Save my Future “Education support for gifted but poor students”

The hand-to-mouth existence of the student’s families forces the whole families to struggle for the most basic necessities just to survive daily and have nothing left to support their children’s education. It is a reality that many students from poor families rely on school lunches to have at least one assured meal a day. 

Without scholarship support, the children of poverty-stricken families have the highest chance of being left out of the educational system, which will only contribute in maintaining the life of poverty that they are currently facing. 

Scholarship support may be seen by many as an educational support, however, for the children of the poor families, scholarship is a matter of having a future or nothing at all, and they will still need to work doubly hard to overcome many obstacles.

A number of poor students lack qualified adult guidance as they come from broken families and end up living with their old grandparents who are ill-equipped to provide educational guidance. Some end up living with relatives who are also generally poor and/or have their own children to worry about.

In addition, many children live in unsafe neighborhood where drugs and other anti-social activities exist. Non-education conducive environment is another problem. Being poor, many live in makeshift or dilapidated houses with no proper supply of water and electricity so students have to literally study by the kerosene light.

Students from poor families must also juggle between studying and extending a helping hand to the families’ effort of earning money for food.

In response to this problem, EDF Foundation has launched a scholarship program to provide poor and underprivileged students in rural Thailand with the opportunity to access at least the basic education (Grade7-9) without having to worry about school expenses. 

Although the EDF Scholarship Program does not consider academic performance as a criterion for awarding scholarships due to many educational and environmental limitations that poor students face daily, we have been seeing repeatedly that many students from poor families are able to maintain good grades. 

Opinions and comments by teachers in charge of the EDF scholarship program in each school agree that poor but high-performing students should receive additional support and financial assistance so they can seek for higher educational levels, such as high school or vocational. 

As a result, EDF Foundation has launched a crowd funding campaign through Taejai.com to raise scholarship funds for “Students who study well but are poor” (cumulative GPA 3.00 or higher) to pursue lower secondary school level. 

Some of the gifted students but poor that will receive scholarship support from the project in the coming academic year 2024.

Natthakritta (Nam Sai)Grade 7, Sisaket Province

My parents were separated, so my mother took me to live with grandparents. My mother cooks Thai desserts for sale and is the only breadwinner in the family. Every day I get up early to help my mother prepare desserts. I also sell them to my friends at school. I study hard because I want to be a teacher.

Kamolchat (Konthong) Grade 7, Nakhon Phanom Province

My parents got divorced. Currently, I live with my father and grandmother. My father is a menial worker with unstable income. Thus, my grandmother has to help making handicraft from banana leaves for extra income. After returning from school, I help with housework, help pick flowers and banana leaves.

เด็กชายทัศน์พล (โอม) ชั้น ม.1 จ.ศรีสะเกษ

แม่มีอาชีพรับจ้างเย็บผ้า ส่วนผมเป็นเด็กวัด ทุกเช้าผมจะไปช่วยหลวงตาถือของขณะบิณฑบาต เพื่อแลกกับข้าวก้นบาตรและขนมเอากลับไปให้ ยาย แม่ และน้อง ๆ ได้กิน ในวันหยุดผมจะไปช่วยทำความสะอาดวัด ศาลา และงานอื่น ๆ ที่พอจะทำได้ แต่ผมก็ไม่ทิ้งการเรียนและมีผลการเรียนอยู่ในระดับดีมากมาโดยตลอดครับ

Detsakda (Nokia) Grade 7, Maha Sarakham Province

I have only one school uniform. After school, I have to rush home to wash it for wearing the next day. I walk to school every day. The road is rough and muddy, especially during the rainy season. Even though life is difficult, I have never given up. I have been studying hard and every year I have been the top of my class.