What inspired the genesis of this
foundation?
It started with
Snea's realization
that education is incredibly powerful in transforming a
person's life and in helping the person become an agent of
positive changes in the world around him or her. As the
first son of a poor farming family with nine children, Snea
was expected to help with the hard work in the rice fields
and on the farm for family survival. Saved by his academic
gift, he was awarded an unprecedented scholarship for the
highest exit points after Grade 4, the end of free,
compulsory education in Thailand then. Despite the
disapproval of the grandparents who had raised the family
from extreme poverty by working hard with their muscles and
without any formal education, Snea went on to be educated in
the school systems, receiving
scholarships in virtually all years in almost three decades
of his educational pursuit. However, the struggles Snea had
to go through were at times harsh, and here are some of the
events that Snea does not want to be experienced by any boy
or girl from a similar background:
-
Snea went to school without any lunch or
lunch money, drinking tap water to survive the days
during his teenage years.
-
Snea wore donated uniforms that were
either too small or too big and even with some holes.
-
Snea felt embarrassed and lost
self-confidence for not having the right gym gears.
-
Snea couldn't join the regiment training
because he couldn't afford the cost for training suits.
(He could possibly have stopped the coups in Thailand if
he had become one of the military generals!)
-
Snea almost missed the chance to enter
Chiang Mai University because he could not afford the
registration fee for the university entrance
examination. Thanks to his kind teachers at his high
school, who gave him the chance to be the only one
student in his class of almost 50 students to win the
only seat at the Faculty of Education, Chiang Mai
University in 1984, a path that has led Snea to study
and/or work in Australia, England, the U.S. and
Afghanistan.
Having become
quite successful
for a boy of his humbled origin, Snea has tried to give back
as he himself still works hard to pursue
his academic and professional
dreams.
Snea's father, Mr. Prasit Thinsan, who was
always supportive of Snea's education, now wants Snea to
have a son or a daughter, hoping that there would be another
Snea to add to the world and that the "Thinsan" surname will
not disappear any time in the future when there is no
grandson to maintain it. Snea, however, sees that having
another child is a huge burden and too selfish a deed for a
man who has received so much from the society. He has
thought a lot about how to keep his beloved father, who once
took him on a bicycle back to the market to request a loan
for a new school uniform despite the pressure from other
family members not to allow Snea to study further, satisfied
with his willingness to see the Thinsan surname last as long
as possible.
Snea is always creative and progressive in
dealing with any mission, and this foundation is as a result
of his desire to give back to the world and to keep his
father happy.
What are Snea's plans?
The following actions have been planned:
1. A foundation will be established with
the following working bodies:
Coordinator: Snea Thinsan
Board of Directors: Snea Thinsan and four
others who are Snea's esteemed professors in the U.S.,
England and Australia, who have contributed to Snea's
progress in his academic life.
Board of Advisors: This will
include 5-10 respected people that Snea has been
lucky to know in his life.
Scouting committee: This
comprises 5-10 representatives in Thailand who seek boys
and girls who fit the desired qualifications. The kind
of help and number of scholarships will be decided based
on the availability of funds each year and the
characters or backgrounds of the selected children. The
target groups, criteria and so on will be approved by
the Board of Directors.
Fundraising Team: All the Thinsan
family members, relatives and friends are welcome to
help.
Public Relations Team: Will
update the website and communicate within the foundation
and externally.
2. Once details about the foundation are put together, the
foundation will be
registered.
3. The Board of Directors will create guidelines and plans for
2009.
Scouting team starts working in Thailand. The fund raising team
will also start
eliciting donations.
How does the foundation work?
- All donations will be deposited as endowment and will never be
withdrawn. Only the annual interests will be used for the next
year's activities.
- All the names of donors will be added to the website and will
remain there
forever.
- The older the foundation gets, the bigger the endowment and
the more this
foundation can contribute.
- The foundation will have a website as its headquarters.
How will the money be spent? What are the missions?
-
Lunch money for poor students (to be
paid to lunch provider; not directly to the students or
their family to ensure that the recipients really get
the lunches they need.
-
Uniform purchases for needy students.
-
Scholarships to students with desirable
qualities: academic excellence, leadership records, poor
family background, gratitude and service, peace lover,
morally exemplary nature, etc. There may be one
scholarship for each category, or more depending on the
availability of the funds.
-
Payment for entrance examination for
students in need with potential
The scouting team will begin in the province
where Snea was born and raised: Amphur Pong, Phayao
Province, Thailand. As the foundation grow, children
from other parts of Thailand will be considered. It may
start with students in schools where Snea attended.
How do people donate?
Questions or suggestions?
Please contact Snea Thinsan at
sthinsan@indiana.edu
or call in the U.S. 812-345-8457
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Disclaimer:
I put virtually
everything I've written on this site, and there's a lot also
about which I have realized, but not shared here. Also, the
stuffs you see only reflect my progress at a certain point in
time and were often created under time constraints. Please access the information on this site at your own
risk! ;-) |
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