Airmen help rural Thai preschool

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Michael Farris
  • 353rd Special Operations Group Public Affairs
UDORN THANI, Thailand (AFPN) --  More than 12 Airmen from Kadena Air Base, Japan, helped a preschool near here May 19, offering supplies, building materials and a playground renovation.

Airmen from the 353rd Special Operations Group arrived at the rural school, located 30 miles south of here, at about 10 a.m. They began distributing notebooks, pencils, crayons and erasers to the 60 boys and 61 girls at the school.

Lt. Col. Joseph Hastings, mission commander, presented the school with 60,000 baht ($1,500) on behalf of the group, to finish a new classroom that has been under construction since February 2003. The funds will also be used to purchase ceiling fans for the classroom. Money was raised for the supplies from donations of the group deployed here for Cobra Gold 04.

The Airmen also spent two hours replacing six worn and unusable swings from a pavilion and repairing a sway-back seesaw with an industrial-grade splint.

Lakruudom Tamasuntorn, a teacher at the preschool, said the children were grateful for the help to better their school.

“The children here are happy you have come with supplies,” she said. “Your generous donation will make this a better place to learn.”

Colonel Hastings said he was pleased with the turnout.

“The fact that these Airmen are willing to sacrifice their day off to come help these children reflects the caliber of Airmen we have in the group,” he said.

The true beneficiaries of the afternoon were the volunteers, who learned valuable lessons regarding graciousness, compassion and good will, Colonel Hastings said.

“It touched my heart,” said Master Sgt. Anthony Jones, first sergeant for the 353rd Maintenance Squadron. “Our children could learn a big lesson from these kids when it comes to respect and gratitude. It’s a good feeling to bring a smile and a box of crayons to these kids who have relatively little.”

Chaplain (Capt.) Kleet Barclay said the experience was humbling.

“We feel like we should do more because we have so much,” he said. “Our donation pales in comparison to the fantastic hospitality the community of Udorn Thani has shown us over the past few weeks.”

Before leaving, the teachers and school administration officials presented each volunteer with a small gift to show their appreciation.