need. The challenges presented to the underdeveloped communities like in the Ban Waung Tao International School may be solve by agriculture methods. In an undeveloped agrarian province the school was trying to gain money by planting corn and other crops on a piece of land behind the school. After the crops were harvested, the students stood behind vending stands in the city selling them during the weekends. But many of the crops they were currently planting and selling was already of surplus in the surrounding area and therefore not very profitable. Later the principal discovered that the tropical fruit longan could be grown which proved to be a much more profitable product the students could sell in local markets surrounding the town. By using initial donations from my family in Thailand, the school was able to buy longan seeds that could be cultivated and would generate a greater amount of funds for the school. The profits gathered from this business-oriented plan further aided the school in improving its academic environment. In short, the second plan focused on the possibilities of providing financial stability through the cultivation of profitable agricultural crops. The third and final plan that we formulated involved what I could do when I returned back to the United States. When I returned, I first began to raise funds for the school by working at my parent’s restaurant and by collecting contributions from local businesses. When I began to sell bracelets that the Thai students made from colored glass beads and small coins to my high school friends. Shortly, Focus was born and the group raised two thousands dollars within the first five months. The funds were sent to the principal who then purchase three new computers for the school.