April 13, 1999

We care Lessons in life Mookda Intasan is not your average nine-to-five kind of teacher. She has also supported almost 100 children and initiated projects to improve the welfare of at least 35 villages in Phayao province Supara Janchitfah Forty-year-old Mookda Intasan has 97 children. The eldest is now 26, an active farmer in a nearby village. The youngest, a seven-year-old Yao girl, recently enrolled at primary school. Visitors to Mrs Mookda's house in Phayao province, the Home for Quality of Life Development, will be impressed by the multi-ethnic composition of her "family." Here, a few Yao girls diligently embroider traditional patterns onto cotton clothes. Over there, some sturdy boys toil in the 20-rai experimental farm, which supplies rice and vegetables for the house all year round. These children have received support - financial, academic, and moral - from Mrs Mookda and her husband, Sangvorn. Both are school teachers in Phayao province, and established the home in 1989. At present, 42 children stay there. "I want to make this place a 'home' for all my students, a place where there is always a shoulder for them to lean on," said Mrs Mookda. Vandee Kampaeng, 14, knows well how the warmth in this family has changed her life. Abandoned by her parents a few years ago, Ms Vandee was brought to Mrs Mookda by her grandmother who worried about the young girl's future. Quite a few girls in Ms Vandee's village had moved to work in the big cities, many being lured into prostitution. Feeling frustrated, being poor, away from her parents and uncertain about her future, Ms Vandee said she was lucky to have "Acharn Mookda" around. Through Mrs Mookda's patient guidance, Ms Vandee has gradually learned what she wants in life. Although not gifted academically, the young girl has been hooked by the beauty of music. In her spare time, after homework and mushroom-growing sessions, Ms Vandee has been practising a traditional northern instrument called the Salor. "My favourite song is Hak Saksri Satri Lanna," she said. "The lyrics tell of many Northern girls who fall into the flesh trade due to a lack of education. The song encourages them to be proud of their dignity and satisfied with a simple life." Ms Vandee's remarks should make Mrs Mookda beam. Born in the Dok Kham Tai district of Phayao province, the young Mrs Mookda felt bitter about the way acquaintances reacted after learning where she came from. Her district was then notorious as a main supplier of women for commercial sex. Over the years, Mrs Mookda has worked tirelessly to allow poor children to get as much education as they can. A few are now in universities and nursing colleges, completing their degrees. But high schooling is not the only goal of this teacher and "mother." Mrs Mookda said she is equally proud of other students who have returned to their home villages, and started up projects to improve community welfare. Somchai Sae-Jeng is one example of the latter. He stayed at Mrs Mookda's home for six years, and is presently an active village leader. The 26-year-old supports himself by selling soy bean milk and working on farms. "I consider it a success when I see former students work happily in their villages; they are not frustrated even when some people see them as just farmers," said Mrs Mookda. "Sometimes the home is short of money and I have to dig it out of my own pocket," she added. "But as long as these youngsters don't get themselves involved in drugs or prostitution it's worth every baht." At present, Mrs Mookda's home receives financial assistance from several non-governmental organisations and philanthropic individuals. However, the funding is mostly on a yearly basis, and often is not sufficient to cover the total expenses which include food and utilities, school fees, and living allowances. In fact, the number of people who want to send their children to Mrs Mookda's home has been growing steadily. By word-of-mouth, the home's reputation spanned the province. Mrs Mookda said she was recently approached to take in five children of HIV sufferers, but had to decline due to financial constraints. The struggle for funding is nothing new for Mrs Mookda. Over a decade ago, the then young teacher at Tampin Witthayakhom secondary school received only a small grant from a non-governmental organisation to set up her home. It was originally established to help hilltribe students forced to drop out of school because their parents could no longer bear the cost. Even today, the majority of students at the home are from ethnic minorities as Mrs Mookda believes they are the least privileged group. Farmin Sae-Fung, another of the home's residents, said many people assume the hilltribe peoples receive help from both governmental and non-governmental organisations. But this is not always true. Her friend Moei-Liew Sae-Lee agrees, adding ethnic minorities can suffer from various forms of discrimination. Being branded as non-Thais, many hilltribe people are too afraid to raise their voices in protest when they find themselves cheated or threatened. "I remember well how some traders went to my village and forced us to sell crops at extremely low prices," Ms Moei-Liew said. "Worse, we were told to pay tea money otherwise we would be kicked out. They said we did not have a right to live there. I don't know why; I was born there, as were my grandparents." Both Ms Moei-Liew and Ms Farmin raised concerns about young ethnic girls being lured into prostitution. Ms Moei-Liew said she was inspired to study as much as possible in order to go back to help her village peers. "I started school quite late as I had to look after my six younger siblings," said the young woman. "Now I'm 18 and still in Grade 9, but I'm trying my best to catch up. I hope to be able to teach others in my village one day." Mrs Mookda realises the value of traditional customs, and has constantly encouraged her students to preserve them. Ms Farmin said her teacher has even tried to find a market for the embroidery she and her Yao friends work on. "But it is difficult as Acharn Mookda is not the business type. Anyhow, she has asked us to introduce the skill to other non-Yao students." After more than a decade of public work, Mrs Mookda said the biggest hurdle she continually faces is how to get more people to pool resources together for the common good. The problem seems endless, added her husband. There are too few people to undertake the task. A teacher of social studies, Mrs Mookda tries to keep herself from the centre of attention. She encourages decentralisation, and yet, when she returns home in the evening, often finds her house filled with people seeking her advice. The topics range from parents' worries to village's development schemes. Through her guidance, villagers have formed themselves into groups to help one another to earn more income. At Baan Phin Moo 7 village, for example, locals set up a rice bank and mulberry paper-making and saving groups. These grass root networks have gradually expanded to cover 35 villages in Dok Kham Tai district. It is thus not unusual to see Mrs Mookda working late into the night attending village meetings, sometimes working out solutions together with the local residents, other times suggesting new ideas for discussion. Of course, her almost daily trips to surrounding villages only take place after stints in the classroom and quality time with her 42 "children." On top of her teaching and home workload, Mrs Mookda was recently appointed to sit on a committee of the Social Investment Fund, to review proposals for grants for development projects in the province. "I wish there were more hours in the day," said Mrs Mookda. "Or at least that we had more people to help the villagers and students." The dedicated teacher's ultimate goal is to make her home more self-reliant. "I hope one day we can have a steady stream of funding. We can deposit it in a bank and use the interest to run our home." But the Phayao teacher knows this dream is unlikely to come true given the on-going economic crunch, so she would settle on a simpler wish for the time being. "I just want the public to understand the importance of children's education. Here, we are trying to create a supportive environment where children can grow up into responsible citizens and achieve, in their own way, their fullest potential." We Care is a weekly series honouring people who believe in giving. You can show you care by supporting the projects featured here each week. You can also let us know about people who selflessly help others so we can honour them in these pages. Fax "We Care" on 240-3666, or call 240-3700 ext 3208 or 3212.